Our ancestors have always depended on wooden boats whether to cross the river or to set out sea to catch fish, whether we recall the situation in Japan or any other country. It is understood that the canoe was the earliest dug-out boat-like-boat that resembles the shape that we are currently familiar with. Thereafter the shape and size has metamorphosed over thousands and thousands of years they continued to evolve differently around the world. The shape of these boats in Japan have also developed into a shape that varied somewhat from its counterpart of the West.

All boats other than the dug-out canoe are generally referred to as structural boats. Simply put, Western boats were built with a backbone like a human bein g,that came with a keel that ran from tip to tip through the middle of the vessel. And on the keel foundation are several dozens of rib-like frames that also resembled the physique of a human being. This skeletal structure was then finished with an outerboard that was hammered on the frame in general structu revessels. The size of these boats ranged to as big as enormous British battleships and British/American clippers that developed as the last of its kind speed sailboats, with some extending longer than 100m and weighing a tonnage between 4,000 to 5,000 tons.

In Japan the first step away from the canoe was a wooden boat with a flatboard on the floor, then a board was obliquely angled against the side of that boar d to create a boat. In other words, a board was first placed as the flooring,and then flatboards were placed on both sides as walls of that floorboard to build a boat. This closely resembles the procedures to make a box. Though the number of ledge boards used varied according to the size of the boat, the structure was finished by placing a ledge on top of another ledge to increase the vessel in size. The Kitamae boats on display here at this museum feature a compilation of that technology.

These types of wooden boats are no longer being built from about 30 years ago with the introduction and development of FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastic). Wooden fishing boats previously built are no longer seen as frequently in the coasts of Aomori Prefecture, either. As I witnessed the limited number of existing boats on the path of extinction I realized that unless a collection to preserve these assets were made today, that the opportunity would never be available. This is why I collected wooden boats from Northern Tohoku and Toshima Island in Hokkaido. As my collection grew, I found that the flooring of Japanese boats from this region varied from fishing boats from Western Japan.

The Northern boats were finished with flatboards and didn't have a so-called covering on the floor. These boats were directly carved from lumber instead, and came to be known today as the Mudama Style. These boats were directly carved from wood because coastal waters of the Northern region are more harsh than the South and thus, required stronger boatbeds to venture these waters. What's more, the abundance of big trees to acquire Mudama materials were also quite abundant until recently, unlike the situation in the South. This feature has become known as the major characteristic of Northern fishing boats. In 1997 November 67 of the boats collected here were nationally designated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture as Important Tangible Ethnic Cultural Assets.

Backed by this opportunity, we decided to exhibit wooden fishing boats that played an important role in the daily lives of our ancestors to secure food, by building a museum to house these assets in hope to leave this wealth of knowledge for the coming generations to enjoy, as well. In addition to fishing boats on display are Pinishi sailboats from the South Pacific that are sailing foreign waters even today, the Dhow boat navigating the Indian Ocean and the

boats modeled after junk boats that transported the Mongolians to Japan when the Mongolians attempted to invade this country. Every intention has been made to satiate the interest of boat fans. Though the collection is still incomple tein itself, effort will continue to expand the details made available to all to relish. It would be most beneficial if visitors are moved by the concept of "boat and water" that we portrayed here, and further, every staff seeks to create dreams, especially for children to enjoy.