is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

located in Kagoshima Prefecture,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. As of the March 20, 2006 merger but with 2003 population statistics, the district has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 78,882 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 84.4 persons per km². The total area is 934.10 km².

Towns and villages

* Amagi *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Isen Isen may refer to: *Isen, Bavaria, a town in Germany *Isen, Kagoshima, a town in Japan * Isen (river) in Bavaria, Germany *The fictitious River Isen in Tolkien's literature * ISEN, a group of three French higher education establishments *Nissae Is ...

* Kikai * Setouchi * Tatsugō *

Tokunoshima , also known in English as is an island in the Amami archipelago of the southern Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, in area, has a population of approximately 27,000. The island is divided into three administrative ...

* Wadomari * Yoron * Uken *

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

District timeline (after WWII)

* February 28, 1946 – The district fell under

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

control except for the current village of

Mishima Mishima may refer to: Places * Mishima, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture * Mishima, Kagoshima, a village in Kagoshima Prefecture * Mishima, Niigata, a town in Niigata Prefecture * Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan ...

areas. * July 1, 1946 – The town of Naze gained city status. * September 1, 1946 – The village of China gained town status. * February 4, 1952 – Japan regains the current village of

Toshima is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku ...

areas. * February 10, 1952 – The village of

broke off from the village of

. * December 25, 1953 – The remaining parts of the district returned to Japan. * February 1, 1955 – The village of Mikata merged into the city of

Naze The Naze is a headland on the east coast of England. It is on the coast of Essex just north of Blackwater and projects into the North Sea. This area is south of the double estuary of the River Stour and River Orwell at Harwich and just nor ...

. * September 1, 1956 – The town of Koniya, and the villages of Chinzei, Saneku, and Nishikata merged to form the town of Setouchi. * September 10, 1956 – The town of Kikai and the village of Sōmachi merged to form the town of Kikai. * April 1, 1958 – The town of Kametsu and the village of Higashiamagi merged to form the town of

. * January 1, 1961 ** The village of Kasari gained town status. ** The village of Amagi gained town status. * January 1, 1962 – The village of Isen gained town status. * January 1, 1963 – The village of Yoron gained town status. * April 1, 1973 – The district transferred the villages of

and

to Kagoshima District. * February 10, 1975 – The village of Tatsugō gained town status. * March 20, 2006 – The village of Sumiyō and town of Kasari merged with the city of

to form the new city of Amami.

Transportation

Kikai Airport , also known as Kikaijima Airport or Kikaiga Shima Airport, is located in Kikai, a town on Kikaijima (also known as Kikai Island, Kikaishima, Kikaigashima, etc.), one of the Amami Islands in the Kagoshima Prefecture of Japan. History An airstri ...

is located in the district.

Amami Reversion Movement

The "restoration of Ōshima District of Kagoshima Prefecture" was a slogan of the

Amami reversion movement The was a sociopolitical movement that called for the return of the Amami Islands (and the smaller Tokara Islands to the north) from the U.S. military occupation to Japanese administration. It was mainly led by two groups, (1) the Fukkyō, or Am ...

during the United States military occupation of the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

from 1945/6 to 1953. An overwhelming majority of people of Amami, including those in mainland Japan, urged the immediate return of the islands to Japan. The reversion movements except those by leftist minorities tried to differentiate Amami from

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

because the U.S. seemingly intended permanent control of Okinawa. They opposed the name "Northern Ryukyu" occasionally labeled by the U.S. occupiers. Instead they used "Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture" as a symbol of national belongingness.Takahashi Takayo 高橋孝代, ''Esunishiti to aidentiti'' (エスニシティとアイデンティティ), Kyōkai no jinruigaku 境界性の人類学, pp. 165–248, 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshima District, Kagoshima Districts in Kagoshima Prefecture