, which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan.

Geography

The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima, which is 26.5 miles long and 13.5 miles at its widest (). It is situated at 32°20'N, 130°E, separated from the rest of Kumamoto Prefecture by the Yatsushiro Sea. While lacking high mountains with only four peaks surpassing , the island terrain is ruggedly hilly. To cope with the lack of flat arable land, farming is carried out on a terrace system of cultivation.

History

Amakusa, along with the neighboring Shimabara Peninsula, became the site of the

Shimabara rebellion The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular polic ...

in the 17th century, led by Christians. Following the rebellion,

Kakure Kirishitan ''Kakure kirishitan'' () is a modern term for a member of the Catholic Church in Japan that went underground at the start of the Edo period in the early 17th century due to Christianity's repression by the Tokugawa shogunate. History Origin ...

, the Christians who had survived, continued to practice their faith in secret, despite severe persecution.

Economy

Amakusa produces a little coal and pottery stone, both being used by the potters of

Hirado ware is a type of Japanese porcelain mostly made at kilns at Mikawachi, Sasebo, Nagasaki, and it is therefore also known as . It was made in the former feudal Hirado Domain, which owned the kilns, and was responsible for establishing and directing ...

and Satsuma ware. Many kilns remain on the islands today, and pottery and pottery stone are still exported.

Amakusa pottery is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally from the Amakusa islands, in Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geogra ...

has been recognised by the government. The retail company Muji brought out its own line of ''

Hakuji is a form of Japanese pottery and porcelain, normally white porcelain, which originated as an imitation of Chinese Dehua porcelain. Today the term is used in Japan to refer to plain white porcelain. It's always plain white without colored pat ...

'' home ware, which is produced out of ground translucent Amakusa stones kneaded into clay, using traditional techniques.

People

Hidenoshin Koyama, who built Thomas Blake Glover's House in Glover Garden, came from this island. Kenta and Ko-shin, two of the three members of Wanima come from the island of Amakusa.

Government

At present, the islands are organized as

Amakusa District is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Following the March 27, 2006 Amakusa merger the district consists of the single town of Reihoku. After the merger, the district has an estimated population of 9,105 and a density of 135.77 p ...

, Amakusa City, and Kami-amakusa City, all of which are under the administration of Kumamoto Prefecture.

Transport

The islands are served by

Amakusa Airfield is an airport located northwest of Amakusa, Kumamoto, Japan, on the Amakusa, Amakusa Islands . Locals often refer to the airfield as Amakusa Airport. It is located on the northern side of the Amakusa Islands, north west of Amakusa city. Only one ...

, located on the north end of Shimoshima. The islands are connected to the mainland by the

Five Bridges of Amakusa 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...

and by ferry from

Hondo Hondo may refer to: Places * Rio Hondo (disambiguation), the name of several locations, derived from the Spanish word for "deep" Canada * Hondo, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States * Hondo, New Mexico, an unincorporated com ...

and

Matsushima is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (''shima'') covered in pines (''matsu'') – hence the name – and it is considered to be one of the Three Views of Japan. Nearby cultural properties ...

. There are also ferries between the islands and the neighboring prefectures of

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

and Nagasaki Prefecture. The ferry from Oniike on the north Shimoshima to Kuchinotsu, at the southern tip of the Shimabara Peninsula, is run by the

Shimabara Railway ( for short) is a third-sector railway company in Nagasaki, Japan. Shimabara Railway also operates buses, taxis and passenger ferries; as well as other non-transport ventures. Nagasaki Prefecture and Cities in Shimabara area came to hold stocks ...

and operates hourly each day. The ferry boat from Tomioka Port in Reihoku, sailing north to Mogi in Nagasaki Prefecture, is operated by Yasuda Sangyo Kisen Co. Ltd. Ferry boat schedule, web:
Yasuda-kisen
. Two ferries from Shinwa and Ushibuka, in the south of Shimoshima, connect Amakusa to Nagashima in Kagoshima Prefecture.

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Islands of Kumamoto Prefecture Islands of the East China Sea