Ota Seigi was born in 1904 in what is now the city of Ishigaki and passed away in 2006 at the age of 102. From the age of 80 he started drawing pictures from memory to show what life was like in the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-26) eras. The Yaeyama Museum in Ishigaki City held an exhibition featuring 31 pictures donated by Ota in 1987 and another exhibition in 2011 with an additional 11 pictures donated by him. These included pictures of the dried bonito flake plant established on Uotsuri Island by Koga Tatsushiro as part of development of the island and tools used in the production of bonito flakes. The picture of the plant may have been based on a photograph, but was introduced as having been drawn by a local citizen. (Ref. 1)

Translation Table of the picture

Images from Ota Seigi ga kaita "Omoide no wagashima" (Our Island of Memories, Drawn by Ota Seigi), a 2011 exhibition at the Yaeyama Museum, Ishigaki.

Ref.1: Ota Seigi ga kaita "Omoide no wagashima" (Our Island of Memories, Drawn by Ota Seigi), a 2011 exhibition at the Yaeyama Museum, Ishigaki. (Planned exhibition materials for fiscal 2011.)

→　Koga Tatsushiro's Development of the Senkaku Islands from 1884 (5. Industry)