, also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between

Kyūshū 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 surround ...

and

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 ...

. It is one of the

Satsunan Islands The is a geopolitical name for a group of islands that forms the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands. The whole island group belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Major islands * Satsunan Islands ** Ōsumi Islands with: *** Tanegashima, Yakus ...

. The island, 712.35 km² in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is divided into the city of Amami, the towns of Tatsugō, Setouchi, and the villages of Uken and

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 ...

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 ...

. Much of the island is within the borders of the

Amami Guntō National Park is a national park in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2017, the park comprises a land area of and a sea area of . The national park includes areas of these islands: Tokunoshima, Kikai, Amami, Yoron, Okinoerabujima, Uke Island, K ...

. In 2021, it was listed as part of the serial UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

of Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island.

History

It is uncertain when Amami Ōshima was first settled. Stone tools indicate settlement in the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...

period, and other artifacts, including pottery, indicate a constant contact with Jōmon,

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

and

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

Japan. The island is mentioned in the ancient Japanese chronicle '' Nihon Shoki'' in an entry for the year 657 AD. During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

and early

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

it was a stopping place for envoys from Japan to the court of

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

China.

Mother of pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

was an important export item to Japan. Until 1611, Amami Ōshima was part of the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

. The island was invaded by

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

from

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast ...

in 1609 and its incorporation into the official holdings of that domain was recognized by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

in 1624. Shimazu rule was harsh, with the inhabitants of the island reduced to serfdom and forced to raise

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

to meet high taxation, which often resulted in famine.

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsum ...

was exiled to Amami Ōshima in 1859, staying for two years, and his house has been preserved as a memorial museum. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

Amami Ōshima was incorporated into

Ōsumi Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga and Satsuma Provinces. Osumi's ancient capital was near modern Kokubu. During the Sengoku a ...

and later became part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, along with the other Amami Islands, it was occupied by the United States until 1953, at which time it reverted to the control of Japan. Since February 1974, a area that includes portions of the island and surrounding sea was protected as the Amami Gunto Quasi-national Park. The area also has a large

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

forest. In December 2001 there was a naval battle called the Battle of Amami-Ōshima between an armed

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n spy craft and

Japanese Coast Guard The is the coast guard of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. ...

ships near Amami Ōshima. The spy craft violated the

Exclusive economic zone of Japan Japan has the eighth-largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world. The total area of Japan is about 37 km. Japan's EEZ area is vast and the territorial waters (including the Seto Inland Sea) and EEZ together is about 12 milli ...

. This was a six-hour confrontation that ended with the sinking of the North-Korean vessel. In 2017 the

was established. It absorbed the former Amami Gunto Quasi-national Park and other land and sea areas in adjacent

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Geography

Amami Ōshima is the seventh-largest island in the

Japanese archipelago The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a archipelago, group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to t ...

after the four main islands,

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

and

Sado Island is a city located on in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area is urbanized. Sado is the sixth largest island of Japan in area following the four main islands and Ok ...

(excluding the disputed

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

). It is located approximately south of the southern tip of Kyūshū and north of

. The island is of volcanic origin, with Mount Yuwanda at above sea level at its highest peak. The coast of the island is surrounded by a

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

, and the island may also have been home to some of the northernmost coral reefs in Japan during the last glacial period. It is surrounded by the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

on the west and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

on the east. File:Amami_beach.jpg, Coastal area of Amami Ōshima File:View_of_Katetsu_cove_from_nearby_Manen-zaki.jpg, View of Katetsu cove from nearby Manen-zaki(Cape Manen) File:Mangrove_in_amami.JPG, Mangrove forest of the

in Amami Ōshima File:Kinsakubaru_wildwood.jpg, Kinsakubaru wildwood in Amami Ōshima

Administration

(Amami)

Amami Ōshima belongs to

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 ...

. It consists of the following municipalities. * Amami * Tatsugo * Yamatomura * Usomura * Part of Setouchi-cho

Climate

The climate of Amami Ōshima is classified as a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with very warm summers and mild winters. The rainy season lasts from May through September. The island is subject to frequent

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

Fauna

Amami Ōshima is home to several rare or endangered endemic animals, including the

Amami rabbit The Amami rabbit (''Pentalagus furnessi''; ), or , also known as the Ryukyu rabbit is a dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima, two small islands between southern Kyūshū and Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture ...

and the

Lidth's jay Lidth's jay (''Garrulus lidthi'') or the Amami jay, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to Japan. Measuring up to in total length,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 ...

. The Amami rabbit is sometimes called a living fossil because it represents an ancient Asian lineage that has elsewhere disappeared. The island is also home to the

habu is a Ryukyuan and Japanese name referring to certain venomous snakes: * The following species are found in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan: ** '' Protobothrops elegans'', a.k.a. the Sakishima habu, found in the southern Ryukyu Islands ** ''Protoboth ...

, a venomous snake that can be found throughout the Ryūkyū Islands.

Mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

s were introduced to kill the habu, but have become another problem, as an increase in the mongoose population has been linked to the decline of the Amami rabbit and other endemic species.

Whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

to see

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...

s has become a featured attraction in winter in recent years.Oki K., 2014
Amami whale and dolphin association
retrieved on 28-05-2014 It is also notable that

North Pacific right whale The North Pacific right whale (''Eubalaena japonica'') is a very large, thickset baleen whale species that is extremely rare and endangered. The Northeast Pacific population, which summers in the southeastern Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, may ...

, the most endangered of all whale species, have repeatedly appeared around the island (there are five records of three sightings, a capture, and a stranding since 1901) and , Amami is the only location in

where this species has been confirmed in the past 110 years. It is also one of two locations in the world along with the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

where constant appearance in winter has been confirmed since the 20th century. Discovery of

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops aduncus'') is a species of bottlenose dolphin. This dolphin grows to long, and weighs up to . It lives in the waters around India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and the eastern ...

s in Seto strait made it the first confirmation in the nation. Other species include whales ( Bryde's,

sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...

), smaller whales or dolphins ( false killer,

spinner Technology *Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI * Spinner (MIT Med ...

, spotted), and so on. Before being wiped out, many large whales such as

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

and

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

were seasonal migrants. The island marks the northernmost limit of

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

distribution, with occasional sightings throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. Amami Oshima is the only place where a nesting of

leatherback turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...

has been seen in Japan.

Demographics

Amami Oshima had a population of 73,000 people in 2013. 44,561 people live in the city of Amami. The total area of Amami city is 308.15 km² with a population density of 145 persons per km².

Economy

The economy of Amami Ōshima is based on agriculture (

, rice and

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

es),

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

, and the distillation of shōchū. The favorable climate allows for two rice crops a year. Seasonal tourism is also an important part of the economy. The traditional crafts include the production of high quality hand-crafted silk, which has, however, suffered from the abandonment of traditional Japanese clothing and competition from overseas.

Transportation

The port 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 ...

, located in the city of Amami is a major regional shipping and ferry hub.

Amami Airport is an airport located east northeast Amami, a city on Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in are ...

, located at the northern end of the island, is connected to Tokyo, Osaka,

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

, Fukuoka and Kagoshima as well as local flights to the other

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 ...

. There are bus routes and roads on the island.

Language

Two dialects of the Amami language are spoken in Amami Ōshima: the Northern Ōshima dialect and the Southern Ōshima dialect. These dialects are part of the

Ryukyuan languages The , also Lewchewan or Luchuan (), are the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Along with the Japanese language and the Hachijō language, they make up the Japonic language family. Al ...

group. According to ''

Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...

'', there were about 10,000 speakers of the Northern Ōshima dialect and about 1,800 speakers of the Southern Ōshima dialect. These dialects are now spoken mostly by older residents of the island, while most of the younger generations are monolingual in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. The Amami language, including the Ōshima dialects, is classified as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. There is also a

village sign language A village sign language, or village sign, also known as a shared sign language, is a local indigenous sign language used by both deaf and hearing in an area with a high incidence of congenital deafness. Meir ''et al.'' define a village sign languag ...

, named as Amami Oshima Sign Language, being used in the area.

Notable people from Amami Ōshima

* Kenji Midori – karateka *

Ikue Asazaki is a Japanese folk singer. She grew up on the Amami Islands (in Setouchi, Kagoshima) which are famous for spawning popular singers of shima-uta, Amami's traditional music genre. Her father influenced her early music strongly during her upbrin ...

– singer *

Chitose Hajime is a Japanese singer from Amami Ōshima. She sings in the shima-uta style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. History Early life Chitose Hajime began learning shamisen under her mother's encouragement from a young ag ...

– singer *

Kousuke Atari is a Japanese pop singer. He is a self-trained musician, and performs in the shimauta (island-song) style of his hometown. Discography Albums * 999.04.04Atari (アタリ) (Indies) * 000.07.30Kurudando (くるだんど) (Indies) * 002.06. ...

– singer * Minami Kizuki – singer *

Rikki Rikki is a given name of feminine and masculine usage. It is of European, East Asian, and South Asian origins. Notable people with the name include: Rikki(born 1990), Jewish-American pop princess * Rikki (Japanese singer) (born 1975), Japanese fo ...

– singer * Rena Takeshita – fashion model * Domingos Chohachi Nakamura – Catholic missionary, who was born in Nagasaki and lived 26 years in Amami Oshima *

Daiamami Genki is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tatsugō, Kagoshima. After a successful amateur career, he turned professional in January 2016, making the top ''makuuchi'' division in November of the following year. His highest rank has been ' ...

– Sumo wrestler *

Meisei Chikara is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Setouchi, Kagoshima. He debuted in sumo wrestling in July 2011 and made his ''makuuchi'' debut in July 2018. His highest rank has been ''sekiwake''. He wrestles for Tatsunami stable. Unusually for ...

- Sumo wrestler *

Reona Reona ( ; stylized as ReoNa, born October 20, 1998) is a Japanese singer who is signed to Sacra Music. Having been active as a cosplayer and independent musician, she made her major debut in 2018 as the singing voice of the character Elza Kanzak ...

- singer

References

*Eldridge, Mark. ''The Return of the Amami Islands: The Reversion Movement and U.S.–Japan Relations''. Levington Books (2004) *Hellyer. Robert. ''Defining Engagement: Japan and Global Contexts, 1640–1868''. Harvard University Press (2009) *Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Most Daring Raid of the Samurai''. Rosen Publishing Group (2011) *Ravina, Mark. ''The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori''.　Whiley (2011) *Yeo, Andrew. ''Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests''. Cambridge University Press. (2011)

External links

Visitors Guide
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amami Oshima Amami Islands Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture