This year, the "Yanbaru Art Festival" that began as the "Hakobune (Ark) to Yanbaru" in the winter of 2017 celebrates its fifth winter.

"Creating art that can only be achieved at present" derives from breathing the primordial power of the unique land of Yanbaru, people with activity in their bloodstream as the key, and their relationship with the region and nature.
We have cherished our mindset, and in July this year, the northern part of Okinawa (Yanbaru) was registered as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site along with Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, and Iriomote Island, and its value was recognized worldwide.

The Yanbaru Forest, home to many endemic and rare species, is a treasure trove of biodiversity.

Various "connections with individuality," such as the unique environment and culture of Yanbaru and the encounters between visitors and its welcoming people, have also nurtured and supported the existence of the "Yanbaru Art Festival."

When you touch the art, you smile, and a small light illuminates your heart. Art is also said to have the power to boost a person's immunity potential.

I hope that the seeds of art that have been sown in the village of longevity and have grown slowly will blossom again this year and will continue to bloom powerfully for a long time among regions and artists.

The long-standing state of emergency has finally been lifted, and while looking a little further ahead, I feel I'm in the phase of exploring a new society living with Corona.

The "Yanbaru Art Festival" focuses on art, production, and expression.
However, it may be time to think again about how people living in the area, people who appreciate the artists' work, and artists can interact and coexist.

The last time the event was held in a situation where travel from outside of the prefecture and abroad was greatly restricted due to the corona pandemic. But almost the same number of visitors as before came. It was a difficult situation for us to talk extensively to our visitors, but it was an excellent time for us as we felt because of the visitors that the awareness of Okinawa was gradually expanding.

This time, because of our timing, I feel the participation of women and families will increase as we are focusing on the works produced and expanding awareness about the people who create them and their environment.
It is still difficult to expand the event internationally, but if you look at Japanese art from a new perspective, ou will be able to regain the feeling that there is diversity and that the production is in line with social changes.

And how can we expand the achievements we have organized from the Yanbaru area so far?
When it's again easy to come and go like before Corona, we will engage in experimental efforts to immediately take the next step to include artists and art fans from outside the prefecture and abroad. So please look forward to the 5th Yanbaru Art Festival.

"YAF CRAFT MARKET" is held for the 5th time.The theme this time is "I like Yanbaru."

This year, the bright news for Yanbaru was the "World Natural Heritage
Registration," so we focused on that and tried to make our selection reflect Yanbaru even more and enjoy it.

This year, we have collected various works such as Yachimun, glass, Bingata, woodworking, Ryukyu indigo dyeing, accessories, dyeing and weaving, grass decoration, etc., from not only Yanbaru
but also Miyako, Ishigaki, and Iriomote islands.
New work will also appear in the YAF original brand "ARTICLE."

We will focus on the online store for those who cannot come to Yanbaru to let everyone enjoy works that are only obtainable at our Yahoo store.

We hope that you will find "Yanbaru taste" through various craftworks of
Okinawa and use it to improve your QOL.