The History of Pearls

Pearls, also called "drops of the moon" and "mermaids' tears," have captivated people all over the world since ancient times.

In Egypt, pearls are said to have been known as early as around 3200 BC, and the anecdote of Cleopatra dissolving a pearl in vinegar and drinking it is famous.

Records remain showing that pearls were used in China from around 2300 BC, in Persia from around the 7th century BC, and in Rome from around the 3rd century BC.

Pearls are said to be the world's oldest gemstone. Here we introduce their long history.

Natural Pearls in Ancient Times

The Arabian Peninsula is said to be the oldest region in the world where people dove into the sea to gather pearls. Bahrain Island in particular was known as a center of pearl gathering.

Pearls were favored by the successive dynasties of ancient Mesopotamia, and substantial numbers of pearls have been unearthed from ruins of that era.

Meanwhile, another pearl-producing region in the Orient was southern India. Beautiful pearls were harvested in the Gulf of Mannar and presented to the royal dynasties.

What brought these Oriental pearls to the attention of Europeans was Alexander the Great's eastern campaign in the 330s BC and the exchange between East and West that followed.

By the 1st century, the people of the ancient Roman Empire were trading with India, and pearls and gemstones were brought to Rome.

Cleopatra and Pearls

Cleopatra, who became the last queen of Egypt, is said to have owned the two largest pearls in history.

Cleopatra told the Roman statesman Antony, "I can hold a banquet more lavish than any you have ever seen." Antony, however, insisted that she could not, and the two made a wager.

Cleopatra then held a banquet, but it did not appear especially luxurious compared with her usual banquets. When Antony mocked this, Cleopatra placed one of the earrings she was wearing, set with the world's largest pearl, into vinegar, dissolved the pearl, and drank it down in one gulp.

And so Cleopatra won the wager.

Pearls in the Age of Discovery

When Marco Polo reported in The Travels of Marco Polo that beautiful pearls were harvested in India and Japan in the Orient, the European nations of the Age of Discovery began to set their sights on the Orient to the east.

In 1498, Columbus, sailing for Spain, reached Venezuela on his 3rd voyage and discovered pearls. Venezuela thus became a new pearl-producing region in place of the Orient.

Meanwhile, Vasco da Gama of Portugal reached India and discovered pearls, and then advanced to the island of Ceylon as well to gather pearls.

In this way, pearls from all over the world came to be gathered in Europe and circulated.

Britain's Pearl Gathering

In 1796, Britain colonized the coastal areas of the island of Ceylon, and in the mid-19th century it gained naval control of the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf).

The Persian Gulf, which came under British control, was the world's largest pearl-gathering ground.

In the Orient, pearls were a mark of kingship and enjoyed tremendous popularity. The same was true for the queens of Europe.

Natural Pearls of Japan

Like other countries, ancient Japan was also a major producer of Akoya pearls.

The ancient Japanese used pearls as tribute to China, and pearls were one of Japan's oldest exports. Chinese texts such as the Wei Zhi Wo Ren Zhuan (Account of the Wa in the Records of Wei) and the Book of the Later Han also contain descriptions of Japanese pearls, giving a glimpse of how long their history is.

In the Nara period, pearls became indispensable to the emperor's formal court attire (ikan sokutai) and became a symbol of people of high rank.

In The Travels of Marco Polo at the end of the 13th century as well, Japan was introduced as a land of gold and pearls, and Japanese pearls became known to Europeans too.

Later, Japan's period of national seclusion began, and for a while Europeans forgot that Japan was a source of pearls. As a result, Japan escaped being drawn into the global scramble for pearls.

Pearls in the Edo Period

In the Edo period, the Chinese and Dutch who traded with Japan began to take notice of Japanese pearls.

The main pearl-producing areas in the first half of the Edo period were Omura Bay, Kagoshima Bay, and Ago Bay.

At the time, most Japanese had no interest in pearls, but people in the producing areas knew that pearls could be traded, and many of them were exported overseas.

Also, during the Edo period, keshi pearls from Akoya oysters came to be used as medicine, and as demand for pearls grew, Akoya oysters came to be gathered in various places throughout the country.

In particular, the Omura Domain (Nagasaki) made the gathering of Akoya oysters a monopoly of the domain, using them for export and for medicine as a source of revenue for the domain.

Pearls in the Meiji Period

In 1868, Japan entered the Meiji period.

One of the major challenges facing the new Meiji government was an extreme trade deficit. Amid calls to increase production and promote industry (shokusan kogyo), and with earning foreign currency an urgent priority, it was pearls that fisheries science researchers turned their attention to.

Taking a hint from Chinese half pearls attached to shells, research was repeated, and in 1893 Kokichi Mikimoto succeeded in cultivating half pearls attached to the inner surface of the shell.

This method was called the "jimaki method," in which the oysters were bred and then harvested by ama divers.

In 1904, Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa devised the "piece method," which is the basic principle of today's pearl cultivation. In this method, mantle tissue is attached to a nucleus to form a pearl, and it succeeded in cultivating perfectly round pearls.

Furthermore, in 1916, 藤田昌世 put into practical use the cultivation of large pearls exceeding 5mm (large at that time) in Sukumo City, Kochi Prefecture, and Japan's pearl cultivation technology became established.

The Little-Known Pearl Cultivation of Kochi

With Fujita's success in pearl cultivation, the name of Kochi pearls became known throughout the country.

However, in August 1920, Sukumo Bay was struck by an unprecedented great flood. All the cultivation rafts were washed away, the seabed was covered with mud, and the fishing grounds were left in a state close to closure.

Furthermore, Yuzo Hayashi, the investor and company president, died the following year.

The Sukumo Jinbutsushi (Biographical History of Sukumo) states that if there had been no great flood and Sukumo's pearl cultivation business had continued to develop smoothly, the map of today's pearl industry might have been completely redrawn and a "Hayashi Kingdom" might have emerged.

It also expresses regret that, although Sukumo is the very birthplace of cultured pearls that it should be proud of before the world, because the business was interrupted midway, it was overshadowed by the name of Mikimoto Pearl, and this fact remains almost unknown both in Japan and abroad.

Thus, the attempt at perfectly round pearls that sprouted in Sukumo, Kochi, came to an abrupt end.

However, the pearls born here would later deal a great shock to pearl dealers around the world.

Cultured Pearls and Natural Pearls

Commercial production of Japanese perfectly round pearls began in earnest around 1916.

At the time, pearls in the 5mm and 6mm range were the mainstream, and most of them were shipped overseas. They were sold in London and Paris and came to be traded at lower prices than natural pearls.

Because European pearl merchants at the time could hardly distinguish cultured round pearls from natural pearls, they thought there was no need to distinguish between the two, and many cultured pearls were sold mixed in with natural pearls.

In 1921, when it was reported that cultured pearls had found their way into the London market, anxiety and agitation spread among pearl merchants and pearl owners.

A well-known London jeweler issued an official statement that selling cultured pearls simply as "pearls" was a false description.

This uproar over cultured pearls spread to France as well, to the point that the Paris pearl market was temporarily closed.

Japan's perfectly round pearls dealt a great shock to the European pearl syndicates, a movement to exclude cultured pearls arose, and it eventually developed into a court case.

However, because natural and cultured pearls could not be reliably distinguished, pearl researchers came to the conclusion that cultured pearls are also genuine pearls.

In 1929, the Wall Street stock market crash triggered the worldwide Great Depression.

With the rise of Japanese cultured pearls, the European natural pearl market collapsed, and the people of Bahrain Island and the Arabian Gulf coast lost pearling, their only industry.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and Pearls

In 1930, the price of natural pearls plummeted, and trading remained difficult in Europe.

The savior at that time was Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

Chanel dearly loved pearls, and the combination of the little black dress she devised with pearls became a classic, winning overwhelming support from women.

At the same time, Chanel was also the person who popularized the field of "costume jewelry (imitation accessories)."

She liked to wear imitation pearls and real pearls in combination.

This blurred the line between the genuine and the imitation, and pearls changed from a symbol of the privileged classes into accessories to be enjoyed in coordination with one's clothes.

The 1920s, when Chanel was brilliantly active, were also the era of Art Deco. This art style became popular simultaneously in Paris, New York, London, and elsewhere.

Art Deco pursued symmetrical, functional beauty and was oriented toward standardized products; it could be called the dawn of the age of mass production.

Japanese pearls were a product symbolizing uniform standards and mass production, and they were also ideal for necklaces.

Thus, more than whether they were natural, cultured, or imitation, "being a pearl necklace" itself came to be regarded as what mattered.

Japan's Prewar Pearl Export Industry

As pearl necklaces enjoyed unprecedented popularity, Japan's production of cultured pearls also increased rapidly.

Although production temporarily decreased due to the effects of the Great Depression, it reached its highest prewar level in 1938.

On the other hand, pearl prices continued to fall.

In the 1930s, the Second Sino-Japanese War intensified, and the public came to be required to perform labor service and to economize on consumption.

For the pearl industry, an era of hardship continued.

The Postwar Pearl Industry

In 1945, Japan agreed to accept the Potsdam Declaration and surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.

Surprisingly, after the war, one of the things the occupation officers coming to Japan looked forward to was Japanese cultured pearls.

GHQ (General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) prohibited the domestic sale of pearls, while ordering designated companies to deliver the pearls they held to GHQ.

Pearls were sent for export to earn foreign currency and at the same time sold at military stores, where they sold like hotcakes.

In 1948, domestic sales and exports of pearls were partially permitted again.

At the time, pearls were one of the top products in terms of foreign currency earnings.

During World War II, pearls had been regarded as unnecessary luxury goods. After the war, however, with few notable export products, the cultured pearls Japan held were called the "stars of export" and became the savior that earned foreign currency.

At the time, 95% of total production was exported, making a great contribution to easing the food shortage as well.

The Popularity of Pearls Overseas

After the war, it was Paris fashion that drove the popularity of pearls overseas.

Christian Dior's "New Look" led the fashion world, and pearls were coordinated with its outfits.

Pearls were also loved by Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe, and women around the world came to buy pearls.

Tiffany and Cartier also began to handle Japanese cultured pearls, and pearls became indispensable with black dresses.

Japan, the Pearl Kingdom

Amid an unprecedented worldwide pearl boom, pearls had become a special gem that only Japan could supply.

One of the factors that pushed Japan to become a major producing country was the reforms carried out by GHQ.

When the fishing grounds used by major pearl cultivation companies such as Mikimoto were opened up by the Antimonopoly Act of 1947 and the new Fisheries Act of 1949, many people entered the pearl cultivation business as family units.

At the time, the center of pearl cultivation was Mie Prefecture, which accounted for more than 90% of national production.

When Mie Prefecture moved to regulate production to ease overproduction, operators who disliked the regulations moved into Shikoku and Kyushu, and pearl cultivation spread rapidly to western Japan.

The number of cultivators kept increasing, and in the 1960s 7mm pearls became the mainstream. A 6mm nucleus was inserted and cultivated over 3 years to produce a 7mm pearl.

In this way, pearl cultivation transformed coastal areas that had previously had no major industry into highly profitable areas, and developed as a local industry of those regions.

The Japanese government also established the National Pearl Research Laboratory in 1955 and promoted pearl cultivation as a national policy.

Pearl cultivation technology evolved rapidly, opening the way to mass production.

In 1961, 98% of the pearls produced were exported to the United States, Switzerland, West Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, and other countries.

The center of these exports was Kobe.

Many pearl processors and wholesalers had originally gathered in Kobe, and after the war, with the establishment of a pearl inspection agency, most of Japan's pearls came to be exported overseas from Kobe.

At the time, the pearl industry was a growth industry that knew no recession.

However, those pearl exports were about to come to a sudden stop.

The Unexpected Relationship Between the "Skirt" and Pearls

One of the causes of the halt in pearl exports was the great popularity of the miniskirt.

The miniskirt, which began in London street fashion, became a huge worldwide boom from 1966 to 1967.

Because it was thought that "miniskirts and pearls don't go well together," pearls were left behind by fashion trends, and a pearl recession began.

Furthermore, continued overproduction was causing a decline in quality at the same time.

Thus, foreign buyers suddenly stopped buying pearls, and by 1971 the value of pearl exports had fallen to about half of its peak.

The harvest (hamaage) price of pearls also fell to between one-half and one-third.

The Fisheries Agency and the pearl industry took measures against the recession, but market conditions were slow to improve, and pearl cultivators changed businesses one after another.

In 1973, however, thanks to the effects of production adjustments and recession cartels, the tide began to turn.

As the quantity of pearls on the market decreased, a sense of scarcity spread among foreign buyers, and demand for pearls recovered again.

A further tailwind was Yves Saint Laurent's "maxi style," which became popular in place of the miniskirt.

Pairing a pearl necklace with the maxi style became cutting-edge fashion, and purchases of pearls by foreign buyers increased again.

The Shift from Overseas to Domestic Sales

The trump card for overcoming the pearl recession was stimulating domestic demand.

The pearl industry, which until then had focused on exports, began to turn its attention to the domestic market.

Major pearl companies actively promoted pearls in Japan, and during the bubble era Japan became the world's largest consumer of pearls.

At the same time, changes also occurred in pearl-producing areas.

Among them, the rise of Ehime Prefecture was remarkable.

Ehime Prefecture was almost unknown in the era of natural pearls, but Ehime had long been home to the Uwa Sea, a warm, high-quality fishing ground into which the Kuroshio Current flows, and many wild Akoya oysters lived there.

From the 1960s, the Ehime prefectural authorities actively embarked on the pearl cultivation business.

Because the area was also well suited to "saibyo," the collection of young Akoya oyster spat, Ehime Prefecture became the country's leading prefecture for mother oyster cultivation.

The pearl cultivation industry also developed, and from 1974 onward Ehime often overtook Mie and Nagasaki Prefectures to become Japan's number one in production volume.

In 1990, at the height of the bubble era, Ehime Prefecture accounted for 40% of national pearl production.

The Battle Against Disease

In the 1990s, mass die-offs of Akoya oysters occurred one after another throughout the country due to deterioration of the marine environment.

In Ago Bay in Ise-Shima, water quality steadily deteriorated due to domestic wastewater accompanying hotel construction and the increase in tourists during the bubble era.

Meanwhile, the fishing grounds of Ehime Prefecture maintained a good environment.

In the Uwa Sea, seawater circulated thanks to the Kuroshio-driven "sokoiri-shio" (bottom intrusion) and other currents, and the water was deep, so the environment kept the fishing grounds from aging easily.

While "tonen-mono" pearls, cultivated for less than 1 year, became common in other prefectures, in Ehime Prefecture "koshi-mono" pearls, cultivated for 2 years, were the mainstream.

However, a new infectious disease spread even to Ehime Prefecture's excellent fishing grounds, and Akoya oysters began to die in large numbers.

In 1994, in the waters of the Bungo Channel, located between Ehime Prefecture and Oita Prefecture, an unprecedented disease broke out in which, during the high water temperatures of summer, the adductor muscles of young Akoya oysters intended as mother oysters turned reddish-orange, and the oysters weakened and died.

Because Ehime Prefecture was a major supplier of mother oysters, the disease quickly spread to the other prefectures they were shipped to, and more than half of the oysters nationwide died.

The disease did not subside after that, and in 1998 the mortality rate of Akoya oysters nationwide reached 75%.

Symptomatic Treatment for the Mass Die-Off of Akoya Oysters

The cause of the mass die-off of Akoya oysters remained unexplained for more than 10 years, and it was regarded as a mysterious infectious disease.

The countermeasure pursued against this unprecedented disaster was to create oysters resistant to the disease.

After repeated research, "hybrid oysters" were produced by crossing Akoya oysters tolerant of high water temperatures with Japanese Akoya oysters.

From around 1998, these hybrid oysters came into use, and the oyster mortality rate gradually decreased.

In this way, pearl cultivators were once again able to devote themselves to making pearls.

References

Atsumi Yamada, Shinju no Sekaishi (A World History of Pearls), Chuko Shinsho, 2013

Pearl Bay Restoration Project

In Ago Bay in Ise-Shima, activities to create artificial tidal flats using sludge from dredging began around 2000.

It was confirmed that when tidal flats and seaweed beds are restored, diverse ecosystems emerge, the sea's natural purification capacity increases, and there is an effect of suppressing red tides and hypoxia.

Akoya oysters themselves also have the ability to purify seawater.

On the other hand, it was also confirmed that pearl cultivation places a large burden on the sea, and it was recommended that oyster meat, cleaning debris, and the like not be dumped into the sea.

In 2003, the pearl industry established the NPO "Hitotsubu no Shinju" (A Single Pearl) and began activities to create forests that bring the phytoplankton that feed Akoya oysters to the sea.

Trees are being planted not only around Ago Bay but also in the Uwa Sea area, Tsushima, and elsewhere, as part of efforts to improve the marine environment.