is one of the
Satsunan Islands, classed with the
Amami archipelago between
Kyūshū 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 ...
.
The island, in area, has a population of approximately 7,657 persons. Administratively the island forms the town of
Kikai,
Kagoshima Prefecture. Much of the island is within the borders of the
Amami Guntō Quasi-National Park
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 ...
.
Geography
Kikaijima is isolated from the other Amami islands, and is located approximately east of
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 area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...
and approximately south of the southern tip of Kyūshū. It is the easternmost island in the Amami chain. Compared with Amami Ōshima and
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 ...
, Kikaijima is a relatively flat island, with its highest point at above sea level. It is a raised coral island with limestone cliffs, and draws the attention of geologists as it is one of the fastest rising coral islands in the world.
Climate
The climate of Kikaijima is classified as has a
humid subtropical climate (
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 ...
s.
Flora and fauna
![Hyakunodai, Kikai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Hyakunodai%2C_Kikai.jpg)
Due it is relative isolation, Kikaijima is home to several rare species endemic to the island itself, or more generally to the Ryukyu archipelago. However, it is one of the few islands in the Amami chain to which 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 ...
poisonous viper is not indigenous. Larger coated nodules (25-130 mm in diameter), named macroids, have been found off Kikai-jima shelf, at water depths of 61 to 105 m.
[Bassi D., Iryu Y., Humblet M., Matsuda H., Machiyama H., Sasaki K., Matsuda S., Arai K., Inoue T., ''Recent macroids on the Kikai-jima shelf, Central Ryukyu Islands, Japan'' Sedimentology, vol. 59, pp. 2024-2041, 201]
/ref> These macroids are made up by encrusting acervulind foraminifera
Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...
. These macroids host boring bivalves whose holes represent the ichnogenus Gastrochaenolites.[Bassi D., Braga J.C., Owada M., Aguirre J., Lipps J.H., Takayanagi H., Iryu Y., ''Boring bivalve traces in modern reef and deeper water macroid and rhodolith beds'' Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, vol. 7, 202]
/ref>
History
Although the Ryukyu Islands appeared in written history as Japan's southern frontier, the name of Kikaijima was not recorded in early years. The '' Nihongi ryaku'' (c. 11th–12th centuries) states that in 998 Dazaifu, the administrative center of Kyūshū ordered ''Kikajima'' (貴駕島) to arrest the ''Nanban'' (southern barbarians), who in the previous year had pillaged a wide area of western Kyūshū. The ''Nanban'' were identified as Amami islanders by the '' Shōyūki'' (982–1032 for the extant portion). Accordingly, it is assumed that Dazaifu had a stronghold in the Kikaijima concerned.[Takanashi Osamu 高梨修, ''Rettō nan'en ni okeru kyōkai ryōiki no yōsō'' 列島南縁における境界領域の様相, Kodai makki Nihon no kyōkai 古代末期・日本の境界, pp. 85–130, 2010]
The '' Shinsarugakuki'', a fiction written by an aristocrat Fujiwara no Akihira Fujiwara no Akihira (藤原 明衡; 989? – November 14, 1066) was a Japanese nobleman and ''kanshi (poetry), kanshi'' poet of the Heian period.
Life
Fujiwara no Akihira was the second child of Fujiwara no Atsunobu. His mother was a daughter of ...
in the mid-11th century, introduced a merchant named Hachirō-mauto, who traveled all the way to the land of the '' Fushū'' in the east and to Kika-no-shima (貴賀之島) in the west.
Some articles of 1187 of the ''Azuma Kagami
is a Japanese historical chronicle.
The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...
'' state that during the period of the Taira clan's rule, Ata Tadakage
, also known as , was a de facto ruler of Satsuma Province during the late Heian period of Japan.
Life
Ata Tadakage was a son of Izaku Yoshimichi. He was a distant relative of Taira no Suemoto, who founded the Shimazu Estate in the 1020s. His na ...
of Satsuma Province
was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Satsuma" in . Its abbreviation is .
History
Satsuma's provincial capital was Satsumasendai. D ...
fled to Kikaijima (貴海島). The ''Azuma Kagami'' also states that in 1188 Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...
, who soon became ''shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamak ...
'', dispatched troops to pacify Kikaijima (貴賀井島). It was noted that the imperial court objected to the military expedition claiming that it was beyond Japan's administration.
The '' Tale of the Heike'' (13th century) depicted Kikaijima (鬼界島), where Shunkan, Taira no Yasuyori
The Taira was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian Period, Heian, Kamakura period, Kamakura and Muromachi period, Muromachi Periods of History of Japan, Japanese history – the ...
, and Fujiwara no Naritsune were exiled following the Shishigatani Incident of 1177.
The island depicted, characterized by sulfur, is identified as Satsuma Iōjima of the Ōsumi Islands
The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are the northernmost group of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain extends from the southern tip of Kyushu to Yakushima. Administratively, the group bel ...
, which is part of Kikai Caldera
(alternatively Kikaiga-shima, Kikai Caldera Complex) is a massive, mostly submerged caldera up to in diameter in the Ōsumi Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Geology
Caldera formation has been dated from about 95,000 years ago and has i ...
.
There are some controversies over which Kikaijima described in these sources refers to. It may be the modern-day Kikaijima, Satsuma Iōjima or a collective name for the southern islands. From the late 10th century, Kikaijima was seen as the center of the southern islands by mainland Japan.[Takanashi Osamu 高梨修, ''Gusuku isekigun to Kikai-ga-shima'' 城久遺跡群とキカイガシマ, Nichiryū Bōeki no reimei 日琉交易の黎明, pp. 121–149, 2008] It is also noted by scholars that the character representing the first syllable of ''Kikai'' changed from "貴" (noble) to "鬼" (ghost) from the end of the 12th century to the early 13th century.
Archaeologically speaking, the Gusuku Site Complex, discovered in Kikaijima in 2006, rewrites the history of the Ryukyu Islands. The group of archaeological sites on the plateau is one of the largest sites of the Ryukyu Islands of the era. It lasted from 9th to 13th centuries and at its height from the second half of the 11th to the first half of the 12th century. It was characterized by a near-total absence of the native Kaneku Type pottery, which prevailed in coastal communities. What were found instead were goods imported from mainland Japan, China and Korea. Also found was the Kamuiyaki pottery, which was produced in 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 ...
from the 11th to 14th centuries. The skewed distribution of Kamuiyaki peaked at Kikaijima and Tokunoshima suggests that the purpose of Kamuiyaki production was to serve it to Kikaijima. The Gusuku Site Complex supports the literature-based theory that Kikaijima was a trade center of the southern islands.
In 1306, Chikama Tokiie, a deputy ''jitō
were medieval territory stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates. Appointed by the ''shōgun'', ''jitō'' managed manors including national holdings governed by the provincial governor ( kokushi). There were also ...
'' of Kawanabe District, Satsuma Province on behalf of the Hōjō clan, the de facto ruler of the Kamakura shogunate
The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459.
The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no ...
, created a set of documents that specified properties to be inherited by his family members, which included Kikaijima, together with other islands of the Ōsumi, Tokara
The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are part of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain consists of twelve small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima. The islands have a tota ...
and Amami Islands.[Murai Shōsuke 村井章介, ''Chūsei kokka no kyōkai to Ryūkyū, Emishi'' 中世国家の境界と琉球・蝦夷, Kyōkai no Nihon-shi 境界の日本史, pp. 106–137, 1997.] After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, the southern islands seem to have been transferred to the 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 cont ...
. It claimed the ''jito'' of the Twelve Islands, which were limited to the Ōsumi and Tokara Islands. However, when Shimazu Sadahisa, the head of the clan, handed over Satsuma Province to his son Morohisa in 1363, he added the extra Five Islands as the territories to be succeeded, which seem to refer to the Amami Islands including Kikaijima.[Nagayama Shūichi 永山修一, ''Kodai chūsei ni okeru Satsuma Nantō kan no kōryū'' 古代・中世における薩摩・南島間の交流, Kyōkai no Nihon-shi 境界の日本史, pp. 145–150, 1997.]
Kikaijima was conquered by the Ryūkyū 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 t ...
. The '' Haedong Jegukgi'' (1471), whose source was a Japanese monk visiting Korea in 1453, describes Kikaijima as a territory of Ryūkyū. An article of 1462 in the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty
The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule K ...
'', which records an interview from a Jeju
Jeju may refer to:
* Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea
* Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo
**Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo
**Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo
** Jeju l ...
islander who had drifted to Okinawa in 1456, states that Kikaijima was resisting Ryūkyū's repeated invasions. According to the ''Chūzan Seikan
, compiled in 1650 by Shō Shōken, is the first official history of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. In six scrolls, the main text occupies five and an accompanying summary the sixth. Unlike later official histories such as '' Chūzan Seifu'' and '' Kyūyō ...
'' (1650), King Shō Toku
was the son of Shō Taikyū and last king of the First Shō Dynasty. He came to power as a young man in a kingdom whose treasury had been depleted. He engaged in efforts to conquer islands between Ryukyu and Japan and took the Mitsudomoe, the sy ...
himself pacified Kikaijima in 1466, claiming that Kikaijima had not paid tribute for years.[Takahashi Ichirō 高橋一郎, ''Umi no Ko-Amami'' 海の古奄美, Nichiryū Bōeki no reimei 日琉交易の黎明, pp. 151–181, 2008.]
As a result of Satsuma Domain's conquest of the Ryūkyū 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 t ...
of 1609, Kikaijima fell under the direct control of Satsuma. 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 ...
it 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 ...
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 opposing ...
, although with the other Amami Islands, it was occupied by the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
until 1953, at which time it reverted to the control of Japan.
Transportation
Kikaijima is connected by regular ferry service to Kagoshima, Amami-Oshima and various of the Amami islands.
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 ...
connects the island with Amami-Oshima and Kagoshima by air.
Economy
The economy of the island is based on agriculture (primarily 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 stalk ...
and citrus fruits) as well as commercial fishing. Seasonal tourism also plays a role in the local economy. Industry is limited to sugar refining and Shōchū production.
Strategic location
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force
, abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
maintains an important SIGINT
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...
station on the island, which includes a large Circularly Disposed Antenna Array
The Wullenweber (the original name introduced by Dr. Hans Rindfleisch was Wullenwever) is a type of Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA) sometimes referred to as a Circularly Disposed Dipole Array (CDDA). It is a large circular antenna arra ...
. The station was opened in 2006, and is considered a vital component of the MSDF's JOSIS (JMSDF Ocean Surveillance Information System).
Language
The traditional local language, a Ryukyuan language
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.
A ...
known as Kikai or Kikai-Ryukyuan, is deemed endangered, with younger generations having only limited knowledge of it, or being monolingual in Japanese.Ethnologue
/ref>
References
*Eldridge, Mark. ''The Return of the Amami Islands: The Reversion Movement and U.S.-Japan Relati''ons. 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)
External links
*
{{Authority control
Amami Islands
Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force