Ogasawara Archipelago
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The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic reading of ''mujin''), meaning "no people" or "
uninhabited The list of uninhabited regions includes a number of places around the globe. The list changes year over year as human beings migrate into formerly uninhabited regions, or migrate out of formerly inhabited regions. List As a group, the list of ...
". The only inhabited islands of the group are
Chichijima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , ...
(), the seat of the municipal government, and
Hahajima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of the Hahajima Rettō (Imōtojima is mislabeled as Tori-shima) , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Hahajima , pushpin_label_position = , pushp ...
(). Archeological evidence has revealed that some of the islands may have been prehistorically inhabited by members of an unknown Micronesian ethnicity.小笠原・火山(硫黄)列島の歴史
/ref> Ogasawara Municipality (''mura'') and
Ogasawara Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The subprefecture covers the Ogasawara Archipelago and is coterminous with the village of Ogasawara. The prefectural government maintains a main office on Chichijima and a branch office on Hahajim ...
take their names from the Ogasawara Group. The is also used as a wider collective term that includes other islands in Ogasawara Municipality, such as the
Volcano Islands The or are a group of three Japanese-governed islands in Micronesia. They lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and belong to the municipality of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The islands are all active volcanoes lying atop ...
, along with three other remote islands ( Nishinoshima,
Minamitorishima , also known as Marcus Island, is an isolated Japanese coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located some southeast of Tokyo and east of the closest Japanese island, South Iwo Jima of the Ogasawara Islands, and nearly on a straight line ...
, and
Okinotorishima , or Parece Vela, is a coral reef with two rocks enlarged with tetrapod-cement structures. It is administered by Japan with a total shoal area of and land area . Its dry land area is mostly made up by three concrete encasings and there is a ...
). Geographically speaking, all of these islands are parts of the
Nanpō Islands The is a collective term for the groups of islands that are located to the south of the Japanese archipelago in Micronesia. They extend from the Izu Peninsula west of Tokyo Bay southward for about , to within of the Mariana Islands. The Nanp ...
. A total population of 2,560 (2021), 2,120 on Chichijima and 440 on Hahajima, lives in the Ogasawara Group, which has a total area of . Because the Ogasawara Islands have never been connected to a continent, many of their animals and plants have undergone unique evolutionary processes. This has led to the islands' nickname of "The Galápagos of the Orient", and their nomination as a natural
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 ...
on June 24, 2011. The
giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Trac ...
(genus ''Architeuthis'') was photographed off the Ogasawara Islands for the first time in the wild on 30 September 2004, and was filmed alive there in December 2006. A radio telescope is located in Chichijima, one of the stations of the
very-long-baseline interferometry Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometer, astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telesco ...
(VLBI) Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) project, and is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.


History

Prehistoric tools and carved stones, discovered on
North Iwo Jima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Kita-Iwō-jima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = North Iwo Jima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_relief ...
at the end of the 20th century, as well as stone tools discovered on Chichi-jima, indicate the islands might have been populated in ancient times.


Early claims

The first recorded visit by Europeans to the islands happened on 2 October 1543, when the Spanish explorer
Bernardo de la Torre Bernardo de la Torre was a Spanish sailor, primarily noted for having explored parts of the Western Pacific Ocean south of Japan in the 16th century. Bernardo de la Torre sailed under the instructions of Ruy López de Villalobos, who sent him in Au ...
on the ''San Juan'' sighted
Haha-jima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of the Hahajima Rettō (Imōtojima is mislabeled as Tori-shima) , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Hahajima , pushpin_label_position = , pushp ...
, which he charted as ''Forfana''. At that time, the islands were uninhabited. Japanese discovery of the islands occurred in ''
Kanbun A is a form of Classical Chinese used in Japan from the Nara period to the mid-20th century. Much of Japanese literature was written in this style and it was the general writing style for official and intellectual works throughout the period. ...
'' 10 (1670) and was followed by a shogunate expedition in ''
Enpō (contemporarily written as 延寳) is the after '' Kanbun'' and before ''Tenna was a after ''Enpō'' and before '' Jōkyō.'' This period spanned the years from September 1681 through February 1684. The reigning emperor was . Change of er ...
'' 3 (1675). The islands were then referred to as , literally "the
uninhabited islands A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotype ...
". Shimaya Ichizaemon, the explorer at the order of the shogunate, inventoried several species of trees and birds, but after his expedition, the shogunate abandoned any plans to develop the remote islands. In 1727, , a
rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...
, claimed that the islands were discovered by his ancestor , in 1593, ( Tensho 20), and the territory was granted as a fief by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
. However, investigation of the claim found that it was a fraud and the very existence of Sadayori was doubtful; as a punishment Sadato was exiled by the shogunate (1735). The first published description of the islands in the West was brought to Europe by
Isaac Titsingh Isaac Titsingh FRS ( January 1745 – 2 February 1812) was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Isaak Titsingh" in . During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the ...
in 1796. His small library of Japanese books included by
Hayashi Shihei was a Japanese military scholar and a retainer of the Sendai Domain. His name is sometimes transliterated (according to the Sino-Japanese reading) as ''Rin Shihei''. Biography Hayashi was born in Edo as the second son of Hayashi Gonhyoue Yosh ...
. This book, which was published in Japan in 1785, briefly described the
Ogasawara 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 ...
. These groups were collectively called ''Islas del Arzobispo'' (Archbishop Islands) in Spanish sources of the 18th–19th century. This name is most likely due to an expedition organized by the Arzobispo ( Archbishop)
Pedro Moya de Contreras Pedro Moya de Contreras (sometimes ''Pedro de Moya y Contreras'') (c. 1528, Pedroche, Córdoba Province, Spain – December 21, 1591, Madrid) was a prelate and colonial administrator who held the three highest offices in the Spanish colon ...
, Viceroy of New Spain, to explore the northern Pacific and the islands of Japan. Its main objective was to find the long sought and legendary islands of ''Rica de Oro'' (Rich in Gold), ''Rica de Plata'' (Rich in Silver) and the ''Islas del Armenio'' (Islands of the Armenian). After several years of planning and frustrated attempts the expedition finally set sail on 12 July 1587 commanded by
Pedro de Unamuno Pedro de Unamuno was a Spanish soldier and sailor who was active in New Spain and Spanish East Indies, particularly the Philippines, in the second half of the 16th century. He is known for commanding the galleon ''Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza' ...
. Even if it did revisit the
Daitō Islands The are an archipelago consisting of three isolated coral islands in the Philippine Sea southeast of Okinawa. The islands have a total area of and a population of 2,107. Administratively, the whole group belongs to Shimajiri District of Okina ...
, already charted by
Bernardo de la Torre Bernardo de la Torre was a Spanish sailor, primarily noted for having explored parts of the Western Pacific Ocean south of Japan in the 16th century. Bernardo de la Torre sailed under the instructions of Ruy López de Villalobos, who sent him in Au ...
in 1543, the expedition could not find the wanted islands after searching the positions where they were charted in contemporary references. Japanese maps at the time seem to have been rather inaccurate and therefore considered by some to be deliberately misleading. It is thought that this was an attempt to discourage colonization attempts by foreign nations.
Frederick William Beechey Frederick William Beechey (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer. Life and career He was the son of two painters, Sir William Beechey, RA and his second wife, Anne ...
used the Spanish name as late as 1831 and believed that the Japanese ''Boninsima'' referred to entirely different islands. On 12 September 1824 American Captain James Coffin in the
whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
first visited the southern group of islands (''Coffin Islands''). He visited the archipelago again in 1825 but this time he arrived at the middle group of islands (''Beechey Group''). In September 1825, the British whaling ship ''Supply'' landed in the southern Bailey Group of islands. In 1826, another British whaler, ''William'', arrived at Beechey Island. Whaling ships called on a regular basis, for water and turtles, before continuing their voyages.


British possession

In 1827 Captain F. W. Beechey of reached the island chain and claimed them as a British possession. A copper plate was removed from ''Blossom''s hull and left on a beach as a marker of the claim: He also named the island of Chichijima "Peel" after then British Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel. Beechey was also surprised to find two men living on the islands. They remained on the islands after the ''William'' left the year before in 1826. The men were Wittrein and Petersen. In 1830, with the help of British Consul to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) Richard Charlton, Richard Millichamp, and Matteo Mazzaro sailed to the islands. The first permanent colony was made up of
Nathaniel Savory Nathaniel Savory (1794 - 1874) was one of the first American colonists who is said to have settled on the Ogasawara Islands. He eventually became governor, and played an active role in government before and during the colonization by Japan. Lif ...
of Bradford, Massachusetts, America, Richard Millichamp of
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, England; Matteo Mazzaro of Ragusa/
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(now in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
); Alden B. Chapin and Nathaniel Savory of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
; Carl Johnsen of
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
; as well as seven unnamed men and 13 women from the Kingdom of Hawaii. They found the climate suitable for farming and the raising of livestock. Rum was made from cane sugar, and bordellos were opened, somtimes staffed by women kidnapped from other island chains. Whalers and other ships that could not find another friendly port in Japan often visited the Bonins for provision and recreation. Two years later the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland#Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland published a posthumous, abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation of ''Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu''. Further settlers arrived in 1846, aboard the whaling ship ''Howard''. They established themselves initially in South Island. (One of them, a woman from the Caroline Islands named Hypa, died in 1897 age about 112, after being baptized on her deathbed.) Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the United States Navy visited the islands in 1853 and bought property at Port Lloyd from Savory for $50. The US "Colony of Peel Island" (Chichijima) was created and Savory was appointed governor.


Japanese possession

In January 1862 (Bunkyū 1), the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan claimed the islands in a short-lived colonial enterprise. The shogunal steamboat ''Kanrin Maru'' was dispatched to the islands with a crew of cartographers, physicians and prominent bureaucrats. The islands were now officially named Ogasawara, referring to the legendary Japanese discoverer from the late 16th century. This tentative colonization, however, did not last for long. In summer 1863, under foreign pressure, the shogunate ordered the evacuation of the islands. In 1875 the Japanese Meiji government reclaimed the islands. The Japanese names of each island were resolved and 38 settlers from Hachijojima were sent the following year. In 1876 the islands were put under the direct control of the Home Ministry (Japan), Home Ministry. Further foreign settlement was banned, and the government assisted settlers who wished to relocate there from mainland Japan. The islands' forests were also cut down for sugar cane production. Colonists largely segregated themselves in two different villages, one for the Americans and the other for the Japanese. Islanders of European and US ancestry were eventually granted Japanese nationality in 1882. Jack London visited the islands in 1893 and published an account of his sojourn. Lionel Cholmondeley compiled a history of the islands over the course of several years. His work was published in London in 1915. In 1917, 60–70 island people claimed ancestry among the 19th-century English-speaking settlers; however, in 1941, no Bonin people would acknowledge descent from these early colonists. The current residents include some who claim to be related to Nathaniel Savory. In the winter of 1920–1921, Russian Futurism, Russian Futurist painter David Burliuk lived in the Bonin Islands and painted several landscapes of the islands. The islanders were relegated to an insignificant status up through the early Shōwa period. After Japan's attack on the American naval base at Attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, English was banned on the Bonins, and Americans had to take on Japanese names. As fighting creeped closer to Japan during the later stage of the World War II, war, most inhabitants were forcibly evacuated to the mainland. There was a Japanese military base on Chichijima run by a Major , who was known for engaging in cannibalism and other acts on prisoners of war.Welch, Jeanie M
"Without a Hangman, Without a Rope: Navy War Crimes Trials After World War II,"
''International Journal of Naval History.'' Vol. 1, No. 1 (April 2002).
The Torpedo bomber, torpedo bomber of later American President George H. W. Bush crashed in the ocean near Chichijima. He ended up getting rescued by USS Finback (SS-230), USS Finback and becoming the only one to ultimately survive. Eight other airmen downed near the islands were later Chichijima incident, executed and cannibalized by the Japanese soldiers. Matoba Sueo was eventually hanged for his crimes after the war. The Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, one of the fiercest battles of World War II, was fought on a garrison island in this region of the Pacific.


Navy Time

Following Surrender of Japan, Japan's surrender, the islands were controlled by the United States Navy for the next 23 years, which the Westerners referred to as "Navy Time." All residents except those Ōbeikei, descended from the original settlers and/or related to them by marriage were expelled, while pre-war inhabitants of White American or White people, European, Micronesian or Polynesians, Polynesian ancestry were allowed to return. Vacant properties of exiled Japanese were bulldozed as part of the Navy's management of nuclear weapons on Chichijima. In 1956, the residents petitioned for American annexation of the islands but received no response. In 1968, without consulting them, the United States government returned the Bonins to Japanese control. The Americans could choose to either become Japanese nationals or to receive American citizenship and repatriate to the United States. Initially some 600 Japanese relocated to the islands, growing to about 2,000 by the end of the 20th century.


Economy

Ogasawara has a reputation as a tourist destination, but they also produce their own unique fruits and vegetables. More recently, they have also had success in producing coffee.


Geography and administration

The Bonin Islands consist of three subgroups, which are listed below along with their main islands: * Mukojima islands, Muko-jima Group ( ) – formerly Parry Group: **Muko-jima (, ); **Yome-jima (嫁島, ) – formerly Kater ; **Nakōdo-jima or Nakadachi-jima (媒島, ); **Kita-no-jima (北の島 or 北島, ); **Mae-jima – formerly the Ears; * Chichi-jima Group (父島列島 ) – formerly Beechey Group: **Chichi-jima (父島, ) – formerly Main I./Peel I.; **Ani-jima (兄島, ) – formerly Hog I./Buckland I.; **Otōto-jima (弟島, ) – formerly North I./Stapleton I.; **Mago-jima (孫島 ); **Higashi-jima (東島 ) **Nishi-jima (西島 ) – formerly Goat I.; **Minami-jima (南島 ) – formerly Knorr I.; * Haha-jima Group (母島列島 ) – formerly Baily Group or Coffin Islands: **
Haha-jima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of the Hahajima Rettō (Imōtojima is mislabeled as Tori-shima) , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Hahajima , pushpin_label_position = , pushp ...
(母島, ) – formerly Hillsborough I.; **Mukō-jima (向島, ) – formerly Plymouth I.; **Hira-jima or Taira-jima (平島, ) **Ane-jima (姉島, ) – formerly Perry I.; **Imōto-jima (妹島, ) – formerly Kelly I.; **Mei-jima (姪島, ) Administratively, the
Volcano Islands The or are a group of three Japanese-governed islands in Micronesia. They lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and belong to the municipality of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The islands are all active volcanoes lying atop ...
, Nishinoshima (Rosario Island),
Okinotorishima , or Parece Vela, is a coral reef with two rocks enlarged with tetrapod-cement structures. It is administered by Japan with a total shoal area of and land area . Its dry land area is mostly made up by three concrete encasings and there is a ...
(Parece Vela), and
Minamitorishima , also known as Marcus Island, is an isolated Japanese coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located some southeast of Tokyo and east of the closest Japanese island, South Iwo Jima of the Ogasawara Islands, and nearly on a straight line ...
(Marcus Island), are today part of Ogasawara, Tokyo, Ogasawara municipality. It is a Subprefectures of Japan, Subprefecture of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tōkyō" in ; in Geographically, they are not traditionally considered part of the Bonin Islands, which are the Mukojima, Chichijima, and Hahajima island clusters. In other words, the historical range of the Bonin Islands (''Ogasawara Guntō'') is not the precise equivalent of the Japanese governmental unit. The Bonin Islands is a geographical term excluding the other islands which are today associated within the boundaries of a collective term, ''Ogasawara Shotō.''


Geology

The Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands were formed around Eocene, 48 million years ago. They are a part of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc known geologically as a ''fore arc''. They lie above a subduction zone between the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The Pacific Plate is subduction, subducting under the Philippine Sea Plate, which creates an oceanic trench to the east of the islands: the Bonin Trench. The crust of the Ogasawara Islands was formed by volcanic activity when subduction began 45–50 million years ago, and is composed mostly of an andesite, andesitic volcanic rock called boninite, which is rich in magnesium oxide, chromium, and silicon dioxide. The Ogasawara Islands may represent the exposed parts of an ophiolite that has not yet been emplaced on oceanic crust. The rocks of the Volcano Islands are much younger; Iwo Jima is a dormant volcano characterized by rapid uplift and several hot springs. In November 2013, a new volcanic island formed offshore from Nishinoshima and eventually merged with Nishinoshima, enlarging it. Most of the islands have steep shorelines, often with sea cliffs ranging from in height, but the islands are also fringed with coral reefs and have many beaches. The highest point lies on South Iwo Jima, at .


Climate

The climate of the Ogasawara Islands ranges from a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') to tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification ''Am''). The climate of Chichi-jima in is on the boundary between the humid subtropical climate (Köppen classification ''Cfa'') and the tropical monsoon climate (Köppen classification ''Am''). Temperatures are warm to hot all year round owing to the warm currents from the North Pacific gyre that surround the island. Rainfall is less heavy than in most parts of mainland Japan since the island is too far south to be influenced by the Aleutian Low and too far from Asia to receive monsoonal rainfall or orographic precipitation on the equatorward side of the Siberian High. The wettest months are May and September, while the driest months are January and February. The Ogasawara Islands' easternmost island,
Minamitorishima , also known as Marcus Island, is an isolated Japanese coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located some southeast of Tokyo and east of the closest Japanese island, South Iwo Jima of the Ogasawara Islands, and nearly on a straight line ...
(Marcus Island), has the tropical savanna climate (Köppen classification ''Aw'') with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. The wettest months are July and August, while the driest months are February and March.


Ecology


Flora

Flora has evolved differently on each of the islands. The Ogasawara Islands are sometimes referred to as the Galápagos of the Orient. These islands are home to the northernmost outliers of the palm genus ''Clinostigma''. ''C. savoryianum'' is endemic and has been planted in mediterranean climates often with success. Other unique species include ''Metrosideros boninensis'', a plant related to similar species growing in Fiji and New Caledonia. The Ogasawara Archipelago forms a distinct Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, the Ogasawara subtropical moist forests. The ecoregion has a high degree of biodiversity and endemic (ecology), endemism. The islands are home to about 500 plant species, of which 43% are endemic. The forests are of three main types:"Ogasawara subtropical moist forests". ''Encyclopedia of Earth''. Acccessed 28 July 2020

/ref> *Type I: ''Elaeocarpus–Ardisia'' mesic forest is found in the moist lowland areas with deep soils. The forests have a closed canopy with a height of about , dominated by ''Ardisia Ardisia sieboldii, sieboldii''. ''Elaeocarpus Elaeocarpus photiniaefolius, photiniaefolius'', ''Pisonia umbellifera'', and ''Pouteria Pouteria obovata, obovata'' are other important canopy species. These forests were almost completely destroyed by clearing for agriculture before 1945. *Type II: ''Distylium–Raphiolepis–Schima'' dry forest is found in drier lowland and upland sites with shallower soils. It is also a closed-canopy forest, with a canopy composed mostly of ''Distylium lepidotum'', ''Rhaphiolepis integerrima'', ''Schima mertensiana'', ''Pouteria obovata'', and ''Syzygium Syzygium buxifolium, buxifolium''. The Type II forests can be further subdivided into: **Type IIa: ''Distylium-Schima'' dry forest occurs in cloudy upland areas with fine-textured soils. These forests contain many rare and endemic species, with ''Pandanus boninensis'' and ''Syzygium buxifolium'' as the predominant trees. **Type IIb: ''Raphiolepis-Livistona'' dry forest is found in upland areas with few clouds and rocky soils. ''Rhaphiolepis integerrima'' is the dominant tree species, along with the fan palm ''Livistona boninensis'', ''Pandanus boninensis'' and ''Ochrosia nakaiana''. *Type III: ''Distylium-Pouteria'' scrub forest is found on windy and dry mountain ridges and exposed sea cliffs. These forests have the highest species diversity on the islands. ''Distylium lepidotum'' and ''Pouteria obovata'' are the dominant species, growing from tall. Other common shrubs are ''Myrsine Myrsine okabeana, okabeana'', ''Symplocos kawakamii'', and ''Pittosporum Pittosporum parvifolium, parvifolium''.


Fauna

The range of the Bonin petrel extends beyond the Ogasawaras to include other islands in the northern Pacific region. There are two restricted-range species of birds on the islands; the Japanese woodpigeon (''Columba janthina'') and the Near Threatened Bonin white-eye (''Apalopteron familiare''), formerly known as "Bonin honeyeater". The Japanese woodpigeon was extirpated in the Iwo Island groups in the 1980s. The formerly endemic Bonin pigeon (''Columba versicolor''), Bonin thrush (''Zoothera terrestris'') and Bonin grosbeak (''Carpodacus ferreorostris'') are now extinct."Bonin Islands" ''Avibase – Bird Checklists of the World''. BirdLife International. Accessed 27 July 2020

/ref> A small bat, Sturdee's pipistrelle, is only known in one record and has not been seen since 1915. The Bonin flying fox (''Pteropus pselaphon''), also called the Bonin fruit bat, is endemic to the islands. It is currently listed as Endangered species, Endangered, and a survey published by the Ogasawara Office of Education in 1999 estimated their number to be around 100. The islands are also renowned for the many species of snail that are found across the islands, especially the ''Mandarina'' snails. Unfortunately, most of the native snails are now endangered or extinct, because of introduced species and habitat loss.


Transportation


Water transport

One can get from the main Japanese islands to
Chichijima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , ...
by way of the ''Ogasawara Maru'' liner, run by Ogasawara Marine Transportation. The ship leaves from Port of Tokyo, Takeshiba pier in Tokyo Bay, and the trip takes around 24 hours (in good weather). There are four or five crossings each month. It travels to Futami Port on
Chichijima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , ...
Island. The ''Ogasawara Maru'' is a vessel, long, with a capacity of 1,031 passengers. To get to Hahajima, one must first get to Chichijima, and then cross by the liner ''Hahajima Maru''. Because a trip from the main Japanese islands to the Ogasawaras is very difficult, when people get severely ill or otherwise have an emergency, word is conveyed to the Iwo Jima Japan Maritime Self Defense Force post, and a helicopter is sent to the islands. Emergencies can also be handled from the main Japanese islands by Japan Air Self-Defense Force airplanes, or the Maritime Self Defense Force base in Iwakuni can convey evacuees to the main islands by seaplane, the ''ShinMaywa US-1''. This seaplane is also used to transport the Tokyo governor and other VIPs.


Ports and harbours

*Harbours: Futami Port on
Chichijima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , ...


Road transport

Ogasawara Village operates a bus service on Chichijima and elderly passengers may use a "silver pass". There is also a sightseeing taxi service, a rental car company, motorized scooter rental services, a bike rental service, and other amenities. Bringing one's own automobile onto the island is extremely difficult and costly.


Transportation issues

The world's first "techno superliner", the ''Super Liner Ogasawara'' (which was to be commissioned in 2006), with a maximum speed of , 14,500 tons gross tonnage, was expected to shorten the voyage to Ogasawara to about 17 hours and carry up to 740 passengers. However, the project was canceled in July 2005 due to rising fuel prices and the loss of ¥2 billion.


Airport plans

The Ogasawara Islands have no airport. However, for several decades there was talk of building one. Anijima and
Chichijima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , ...
were once designated possible construction sites, but because there are numerous valuable, rare, or endangered plant species forming a unique ecosystem in the vicinity of the proposed sites, issues of nature conservation were raised. Although construction of an airport was desired by some, a desire to keep the natural beauty of the islands untouched created a movement to block it. The airport issue was quite controversial on the islands. On 26 June 2016, Tamayo Marukawa, Minister of Environment talked about Ogasawara airport construction after the meeting in Tokyo commemorating the fifth anniversary of the registration of the Ogasawara Islands as World Natural Heritage, and to consult with Tokyo and various ministries and agencies concerned. On 27 July 2017 at a meeting with Ogasawara Village, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that it is considering to open a regular air route to the Ogasawara Islands (Tokyo) with a plan to construct an airport on Chichijima (Chichijima Village) with a runway that will land propeller aircraft with 50 passengers. It said that future assessment of the impact on the natural environment and feasibility report will be carried out. In the past, there were two other plans: to utilize the Self Defense Force helicopter pad on Iwo Jima, Iwojima (Iwojima Village); and to operate a flying boat. Meanwhile the airport plan, which Ogasawara Village had been supporting, is prioritized. In fiscal 2019, 490 million Yen was included in the budget for a feasibility study with a survey on
Chichijima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , ...
. The purpose is to determine the best location to construct an airport. The potential construction will turn a part of the sea area into a runway for propeller aircraft. In August 2020, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held a council. It was proposed to use tiltrotor aircraft which require a shorter runway of 500 meters. It would be more environmentally friendly compared with conventional aircraft. Travel time would be around 2 hours from the mainland of Japan. It would also strengthen emergency support and tourism. The government intends to open an airport in 10 years at the earliest.


Demography, language and education

Virtually all of the Bonin Islands' inhabitants are Japanese citizens. This includes the significant proportion with ancestors from the United States, Europe and other Pacific islands, who can often be distinguished by their family names and ancestry, physical features or adherence to Christianity. During and after the US military occupation of 1946–68, a small minority of islanders opted for US citizenship and/or emigrated from the islands. However, most islanders with non-Japanese ancestry now appear to be reassimilating with the ethnic Japanese majority. Japanese is the common language. Because settlers from the United States, Europe and other Pacific islands preceded ethnic Japanese residents, an English-lexified pidgin which subsequently developed into a creole language, creole, known as Bonin English, Ogasawara Creole or Ogasawara Mixed Language, emerged on the islands during the 19th century. This was the result of Japanese being hybridised with island English, resulting in a mixed language that can still be heard. The Ogasawara Village municipality operates public elementary and junior high schools, while Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education operates Ogasawara High School.


Fictional references

The Ogasawara Islands have been referenced in a number of works of fiction. ''Bonin'' by Digby George Gerahty, Robert Standish describes itself as 'a novel', but claims 'this book is an accurate history of the Bonin Islands', based mainly on information from Nathaniel Savory's great-granddaughter, and includes descriptions of maltreatment of the Anglo-Polynesian population by the later Japanese settlers and authorities and a detailed map of the Chichijima group (on the back end-paper), including over 50 English place-names. Chapter XVI of Jack London's autobiographical novel ''John Barleycorn (novel), John Barleycorn'' says "This isolated group, belonging to Japan, had been selected as the rendezvous of the Canadian and American sealing fleets", and describes the drunken visit of a young sailor and his shipmates to the Bonin Islands. In the television series ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'', a fictional island in the chain, South Ataria Island (which would have laid at the southernmost position in the chain, surpassing Minami Iwo Jima), is the landing site of the SDF-1 Macross. In the 1963 film ''Matango'', a luxury yacht is set adrift and lands on an island. Upon approaching the island, one of the crew members shouts: "I wonder if it's the Bonin Islands?" The English subtitles for the film misspell Bonin "Bonan". The 2017 anime film ''The Irregular at Magic High School: The Movie – The Girl Who Summons the Stars'' takes place on fictional islands in the Ogasawara Island chain.


Gallery

File:Mukojima, Ogasawara, Tokyo.jpg, Muko-jima File:Minamijima.jpg, Minami-jima, a small island in the Chichi-jima group File:Hahajima-oki.jpg,
Haha-jima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of the Hahajima Rettō (Imōtojima is mislabeled as Tori-shima) , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Hahajima , pushpin_label_position = , pushp ...


See also

* List of extreme points of Japan * List of World Heritage Sites in Japan * María de Lajara


References


Bibliography

* * * Otis Willard Freeman, Freeman, Otis Willard. (1951)
''Geography of the Pacific.''
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Wiley. * Francis Hawks, Hawks, Francis. (1856)
''Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan Performed in the Years 1852, 1853 and 1854 under the Command of Commodore M.C. Perry, United States Navy.''
Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson by order of Congress, 1856; originally published in ''Senate Executive Documents'', No. 34 of 33rd Congress, 2nd Session. [reprinted by London: Trafalgar Square, 2005. (paper)] * Hayashi Shihei, Hayashi, Shihei. (1785). . Edo: Manuscript
OCLC 44014900
* Head, Timothy E., and Gavan Daws. "The Bonins--Isles of Contention" ''American Heritage'' (Feb1968_ 19#2 pp 58-74. * Julius Klaproth, Klaproth, Julius. (1832)
''San kokf tsou ran to sets, ou Aperçu général des trois royaumes.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 2563166
''also'
OCLC 561284561
* Kublin, Hyman. (1947)
''The Bonin Islands, 1543–1875.''
PhD thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts * Muroga, Nobuo. (1967). Geographical exploration by the Japanese. ''In:'' Friis, Herman R. (ed.): ''The Pacific Basin: A history of its geographical exploration''. New York. * Sewall, John S. (1905). ''The Logbook of the Captain's Clerk: Adventures in the China Seas'', Bangor, Maine: Chas H. Glass & Co. [reprint by Chicago: R.R. Donnelly & Sons, 1995] * ''Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan'', Tekoku-Shoin Co., Ltd. Tokyo 1990,


External links


Ogasawara Village
(Japanese)

(no longer maintained, apparently as of 2001)
Ogasawara Channel
(Japanese) * National Archives of Japan
The faked map of 1752 mentioned in Hiroyuki Tanaka's 1998 article.
* Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Ogasawara-mura

* Waseda University —
Hayashi Shihei was a Japanese military scholar and a retainer of the Sendai Domain. His name is sometimes transliterated (according to the Sino-Japanese reading) as ''Rin Shihei''. Biography Hayashi was born in Edo as the second son of Hayashi Gonhyoue Yosh ...
. (1785)
三国通覧図説
(''Sangoku Tsuran Zusetsu'') {{Authority control Bonin Islands, Archipelagoes of Japan Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc, * Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park Islands of Tokyo Ecoregions of Japan World Heritage Sites in Japan Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean