When Kunio Yanagita, a famous Japanese folklorist, visited this area and tried to meet someone named Iwami, the people around him said, “Everyone around here is an Iwami, we don’t know who you’re talking about.” The reason for this is that many people had immigrated from the Iwami region, where the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine is located, in Shimane Prefecture. When people decided on their surnames in the Meiji period, everyone took the surname Iwami.

Many of the people who immigrated were fishermen, and it’s said they crossed the sea in search of a new life. Since Sado Island was connected to various places through the Sea of ​​Japan, such immigration was common.

Even today, you can easily find a nameplate with “Iwami” in Himezu. And on the houses of Sado, you can also see tiles called “Iwami tiles.” Be sure to look for the reddish-brown roofs.