Creating a booklet to convey a new image of Anko-san

Members of Oshima's meeting have been considering how to communicate Oshima's charm and how to plan and develop products and services themed on "Anko-san," symbolic figures on Oshima. They hope that the production of goods and booklets about the Anko-san will create opportunities for the younger generation of visitors from off-island to learn about and become interested in the Anko-san.

Members of Oshima's meeting have been considering how to communicate Oshima's charm and how to plan and develop products and services themed on "Anko-san," symbolic figures on Oshima. They hope that the production of goods and booklets about the Anko-san will create opportunities for the younger generation of visitors from off-island to learn about and become interested in the Anko-san.

First, a professional photographer was invited to take photographs for the work, which was titled "The Scenery Seen by Anko-san." As the Izu Oshima Anko Culture Preservation Club dressed the Anko-san model in her costume and styled her hair, they talked about how the Anko-san were, during their time, the equivalent of pop idol groups like AKB48 today, and how the impression that the women gave off would change based on how they wore their tenugui towels on their heads.

Non-tourist spots such as the beach, camellia tunnel, and the eaves of private homes were intentionally chosen to serve as backdrops for the photoshoot. The aim was to express how the figure of Anko-san lives on in Oshima by capturing her figure in the midst of everyday scenery.