A ''tarai-bune'' ( ja, たらい舟), or tub-turned boat, is a traditional Japanese fishing boat found mainly on

Sado Island is a city located on in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area is urbanized. Sado is the sixth largest island of Japan in area following the four main islands and Ok ...

and used for catching

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

and other

mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

. The design originated from need to fish in the narrow coves formed by earthquakes.

In popular culture

Tarai Bune boats have appeared in: *''

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distribut ...

'', animated movie *''

Skies of Arcadia ''Skies of Arcadia'' is a 2000 role-playing video game developed by Overworks and published by Sega. Players control Vyse, a young air pirate, and his friends as they attempt to stop the fictional Valuan Empire from reviving ancient weapons with t ...

'', video game by Sega *''

Tales of Symphonia is an action role-playing game released for the Nintendo GameCube on August 29, 2003, in Japan. It was published by Namco and is the fifth core product of the ''Tales'' series. The game was localized and released in North America on July 13, ...

'', video game by Bandai Namco *''Tides'', video game by Shallot Games

External links

{{Commons category
Tarai Bune of Sado IslandArticle about saving the tub-turned boat by teaching children how to use them
Indigenous boats Fishing in Japan