"Haruka"

Surf Spot:  “Haruka,”  Kushimoto,

Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

by Bill Braden for POSSE JAPAN

From the bluff, looking out toward Shionomisaki  Peninsula (the southern most point on Honshu, Japan’s main island), on a day like this one with lines of waves rolling into the bay, you can see “Haruka.”  This is the name given to this place, AKA, The Waimea Bay of Japan, the big wave surfing spot of this island archipelago nation.  It was named by “Genki-san,” Mr. Genki Horiguchi, a pioneer and living legend of big wave surfing in Japan.  He is depicted as a speck on the breaking wave right below the point on the right panel.  His house is also on the same panel, beyond the ridge, where from his roof he can see “Haruka,” which means something like “a far away place.”  It is also the name of his daughter.  To surf this place, which only breaks on huge days, waves over 20 feet (6 meters), one must paddle out from a protected area seen on the left panel.

The coastline right below this cliff, on the inside of the break is too rocky and with the oncoming breakers, too risky to paddle out.  On the same left panel you can see the town of Kushimoto. Until a few hundred years ago Shionomisaki was an island, and what is now the town, was a shallow waterway that eventually filled in.  These hardy trees in the foreground grow abundantly on this steep hillside.  Not only do they help to prevent erosion, but they are sometimes harvested to make a very high grade charcoal.

The resourcefulness of the people of this place as well as the rugged beauty of the place itself is inspiring.  It is the hurricane (typhoon) that brings the big waves, otherwise you might find Genki-san diving for marine food somewhere else in this bay, shaping big wave custom boards for select clients,  or he might be surfing in Hawaii (Waimea Bay) on his annual big surf trip!

Part of the proceeds from the sale of these prints are to fund signage to mark the location of Japan’s big wave surf site.