is a

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

Japanese island in the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean east of the list of islands of the Philippines, Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the List of seas#Largest seas ...

. It is about south of the

special wards of Tokyo The of Tokyo are a special form of Municipalities of Japan, municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Act, Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparabl ...

. It is part of the Izu archipelago and within the

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park covers . Rat ...

. Its only municipality is Hachijō. On 1 March 2018, its

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

was 7,522 people living on 63 km². Some inhabitants speak

Hachijō language The small group of , natively called , depending on classification, either are the most divergent form of Japanese dialects, Japanese, or comprise a branch of Japonic languages (alongside mainland Japanese, Northern Ryukyuan languages, Northern Ry ...

, which is considered an endangered language and the number of speakers is unknown. The island has been inhabited since the

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

, and was used as a place of exile during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. In modern times, it has been used for farming sugarcane and housing a secret submarine base during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; it is now a tourist destination within Japan. Hachijō-jima receives about of precipitation annually. With a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, and an average high temperature of , the island and the surrounding ocean support a wide variety of sea life, birds, mammals, plants, and other life. The tallest peak within the

Izu Islands The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo Prefecture. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōsh ...

, a Class-C active volcano, is located there. Transportation to the island is either by air or ferry. There are many Japanese-style inns, hot spring resorts, and hotels to accommodate tourists and visitors. The island is a popular destination for surfers, divers and hikers. It has several local variations on Japanese foods, including shimazushi and

kusaya is a salted, dried fish, dried and fermented fish that is produced in the Izu Islands, Japan. It has a pungent smell and is similar to the fermented Swedish herring surströmming. Taste Though the smell of kusaya is strong, its taste is quite ...

, as well as many dishes that include the local plant ashitaba.

Geography

Location

Hachijō-jima is about south of the

Izu Peninsula The is a mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan, the largest of the four main islands of Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsu ...

Translated by Käthe Roth.—or about south of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

—in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The smaller island of Hachijō-kojima is northwest of Hachijō-jima, and can be seen from the top of Nishiyama. Mikura-jima about to the north and Aogashima about to the south. The island is within the boundaries of

Municipalities

The only municipality on the island is the town of Hachijō, which encompasses both Hachijō-jima and the neighbouring Hachijō-kojima, though no one lives on the latter. The town is divided into five areas: Mitsune (三根), Nakanogo (中之郷), Kashitate (樫立), Sueyoshi (末吉), and Ōkago (大賀郷).

Population

The population of Hachijō-jima on 1 March 2018 was 7,522.

Language

The language spoken historically on Hachijō-jima is one of the most divergent forms of Japanese; it is the only surviving descendant of

Eastern Old Japanese Eastern Old Japanese (abbreviated as EOJ; ) is a group of heterogenous varieties of Old Japanese, historically spoken in the east of Japan, in the area traditionally called ''Togoku'' or ''Azuma''. Classification Eastern Old Japanese constitut ...

. The number of speakers is not certain; it is on UNESCO's list of

endangered languages An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a " dead langua ...

, and is likely to be extinct by 2050 if counter-measures are not taken.

Funga, flora, and fauna

The island is home to

bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms inc ...

mushrooms, including '' Mycena lux-coeli''—meaning "heavenly light mushrooms"—and '' Mycena chlorophos''. ''M. lux-coeli'' are widely found and for decades were believed only to exist on the island. The local name for the mushrooms is ''hato-no-hi'', literally "pigeon fire". Many different plants are native to the island, including the pygmy date palm,

aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

, freesia,

hydrangea ''Hydrangea'' ( or ) is a genus of more than 70 species of Flowering plant, flowering plants native plant, native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly ''Hydrangea macrophylla, H. m ...

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...

, Oshima and Japanese cherry, and bird of paradise. Since November 2015,

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

s have been observed gathering around the island, far north from their known breeding areas in the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a list of islands of Japan, Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and Island#Tropical islands, tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total ...

. All breeding activities except for giving births have been confirmed, and research is underway by the town of Hachijō and the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology to determine whether Hachijō-jima may become the northernmost breeding ground in the world, and possible expectations for opening a future tourism attraction. Whales can be viewed even from hot springs.

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops aduncus'') is a species of bottlenose dolphin. This dolphin grows to long, and weighs up to . It lives in the waters around India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and the eastern ...

s, likely (re)colonised from Mikura-jima, also live around the island, among other cetaceans such as

false killer whale The false killer whale (''Pseudorca crassidens'') is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus ''Pseudorca''. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly in tropical regions. It was first species descriptio ...

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

s, and

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

s (being sighted during humpback whale research in 2017). The waters around the island are important for the nourishment of

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...

s, as well as Hamatobiuo (a type of flying fish). The Izu thrush makes its home on the island, as does the Japanese white-eye. The island has been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it also supports populations of Japanese wood pigeons, Japanese murrelets, Pleske's grasshopper warblers and Ijima's leaf-warblers.

Climate

Hachijō-jima has a

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.

Geology

Hachijō-jima is a compound volcanic island that is in length with a maximum width of . The island is formed from two

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

es. —also called —has a height of and was active from 100,000 BC to around 1700 BC. It has eroded flanks and retains a distinctive

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

—also called —has a height of . It is the highest point on the island and the tallest peak in the Izu island chain. The summit is occupied by a shallow caldera with a diameter of and a depth of around . It is rated as a Class-C active volcano by the

Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...

with recent eruptions recorded in 1487, 1518–1523, and 1605, with seismic activity as recently as 2002. Between these two peaks are over 20 flank volcanoes and pyroclastic cones.

History

Hachijō-jima has been inhabited since at least the

, and archaeologists have found '' magatama'' and other remains. Under the

Ritsuryō is the historical Japanese legal system, legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (). ''Kya ...

system of the early

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, the island was part of

Suruga Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu Province, Izu, Kai Province, Kai, Sagami Province, Sagami, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōm ...

. It was transferred to

Izu Province was a province of Japan in the area now part of Shizuoka Prefecture and Tokyo. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Izu''" in . Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The mainland portion of Izu Prov ...

when Izu separated from Suruga in 680. During the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

Minamoto no Tametomo , also known as , was a samurai who fought in the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156. He was the son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi, and brother to Yukiie and Yoshitomo. Tametomo is known in the epic chronicles as a powerful archer and it is said that he onc ...

was banished to Izu Ōshima after a failed rebellion, but per a semi-legendary story, escaped to Hachijō-jima, where he attempted to establish an independent kingdom. During the

, the island became known as a place of exile for convicts, most notably

Ukita Hideie was the ''daimyō'' of Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces (modern Okayama Prefecture), and one of the council of Five Elders appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Son of Ukita Naoie, he married Gōhime, a daughter of Maeda Toshiie. Having fought a ...

, a ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' who was defeated at the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

. Originally the island was a place of exile mainly for political figures, but beginning in 1704 the criteria for banishment were broadened. Crimes punishable by banishment included murder, theft, arson, brawling, gambling, fraud, jailbreak, rape, and membership of an outlawed religious group. Criminals exiled to the island were never told the length of their sentences, and the history of the island is filled with foiled escape attempts. Its use as a prison island ended during 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

: after a general amnesty in 1868 most of the island's residents chose to move to the mainland; however, the policy of banishment was not officially abolished until 1881. Former U.S. president

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

visited the island during his 1877 world tour. The island's residents were aware of his exploits in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and gave him a jubilant welcome. He was ceremonially adopted by the village chief, being given the name ; meaning "courageous general" in the

local dialect Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

, and was presented with prayer beads made with pearls and gemstones. He declared that the island's residents were the "friendliest people in the Pacific". In 1900, pioneers from Hachijō became the first inhabitants of the

Daitō Islands The are an archipelago consisting of three isolated coral islands, administered by Japan, in the Philippine Sea southeast of Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. The islands have a total area of and a population of 2,107. Administratively, the whole gr ...

, where they established a sugarcane farming industry. The Hachijō language is still spoken on the islands to this day. During

, the island was regarded as a strategic point in the defense of the ocean approaches to Tokyo; and in the final stages of the war, a base of operations for the '' Kaiten'' suicide submarines was founded on the southern coast. From the end of the war through the 1960s, the government made attempts to promote Hachijō-jima as the "

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

of Japan" to encourage tourist development,The Rise and Unravelling of the Hachijo Royal Hotel
", Ridgeline Images, 17 April 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2018. and tourism remains a large component of the island's economy.

A historical mystery

There is a small mystery regarding the history of Hachijō-jima, of potential significance to the history of women's rights. Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, a well known autobiographer from the early 20th century, states in
A Daughter Of The Samurai
' that the island was commonly known in Japan during her childhood for being a place where standard gender roles were reversed; women did heavy field work and "made laws", and men tended the home and children. The mystery is that no other source mentions this. A brief quote to illustrate the significance of the information: :'We have a whole island where women do men's work from planting rice to making laws.' :'What do the men do?' :'Cook, keep house, take care of the children, and do the family washing.' :'You don't mean it!' exclaimed Miss Helen, and she sat down again. :But I did mean it, and I told her of Hachijo, a little island about a hundred miles off the coast of Japan, where the women, tall, handsome, and straight, with their splendid hair coiled in an odd knot on the top of the head, and wearing long, loose gowns bound by a narrow sash tied in front, work in the rice fields, make oil from camellia seeds, spin and weave a peculiar yellow silk, which they carry in bundles on their heads over the mountains, at the same time driving tiny oxen, not much larger than dogs, also laden with rolls of silk to be sent to the mainland to be sold. And in addition to all this, they make some of the best laws we have, and see that they are properly carried out. In the meantime, the older men of the community, with babies strapped to their backs, go on errands or stand on the street gossiping and swaying to a sing-song lullaby; and the younger ones wash sweet potatoes, cut vegetables, and cook dinner; or, in big aprons, and with sleeves looped back, splash, rub, and wring out clothes at the edge of a stream. LCC Card No 66-15849, pp 202–203

Transportation

Hachijō-jima is accessible both by aircraft and by ferry. In 2010 a pedestrian ferry would leave Tōkyō once every day at 10:30 pm, and arrive at Hachijō-jima at 8:50 am the following day. Air travel to Hachijojima Airport takes 45 minutes from Tōkyō International Airport (Haneda). In 2000, there were three metropolitan roads on Hachijō-jima: 215 (formally, 東京都道215号八丈循環線),平成17年度道路交通センサス一般交通量調査休日調査表
(PDF), 2000; page 6. Retrieved 16 March 2018. 216 (都道216号神湊八重根港線, 8.3 km), and 217 (東京都道217号汐間洞輪沢港線).

Tourism

Notable landmarks

The island is home to the Hachijo Royal Resort, a now-abandoned French baroque-style luxury hotel that was built during the tourism boom of the 1960s. When the hotel was built in 1963 it was one of the largest in Japan, and attracted visitors from all over the country. The hotel was finally closed in 2006 due to declining tourism to the island. As of April 2016, the grounds were overgrown and the building severely dilapidated.Anika Burgess,
Japan's Abandoned Hotels Are Being Reclaimed by Nature
", Atlas Obscura, 6 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018. The contains displays covering the history of the island, local industries, as well as the animals and plants found on and around the island. The is a botanical and animal park next to the Hachijojima Visitors Center.

Activities and accommodation

In 2005, accommodation on Hachijō-jima was plentiful, with many Japanese-style inns, hot spring resorts, campsites, and several larger hotels. Hachijō-jima is popular with surfers, with three reef breaks and consistently warmer water than mainland Japan because of the

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black Current or is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

. Because Hachijō-jima is a volcanic island, there are several black sandy beaches, including one next to the main harbour of Sokodo. Hachijō-jima's scuba diving points were regarded in 2008 as many and varied, and as including one of the top five diving spots in Japan. Hachijō-jima is known for its hiking trails, waterfalls, and natural environment. Other activities for visitors include visiting the Botanical Park, exploring wartime tunnels, and hiking to the top of Hachijō-fuji. ''Kihachijō'', a naturally yellow silk fabric, is woven on the island. One of the workshops is open to tourists. The Tokyo Electric Power Company operates a free museum at its geothermal power plant.

Food

Hachijō-jima is famous both for its

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

—known locally as ''shimazushi''—and for its ''

'' (a dried and fermented version of ''hamatobiuo''). As well as being served with sake, the latter is used in many different recipes. Local cuisine also makes use of the ashitaba plant in dishes such as ashitaba

soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") are Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour, with a small amount of wheat flour mixed in. It has an ashen brown color, and a slightly grainy texture. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sau ...

and

tempura is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep-fried. Tempura originated in the 16th century, when Portuguese Jesuits brought the Western-style cooking method of ...

Gallery

File:Noboryou pass Hachijojima 2007-03-16.jpg, Mt Hachijō-Fuji and Hachijō-Kojima island seen from the Noboryō Pass File:Hachijojima tamaishigaki 2007-03-20.jpg, Tamaishigaki: walls built by convicts exiled on Hachijō-jima in the Edo Period File:Hachijojima karadaki 2007-03-16.jpg, The Karataki waterfall, in the hills around Mt. Mihara File:Hachijo taiko 2007-03-21.jpg,

Taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...

drummers wearing

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn Garment collars in hanfu#Youren (right lapel), left side wrapped over ri ...

made from kihachijō cloth File:Hachijojima freesia festival 2007-03-21.jpg, Freesia Festival File:Hachijojima aloe 2007-03-20.jpg,

Aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

growing on Mt. Hachijō-Fuji File:Hachijojima.JPG, Hachijō-jima view File:Hachijojima Kurosuna.JPG, View from the top of the rock at Kurosuna, Hachijō

References

External links

Hachijojima
– Japan Meteorological Agency *

– Geological Survey of Japan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hachijojima Izu Islands Active volcanoes Islands of Tokyo Important Bird Areas of the Nanpo Islands Seabird colonies Prison islands