Higashi Kagawa City is located on the eastern edge of Kagawa Prefecture. It is blessed with a beautiful natural environment with Harima Bay on the north, Sanuki City to the west and Tokushima Prefecture to the south and east along the Asan Mountains. It has a population of about 28,000.

Hiketa, which was known as the ‘port-waiting-for-the-wind,' flourished as a land and sea transportation hub for sugar, salt, cotton and other local products.

Art installations will be centered in Hiketa Town, home to ancient merchant houses and machiya townhouses that reflect its prosperous past, with a focus on its current role as Japan’s largest glove manufacturing region.

The beginnings of the glove industry in Higashi Kagawa date back 135 years. Today, 90 percent of gloves produced in Japan for fashion, warmth and every type of sport are made here, making it one of the largest glove production centers in the world. The Kagawa Glove Museum introduces the local industry’s history, displaying such items as gloves made for famous athletes, gloves made from various materials, and old sewing machines, offering visitors a glimpse into Japan’s largest glove manufacturing area.

Hiketa is the birthplace of hamachi (young yellowtail) farming. Building on this experience, local fishermen succeeded in farming their own brand of buri, mature yellowtail. Called Hiketa buri, it is raised in specially designed spacious holding tanks that more closely resemble the natural environment. The buri are thus healthier and their flesh is firm.Wasanbon, a prized sugar made from sugar cane using methods dating back several centuries, has a deep, refined flavor. At the Sanshu Izutsu Residence, which now houses a museum, tourist information center, and gift shop, visitors can try using sugar molds to shape sugar.