, is one of the

Tokara Islands 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 total ...

, a sub-group 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, Ya ...

belonging 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 ...

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 n ...

. The island, 7.42 km² in area, has a population of 59 persons. The island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport; there is a ferry service twice per week to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland. Travel time is about 11 hours. The islanders are dependent mainly on fishing and seasonal tourism.

Geography

Akusekijima is located southwest of

Nakanoshima is a 3 km long and 50 hectares narrow sandbank in Kita-ku, Osaka city, Japan, that divides the Kyū-Yodo into the Tosabori and Dōjima rivers. Many governmental and commercial offices (including the city hall of Osaka), museums and other ...

. The island has an area of approximately with a length of about and a width of .Most of the island is surrounded by steep cliffs. The island is an

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

–

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained ( aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyo ...

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and peri ...

formed by two summit crater, and . . , the highest elevation on the island, is a

lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

. Lava flows in the northern portion of the island have been dated to 80,000 years ago. There has been no volcanic activity in historic times. Its climate is classified as subtropical, with a rainy season from May through September.

History

Until 1624, the island 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 ...

. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, Takarajima was part of

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, l ...

and was administered as part of Kawabe District. In 1896, the island was transferred to the administrative control of

Ōshima District, Kagoshima is a district located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of the March 20, 2006 merger but with 2003 population statistics, the district has an estimated population of 78,882 and a density of 84.4 persons per km2. The total area is 934.10 k ...

, and from 1911 was part of the village of

Toshima, Kagoshima is a village consisting of the islands of the Tokara Islands located in the Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The village office is located in the city of Kagoshima, outside the village. As of 2013, the vill ...

. From 1946-1952, the island was administered by the United States as part of the Provisional Government of Northern Ryukyu Islands. During

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, on 22 August 1944, ''

Tsushima Maru ''Tsushima Maru'' ( ja, 対馬丸) was a Japanese passenger/cargo ship that was sunk by the submarine USS ''Bowfin'' during World War II, while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren from Okinawa to Nagasaki. Description Tsushima Maru was carry ...

,'' a Japanese passenger/cargo ship, was sunk just outside Akusekijima’s northwest coast by

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

es launched by the

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

off this island, killing 1,484 civilians including 767 schoolchildren. Annual commemorations are held on the island and there is also a memorial museum. Akusekijima drew attention during the

Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of the orbit on July 22, 2009, with a magnitude of 1.07991. It was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century, the longest total solar eclipse during the 3rd millennium wil ...

, which was the longest total solar eclipse of the twenty-first century, as the island was one of the closest inhabited areas to the location of maximum eclipse duration. Touted as was one of the best observation spots for the event, village officials and island residents were concerned about playing host to hundreds of people coming to view the solar eclipse. Akusekijima only has five small minshuku

guesthouse A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...

s, which can only accommodate up to 66 people, and water resources are limited as rainfall is the primary source of water.

Culture

Akusekijima is also famous for the masked god , the island deity. Islanders donning Boze masks come out during the annual lunar

O-Bon or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

matsuri Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance ...

.'' Protectors of the island and its natural assets, the Boze frighten small children to ensure their safety for the coming year.

References

*National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGIA). ''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Japan Enroute''. Prostar Publications (2005).

External links

Akusekijima
- Toshima Village Official Website

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{Tokara Islands Tokara Islands Stratovolcanoes of Japan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture Volcanoes of Kagoshima Prefecture

Geography

History

Culture

See also

References

External links