Amami Ōshima

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

It is uncertain when Amami Ōshima was first settled. Stone tools indicate settlement in the Japanese Paleolithic period, and other artifacts, including pottery, indicate a constant contact with Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun period Japan. The island is mentioned in the ancient Japanese chronicle Nihon Shoki in an entry for the year 657 AD. During the Nara period and early Heian period it was a stopping place for envoys from Japan to the court of Tang dynasty China. Between 1571 and 1611, Amami Ōshima was briefly incorporated as part of the Ryukyu Kingdom. To counter Ming authority, the island was invaded by samurai from Shimazu clan in 1609 and its incorporation into the official holdings of that domain was recognized by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1624. Shimazu rule was harsh, with the inhabitants of the island reduced to serfdom and forced to raise sugar cane to meet high taxation, which often resulted in famine. Saigō Takamori was exiled to Amami Ōshima in 1859, staying for two years, and his house has been preserved as a memorial museum. Following World War II, along with the other Amami Islands, it was occupied by the United States until 1953, at which time it reverted to the control of Japan.

Reader's Guide

Amami Ōshima is the seventh-largest island in the Japanese archipelago after the four main islands, Okinawa Island and Sado Island. It is located approximately 380 kilometres south of the southern tip of Kyūshū and 250 kilometres north of Okinawa. The island is of volcanic origin, with Mount Yuwanda at 605 metres above sea level at its highest peak. The coast is surrounded by a coral reef. The island is home to several rare or endangered endemic animals, including the Amami rabbit and the Lidth's jay, both now found only in Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima. The Amami rabbit is sometimes called a living fossil. Mongooses were introduced to kill the habu, a venomous snake, but became a problem; after the mongoose population reached 10,000 by 2000, authorities launched an eradication campaign that led to the complete eradication of mongoose on the island by 2024. The economy is based on agriculture (sugar cane, rice and sweet potatoes), commercial fishing, and the distillation of shōchū. Traditional crafts include the production of high quality hand-crafted silk called Ōshima-tsumugi, which along with Persian carpets and Gobelin tapestries, is said to be one of the world's three great textiles. Two dialects of the Amami language are spoken: the Northern Ōshima dialect and the Southern Ōshima dialect. According to Ethnologue, as of 2005 there were about 10,000 speakers of the Northern Ōshima dialect and about 1,800 speakers of the Southern Ōshima dialect. The Amami language is classified as endangered by UNESCO.

Did You Know?

• The Amami rabbit is sometimes called a living fossil because it represents an ancient Asian lineage that has elsewhere disappeared.
• Mongooses were introduced to kill the habu snake, but after their population reached 10,000 by 2000, an eradication campaign led to complete eradication by 2024.
• Amami Ōshima is the only place where a nesting of leatherback turtle has been seen in Japan.
• The island marks the northernmost limit of dugong distribution, with occasional sightings throughout the 20th and into the 21st century.
• Ōshima-tsumugi silk, dyed with mud to create its characteristic black color, is said to be one of the world's three great textiles alongside Persian carpets and Gobelin tapestries.