, also known in English as is an island in the Amami archipelago of the southern Satsunan Islands 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 ...

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 ...

. The island, in area, has a population of approximately 27,000. The island is divided into three administrative

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and Amagi. The largest population center on the island is the town of Kametsu, located along the eastern shore of the island within the administrative town of Tokunoshima. Much of the island is within the borders of Amami Guntō National Park. The island is known for having the highest birth rates in Japan as well as a significant population of

supercentenarians A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

(people living significantly beyond the age of 100).

Geography

Tokunoshima is the second largest island in the Amami islands, after

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 the 15th largest island in Japan. It is more generally included within the Satsunan and

Ryukyu The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

archipelagos. Isolated from the other Amami islands, Tokunoshima is located halfway between Amami Ōshima and

Okinoerabujima , also known as Okinoerabu, is one of the Satsunan Islands, classed with the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. The island, 93.63 km² in area, has a population of approximately 14,000 persons. Administratively it is divided into th ...

. The island is of volcanic origin with a length of approximately and width of . Most of the administrative towns of Tokunoshima and Amagi are covered in mountains and rolling hills, with Mount Inokawadake at above sea level as the island's highest peak. Mount Amagidake in the north has a height of . The administrative town of Isen along the southwestern slope of the island is more flat, with fertile soil suitable for agriculture. The coast of the island is largely rugged and rocky with small sandy beaches scattered throughout as well as a series of large cliffs on the southwest edge of the island. 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 ...

. A series of large offshore rocks known as Tonbura Rocks are a prominent feature in the ocean off the northeastern coast of the island. The neighboring islands of Amami Ōshima,

Kakeromajima or Kakeroma-tō is one of the Satsunan Islands, classed with the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. The island, in area, has a population of approximately 1,600 persons. Administratively it is part of the town of Setouchi in ...

Yoroshima is one of the Satsunan Islands, classed with the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa.''Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan'', Teikoku-Shoin Co., Ltd., Tokyo, , The island, 9.35 km² in area, has a population of approximately 14 ...

Ukejima Uke Island, or , is one of the Satsunan Islands of Japan, classed with the Amami Islands, Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa.''Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan'', Teikoku-Shoin Co., Ltd., Tokyo, The island, 13.34 km² in area, ...

to the northeast and Okinoerabujima to the southwest are all visible from the island. On exceptionally clear days, the twin volcanoes of

Iōtorishima or Iwo Tori-shima, also called Okinawa Torishima (沖縄鳥島), is a volcanic island part of the Ryūkyū Island chain with the only active volcano in Okinawa Prefecture. Geography Iotourishima is located 65 km west of Tokunoshima Isla ...

, in

Okinawa Prefecture 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 o ...

, can be seen to the west. The island falls within a subtropical moist broadleaf forest

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

. Although Tokunoshima is subtropical, it receives sufficient rainfall that it has rainforests. Much of the island remains covered in

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...

s, although many areas have been extensively cleared for agriculture. There are many caves on the island, the longest of which measures and is located in the area of Isen. The climate of Tokunoshima 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

Tokunoshima is home to several rare species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the island itself or more generally to the Amami islands. 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 ...

is found only on Tokunoshima and Amami Ōshima and is listed as endangered. The Amami rabbit is sometimes called a

living fossil A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living fossi ...

because it represents an ancient Asian lineage that has elsewhere disappeared. Also endangered is the Tokunoshima spiny rat, found only on the island. Several bird species endemic to Tokunoshima and Amami Ōshima, such as

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,habu snake. The presence of habu has kept the forests on the island largely unvisited and more rugged areas relatively untouched.

History

It is uncertain when Tokunoshima was first settled. It is mentioned in the ancient Japanese chronicle '' Nihon Shoki'' in the 720s. Starting in the 11th century, Tokunoshima was the primary producer of a grey stoneware called

Kamui ware , from Tokunoshima ''kamïyaki'', is grey stoneware produced in Tokunoshima, the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan from the 11th century to the early 14th century, or from the late Heian period to the Kamakura period. Kiln sites Kam ...

that has been found in hundreds of archaeological sites throughout the Ryukyu Islands and southern

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 ...

. Several archaeological sites where Kamui ware was produced have been found on the island. These sites are now national historic sites. Until 1624, Tokunoshima 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

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...

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. Satsuma 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. In a famine in 1755, some 3000 islanders perished.

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 Tokunoshima in 1862 for less than two months, before he was resentenced to harsher conditions on

. 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 a ...

and later became part of

. 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 ...

, 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 territorie ...

until 1953, at which time it reverted to the control of Japan. In 2006,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Yukio Hatoyama is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 16 September 2009 to 8 June 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, Hatoy ...

offered the use of Tokunoshima to the United States as a relocation site for

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, northeast of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units, and has been a U.S. military ai ...

, leading to widespread protests and opposition from local officials. A protest against this plan in 2010 drew 16,000 people, more than half of the island's population.

Culture

Tokunoshima has a culture that reflects a mix of Japanese and Ryukyuan influences, with much influence from the neighboring Amami islands and from Okinawa to the south. The local cuisine of the island combines standard Japanese fare with Okinawan dishes such as '' goya chanpurū''. A popular musical instrument on the island is the ''

sanshin The is an Okinawan and Amami Islands musical instrument and precursor of the mainland Japanese (). Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings. Origins Its close resemblance in both appearance a ...

'', an Okinawan relative of the Japanese ''

shamisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usual ...

'', and the Okinawan folk dance '' eisa'' is practiced. The indigenous language of the island, the

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 ...

called

, is known on the island as ''sïmagucï'' or, in Japanese, ''shimaguchi'' ("island language"). However, the language has now largely been supplanted by standard Japanese. The Tokunoshima words for "thank you," ''oboradaren'' (Tokunoshima and Amagi towns) and ''oboradanii'' (Isen town) are widely known even among Japanese speakers. Tokunoshima is known for '' tōgyū'', a Japanese style of bullfighting in which human coaches encourage bulls with locked horns to push each other out of a ring. ''Tōgyū'' is a major event on the island and much of the island's culture revolves around the bullfights. Because of the importance of ''tōgyū'', Tokunoshima's mascot and main icon is a ''tōgyū'' bull.

Economy

The economy of the island revolves around agriculture, primarily the growth of

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,

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

, and tropical fruit such as

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es,

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

, and

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s are also grown. Sugar cane is processed at several factories into

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

and at several distilleries into brown sugar shōchū.

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 ...

is also important, as is tourism and some light manufacturing.

Transportation

The port of Kametoku, located adjacent to Kametsu in the administrative town of Tokunoshima, has regular ferry service to the towns 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 ...

on Amami and Wadomari on Okinoerabu. From Amami, the ferry continues to Kagoshima. From Okinoerabu, the ferry continues to Yoron and Okinawa. Ferries exist to

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

as well. The smaller port of Hetono, in the town of Amagi, has ferries to Kagoshima and to Setouchi on Amami. When waves are too strong on the Pacific side of the island, where Kametoku is located, the Kametoku ferries will instead land at Hetono port. Small ports primarily used by fishing or sightseeing boats exist elsewhere along the shoreline.

Tokunoshima Airport is an airport on the island of Tokunoshima, located in the town of Amagi, Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture of Japan. History Tokunoshima Airport was opened on 23 February 1962 as a private venture by Toa Domestic Airlines with a 1080- ...

, located in Amagi, is connected to Kagoshima, Amami, and Okinoerabu (with the flight continuing to Okinawa) by

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

and

Japan Air Commuter is a Japanese airline based in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture. It operates feeder services in support of Japan Airlines. Its main base is Kagoshima Airport, with hubs at Osaka International Airport, Amami Airport and Fukuoka Airport. His ...

. The main highway on the island is Kagoshima Prefecture Highway 80, which traverses the island from Tokunoshima Airport and Amagi to Kametsu and then follows the southeastern coast of the island to Isen. From Isen, Highway 83 crosses the southeast area of the island to Amagi. Highway 629 follows the northern coast of the island from Tokunoshima Airport to the village of Kedoku. Highway 617 is an inland route between Kametsu and the village of Itokina, while Highway 618 connects Kedoku to the village of Matsubara through the village of Todoroki.

Local attractions

Tokunoshima is a popular tourist destination. Hiking is discouraged because of the habu snake, but the mountain trails are exotic and beautiful. The beaches are also quite stunning, and the island's coastline includes several notable natural landmarks. On the island's north coast, Mushiroze, a striking area of chiseled stone slabs set against the ocean, is a rare example of granite rock on a predominantly volcanic and coral island. The area is named for the way the flat stone slabs resemble ''mushiro'', a Japanese term for woven straw mats. Cape Inutabu, the westernmost point of the island, features a stunning ocean view and a memorial, built in April 1968, to the Japanese battleship and her escorts, which were sunk near Tokunoshima during the final stages of World War II. Another notable seaside attraction is Innojofuta, an area of jagged, eroded coral rock with dramatic ocean vistas. At Innojofuta, a distinctive pair of eroded windows in the rock known as Megane-Iwa (Spectacles Rock) overlooks the ocean. Much of the island is included within Amami Guntō National Park, established in 2017 (replacing Amami Guntō Quasi-National Park, established in 1974).

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) *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

Tokunoshima Visitors Guide
{{Authority control Amami Islands Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture