is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
located in
Kunigami District,
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 ...
,
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 October 2016, the village 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 3,024 and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of 51 persons per km². The total area is .
Several censuses have established that this village has the highest longevity index in the world with a large percentage of the population being over 100 years old.
Geography
Ōgimi is located at the north of
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 faces 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 western coast of the island. The village consists of forested flatland, which covers 78% of the area of the Ōgimi, and sharp, craggy cliffs which face the coast. The central coastal area of Ōgimi is bisected by
Shioya Bay.
Miyagi Island
Miyagi Island or Miyagijima (宮城島, Japanese: ''Miyagi-jima'', Okinawan: ''Naagushiku-jima'') is an island located in the Yokatsu Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is also known as Takanaharijima (タカナハリジマ) in the Okinawa ...
() spans much of the entrance of the bay, and the island is connected to the mainland by the Shioya Ōhashi Bridge.
Culture
The village is a centre of production of
Ryukyuan pottery.
The Shioya Ungami Sea Festival is held at Shioya Bay and other areas of Ōgimi in July. Observance of the festival dates back 400 to 500 years to the period of the
Ryukyuan 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 th ...
, and begins with prayers at an ''asagi'', or house of worship, by ''kaminchu'', or priestesses of the
Okinawan religion
The Ryukyuan religion (琉球信仰), Ryūkyū Shintō (琉球神道), Nirai Kanai Shinkō (ニライカナイ信仰), or Utaki Shinkō (御嶽信仰) is the indigenous belief system of the Ryukyu Islands. While specific legends and traditions ...
. The religious ceremonies are followed by
dragon boat race
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s. The Unjami Festival was designated an
Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties of Japan in 1997.
Education
The village operates its public primary and junior high schools. The
Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education The Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education (沖縄県教育委員会) is the prefectural education agency of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan.
The board oversees municipal school districts in Okinawa and directly operates many high schools.
Schools di ...
operates
Hentona High School.
See also
*
Yanbaru
is the Okinawan and Kunigami name given to the forested northern part of Okinawa Island in Japan. Spanning the northern villages of Higashi, Kunigami, and Ōgimi, Yambaru contains some of the last large surviving tracts of subtropical rai ...
References
External links
*
Ōgimi official website
Villages in Okinawa Prefecture
{{Okinawa-geo-stub