If the sound of stonemasons at work was what defined daytime, then nighttime was defined by the whirring sound of projectors.

The Hikari Cinema was one of the four movie theaters on Kitagi Island during the peak of the quarrying industry in the early 1900s, when over ten thousand people were living there. The facilities and projectors from the time are still here today, giving the theater a retro aesthetic. The theater continues to showcase the stonemasonry culture of the island, connecting the past to the present.

At the quarries, three men would work together to swing their hammers and strike a chisel. Their work was rhythmic, similar to the act of pounding mochi rice. In order to stay in sync, the workers would sing “Ishikiri-uta,” or stonemason’s songs. Those who sang loud and well were said to receive higher wages. The workers spent every day working up a sweat from morning until the evening, engaged in this dangerous labor. That was perhaps why the Hikari Cinema came to be relied on by so many islanders as a source of joy in their lives.

While the theater supported workers emotionally, they were physically supported by their daily meals. Their meals, known as “Ishiku-meshi,” were creatively prepared in order to replenish salt and be easily ingested. Ishiku-meshi was also prepared as an act of good luck for the workers who would be engaging in dangerous labor, and even served as a way to pray for their safety.

As time passed, iron and concrete became the main players in construction, and cheaper stone was imported from foreign countries. The need for Kitagi-ishi, which had supported Japanese architecture until then, was fading, and one after another, quarries began to shut down across the island. As the sound of quarrying grew quieter, the population of the island also diminished. At one point, the Hikari Cinema shut its doors and became vacant. After many long years, the Kitagi North Design Project breathed new life into the theater in 2014. The building was left behind with hopes that it would one day serve a purpose and be used by future islanders, and those hopes finally took shape in the reopened theater.

The Hikari Cinema continues to showcase the island’s culture and quietly shines light toward the future.