「鉄砲とロケットの島」に「よかよめじょう」がいると聞いてやってきた。
しかし、島に上陸するなり目にしたのはホンダ・カブで疾走する女子高校生。衝撃的な光景に目を疑う。

「これ、誰のバイク?」 「おいがと (私のです)」
「え、、、誰かにもらったとか?」 「んにゃ、買ってもらった (いえ、買ってもらいました)」
「スーパーカブ、好きなの?」 「おょおょ、当たり前や定番だわ (はい、みんな乗ってます)」
「カブのどんなとこが好き?」 「馬力あってギヤがよこうちゃ、むじょかからな (馬力があってギヤついてて、かわいい)」

種子島の女性は芯が強く、頼りになる働き者が多いことから、 近隣の島からは「嫁をもらうなら種子島」と言われている。
ホンダ・カブをかわいい相棒にするたくましい女子高生の姿に、その片鱗を見たような気がした。

I made my way to this “island of firearms and rockets” because I had heard tell of the yokayomejo (local dialect for a “beautiful, good
natured woman”). But, what caught my eye when I landed were these high school girls racing around on Honda Cubs. I couldn’t believe
what I saw.

“Whose motorcycle is that?” “Mine.”
“So … was it a present from someone?”
“No, it was bought and paid for (cause I needed it).”
“Do you like the Super Cub?” “Yea, everyone rides it.”
“What do you like about the Cub?”
“It’s got horsepower and gears, and it’s cute.”

Known for being strong-willed and reliable workers, the women of Tanegashima are considered the best choice for a bride amongst the
nearby islands.
I feel I got a glimpse of that in seeing these tough high school girls who have paired up with the “cute” Honda Cub.

“Cub-jo”
The southern Japanese island of Tanegashima is home to some 30,000 people and offers an abundance of farming, fishing, and livestock, with the small island outproducing the amount it consumes. It was the first place for firearms to arrive in Japan and is home to the Tanegashima Space Center, the country’s biggest rocket-launching facility. The island is also known for its strong-minded and reliable working women, while its men are said to be quiet and modest. These images piqued my interest, so I set off to capture the island and its women on my camera.
On the day I arrived to Tanegashima, I could not believe my eyes when I saw a Honda Cub motorcycle head toward me as I walked along the road. Riding the motorcycle was a girl in a high school uniform. To me, the Honda Cub had an ordinary business-like image, so seeing this took me by surprise. The Honda Cub is the recommended mode of transportation for high school students commuting to the two high schools on the remote island. In English, “cub” refers to a young animal and is appropriate for a motorcycle with a small but powerful engine. Although they are not animals, “cub” seemed like an appropriate term to use for these young and tough girls of Tanegashima.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year since production first started, the Honda Cub surpassed 100 million units, making it the most produced and perhaps the most loved motorcycle in history. As a side note, the local town of Nishi-no-omote also celebrated its 60th anniversary.
On a remote Pacific island with no school buses or similar transportation, the Cub proves its reliability not only in terms of driving stability, safety, and durability, but also because it has a track record of its ability to be repaired by anyone anywhere around the world. This relationship of trust not only reaches to high school students but also to the parents. These motorcycles are handed down to their siblings and younger students, and new and old Cubs line the parking area of the high school.
This isolated island, which saw the country’s first firearms that would change the course of Japanese history, today offers a fascinating mix of imagery, with the island producing a bounty of food to achieve self-sufficiency, launching rockets into the future, and propelling high school girls down the road on Honda Cub motorcycles.
I set out to capture images inherent to the island while focusing on the relationship between the females of Tanegashima, who continue to create the ideal image of a bride, and their Honda Cub, which has become their partner in their formative years from girlhood to womanhood. All of these “Cub-jo” (Cub Girls) were charming. In the local dialect, “yokayomejo” refers to beautiful, good- natured ladies. “Cub-jo” are high school girls who ride Honda Cub motorcycles.