History and Cultural Heritage of Izena Island during the Ryukyu Kingdom Era ■ vol.3 “Sakata” Born into a farmer’s family, Machigani (also read as Matsukane) was industrious from childhood and devoted himself to rice farming and other agricultural work. One year, the island suffered a drought and the water in every paddy dried up, yet only Machigani’s rice field remained full of water. One story says that the island’s young women, who admired Machigani for his diligence and good looks, carried water to his fields every night. In reality, his fields were terraced, and a spring gushed from the upper terrace so that water continuously flowed down to the lower paddies, preventing them from drying out. While the other young men’s fields were larger in area, they lacked water and relied on prayers, Machigani’s smaller field prospered and the rice ears ripened. This suggests he was clever and resourceful. However, the island youths who envied his popularity accused him, saying “The reason his water never runs out is that he is stealing from other paddies,” and they heaped false charges of water stealing on him, criticizing him in chorus and even plotting to get rid of him. This is the “misunderstanding” described in vol.2. Feeling his life was in danger, Machigani decided to leave the island. This terraced field remains almost in its original form and still produces a continuous flow of water. It is now managed by the village board of education, and each year the island children’s association experiences rice planting through harvest there. (Suspended during the COVID-19 period.) At this site, a monument engraved with poems remains, composed by the miyārabi (island maidens) of the time who sang about Machigani after he left the island; the monument reveals that Machigani was both admired and loved by the island’s young women. Content of the monument “We wish we could have seen Machigani working more, wearing his short garment.” This poem expresses the maidens’ romantic longing for Machigani and their loneliness after his departure. *Machigani (Machigani) = the name of Shō En during his youth on Izena Island. *Kanamaru = the name Shō En used after leaving the island. *Shō En = the name he took when he became king. *Miyārabi = young women, maidens