The taraibune, or tub boat, is the iconic boat of Sado Island in the Sea of Japan. Part of a pantheon of bowl-shaped boats found throughout the world, the tub boat is classic Japanese barrel-making (in the local dialect they are called “hangiri” or half-barrel and most people agree they were invented when someone thought to use a barrel as a boat. They differ slightly from Japanese barrels in that they are oval in shape and have slightly rounded bottoms. I apprenticed in 1996 with Koji Fujii, at the time the last professional builder of these boats. At that time over 300 of these boats were still used in the fisheries. They were traditionally a woman’s boat and people used a variety of bamboo spears and a sight box to harvest shellfish and seaweed from the ocean bottom. They are sculled with a paddle from the bow, though in one village fishermen use outboard motors. The boats are cheap and durable, and able to maneuver safely in the rocky inshore where conventional boats cannot travel. Today tourists line up to ride tub boats operated by three companies. The hardest part of building these boats is braiding the fifty-foot long strips of bamboo to make the hoops, today an extremely rare skill. My first book, The Tub Boats of Sado Island; A Japanese Craftsman’s Methods, chronicles how to build these boats.
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Doug, always a delight to see the tub boats; they owe you a huge debt for making us aware of them here in the US. I still remember your talk at the Nautical Research Guild conference in Mystic, CT several years back.
You can also visit the “taraibune” page under Japanese Boats at my website for more information. Email email me and I can send you my 1997 WoodenBoat article about them.
Thank You for posting your “tub boats”! It’s so refreshing to see such ingenious methods to “go to sea”! Expands the ideas of what can be done! Marvelous!!! So beautiful to see the ladies in their local dress and to appreciate their skill with paddle.
Tell me if you get an email informing you that I responded to your comment. I assume you do. That has always been one of my favorite photos. Need to get back to Sado and see these boats again. Would be interesting to see how many are still used fishing.
Doug, always a delight to see the tub boats; they owe you a huge debt for making us aware of them here in the US. I still remember your talk at the Nautical Research Guild conference in Mystic, CT several years back.
Dear J.D.
Thanks for your comment. That was a fun event. A couple of years ago I built a tub boat as an exhibition at Lowell’s Boat Shop.
Sincerely, Douglas
Fascinating to learn about these boats – thank you for sharing!
Dear Ellen and Seth,
You can also visit the “taraibune” page under Japanese Boats at my website for more information. Email email me and I can send you my 1997 WoodenBoat article about them.
Sincerely, Douglas
Thank you! I’ve sent you an email!
Thank You for posting your “tub boats”! It’s so refreshing to see such ingenious methods to “go to sea”! Expands the ideas of what can be done! Marvelous!!! So beautiful to see the ladies in their local dress and to appreciate their skill with paddle.
Oops! Am I wrong? Are those gentlemen? The red bows on theirs hats have me wondering.
Dear Mr. Macks,
Tub boats are traditionally used by women in Japan, but not exclusively. That is the normal association, however. That first photo is a woman.
Great photos. g.
Dear Georg,
Tell me if you get an email informing you that I responded to your comment. I assume you do. That has always been one of my favorite photos. Need to get back to Sado and see these boats again. Would be interesting to see how many are still used fishing.
Douglas