We have decided to publish an online version of "Okikamuro Island 70" (Tokyo Kamuro Party 70th Commemorative Magazine), which was published in 2024. The online version will also include an English translation page so that descendants of Okikamuro Island living overseas can read it. We plan to publish it at a rate of about one chapter per month. (Mar. 9, 2026)
| Introduction | Masatomo Yagi | Tokyo Kamuro Party President | to Content |
| Living in Kamuro | Hiroshi Ishimaru | Kansai Kamuro Party | to Content |
| Memories of Okikamuro | Kazumasa Otani | Tokyo Kamuro Party chief secretary | comming.. |
| About the Tomozawa Family (Tokyo Kamuro Party 70th Anniversary) | Masato Katsuyama | Kansai Kamuro Party | comming.. |
| Memories of Okikamuro | Eiji Kimura | Tokyo Kamuro Party | comming.. |
| Honsekichi is Okikamuro Island | Kazutaka Nishimura | Tokyo Kamuro Party vice president | comming.. |
| Participating in the 70th Tokyo Kamuro Meeting | Shigeyoshi Nishimura | Ube Kamuro Party | comming.. |
| Okikamuro-Hawaii-Canada | Masatomo Yagi | Tokyo Kamuro Party | comming.. |
| Okikamuro: Connecting People | Manami Yasui | International Research Center for Japanese Studies Professor | comming.. |
| Weaving Okikamuro | Akiko Yamada | Tokyo Kamuro Party vice president | comming.. |
| About my father, Shigetoshi Yamada | Matsushige Yamada | Tokyo Kamuro Party Officer | comming.. |
Masatomo Yagi（Tokyo Kamuro Party President）
The Tokyo Kamuro Party was started in 1944 by Shigetoshi Yamada and Kosuke Kanai. During the war, the club was suspended the following year and resumed in 1952 after the war. Many people from Okikamuro Island moved to Kansai and Tokyo in search of work.
Okikamuro Island, which prospered through fishing during the late Edo period, Meiji period, Taisho period and early Showa period, sought to establish a base for its fishing industry overseas, expanding to China, Korea, Taiwan and Hawaii. This is probably the reason why it sent out many emigrants from Hawaii, Canada and the mainland United States.
After the war, many people returned to Okikamuro Island from China, Korea, and Taiwan after losing their fishing bases. Small Okikamuro Island was overwhelmed with unemployed people, many of whom left the island in search of work. This is described in essays posted on the Kamuro Party website by Shigetoshi Yamada and Tsunehisa Kanai. After the war, Okikamuro lost most of its fishing grounds, but its famous one-line fishermen continued to fish in the Seto Inland Sea. However, in recent years, overfishing by large fishing boats has led to a decline in fish stocks, and few people are pursuing careers as fishermen. The island's numerous fishing boat yards have been reduced to just one. Okikamuro's population is steadily declining, reportedly falling below 100 this year. It's a sad reflection of the days of the "Kamuro Senken" (a town of 3,000) population.
However, people who have retired from Tokyo, Kansai, and other areas are returning to the island to live. A young couple has opened and run a guesthouse on the island. Another young couple aspires to become hijiki fishermen. Many second- and third-generation descendants of overseas immigrants from Hawaii, Canada, the US mainland, and elsewhere visit Hakuseiji Temple on Okikamuro Island to seek information about their ancestors and visit their graves. Some have built vacation homes and are enjoying a leisurely lifestyle. And above all, there are many people from outside the island who, like us, cherish Okikamuro Island. As an Okikamuro Island supporter, we hope to encourage as many people as possible to move to Okikamuro Island, working toward the island's future prosperity.
The Tokyo Kamuro Party meeting will be held in 2023, marking the 70th memorial meeting of the event. It has been 76 years since the Kamuro Association was founded. We would like to create a story for the 70th commemorative magazine with Okikamuro Island in mind, and turn it into a cheer song for Okikamuro Island.
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