[Social Action Network] Folktale animations “The Battle of Mui and the Abalone” from Hakodate City, Hokkaido, and “Gemma Yabe and the Shark” from Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, have been nominated for the “Kyoto Ani Manufacturing Awards 2025”!
Social Action Network Press release: September 1, 2025 To Members of the Press Folktale animations “The Battle of Mui and the Abalone” from Hakodate City, Hokkaido, and “Gemma Yabe and the Shark” from Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, have been nominated for the “Kyoto Ani Manufacturing Awards 2025”! Two sea folktale animations produced in 2024 by the Sea Folktale Town Project, an initiative by the Japan Folktale Association and the Nippon Foundation, “The Battle of Mui and the Abalone” from Hakodate City, Hokkaido, and “Genma Yabe and the Shark” from Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, have been nominated as finalists in the Regional Revitalization category of the Kyoto Ani Manufacturing Awards 2025. The two nominated works this time were created with the aim of turning “ocean folktales,” an intangible cultural asset passed down throughout Japan, into tangible “ocean folktale animations,” archiving them, and passing them on to future generations. Each work is being used in various ways in the local community, including for education, awareness-raising, and promotion. This initiative is part of The Nippon Foundation’s “Ocean and Japan Project,” which connects people through the ocean in order to pass on a rich and beautiful ocean to future generations.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-59dcefcc20f3c463c16c7c11fc5a3b3e-673×320.png
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-0c2ed47dda24545081a7785f37e641ac-332×101.png ■Introduction to the Hakodate, Hokkaido, Sea Folktale “The Battle of Mui and Abalone” ＜Story Summary＞ Long ago, two species of shellfish lived at the bottom of the ocean: the mui and the abalone. However, they did not get along, and eventually a great battle broke out. The angry god ordered Mui to live on the east side of the island and Abalone to live on the west side… ▼Click here for more information on the sea folktale “The Battle of Mui and Abalone.”
https://uminominwa.jp/animation/68/
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-0477d704ec2385b8179b92d3180aa2a7-673×189.png ＜Use of animation in Hakodate City＞ This work was adopted as part of Hakodate City’s “Marine-Related STEAM Education” initiative, which aims to enrich education in the city. Lessons using the work were held during school trips at elementary schools in the city. Through the anime, students learned about Hakodate’s marine environment and local fisheries resources while on the sea en route to their destination, Aomori. It was also selected as a subject for the annual Hakodate International Science Festival, where a roundtable discussion was held to learn about the bounty of the ocean through folk tales. The work is being used across a variety of themes.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-81d1219667bf17c5386dd3173b3dc193-673×252.png ■Introduction to the sea folktale “Gemma Yabe and the Shark” from Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture Gemma Yabei, a master archer from Kai Province, encountered a large shark in the sea while on a mission. Yabei repelled the shark with his skilled bow, but later came across the shark’s skeleton washed up on the shore… ▼Click here for more information on the sea folktale “Gemma Yabei and the Shark.” https://uminominwa.jp/animation/78/
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-5e3dd814e752cf8a252c949a8d556517-673×189.png A screening was held at the Civic Hall to commemorate the anime’s completion, and a talk show was held featuring the anime director and experts. In addition to explaining the character of Genma Yabei, a real-life Edo-period figure, and the lives of samurai at the time, the talk explored the connection between Yamanashi, a “landlocked prefecture,” and the sea, which continues to this day, from the perspective of logistics. Going forward, the film will be widely used as a learning tool for local studies in the “After-School Children’s Classrooms” being held at elementary schools in the city.
Additionally, a variety of community-based initiatives are being developed, such as the collaboration between Matsubayashiken Toyoshima-ya, a long-established Japanese confectionery shop in Kofu City, and the traditional local confectionery “Garagara,” which will be released for a limited time and distributed at events. Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-b14122a6c0da28c9f88b65654249d3c8-673×252.png Organization Name: Japan Folktale Association (General Incorporated Association) URL: https://www.nippon-mukashibanashi.or.jp/ Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-0773410a859ff234649740b506e0ba42-272×96.png Umi no Folktale Town Project With the goal of conveying to children Japan’s deep connection to the sea and the pride in its communities, and passing this on to future generations, we will select valuable stories that incorporate ocean learning from among the intangible cultural assets of sea folktales from all over Japan, tangibleize them as “Sea Folktale Animations,” and archive them for future generations. In addition, we will designate regions where these sea folktales have been passed down through the generations as “Sea Folktale Towns,” and work to promote and utilize these stories. Official website
https://uminominwa.jp/ Official Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/@uminominwa Official Xhttps://x.com/uminominwa
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/161057/204/161057-204-7261108f93a392f95a830531884740b9-1868×535.png The Nippon Foundation “Ocean and Japan Project” The ocean supports the lives of Japanese people in various ways, and at times provides peace of mind, excitement, and inspiration. This is an all-Japan project to encourage people across the country, including children, to take personal responsibility for the ongoing environmental degradation of the ocean, and to expand the circle of action to pass on the ocean to future generations. https://uminohi.jp/
