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March
No.34
March 2200 21 35 No.26

KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITYKAGOSHIMA
INTERNATIONALCENTERUNIVERSITYFOR ISLAND STUDIESRESEARCH
CENTERFORFOR
THETHE
PACIFICISLANDS(formerly
RESEARCH
CENTER
PACIFICISLANDS)

CONTENTS
Page
Introducing My Research
YAMAMOTO, S.: International Center for Islands Studies, Kagoshima University···················1
University··················1

Research Seminars ······························································································6Recent Publications ·······················································································12Cover photo: Meal at Amami
ChineseinNew
ChineseYear by
New
Amami
Year by
Traditional
Amami Traditional
Meal StudyMeal
Group
Study
(by Group
KAWAI Kei)(by KAWAI Kei)INTRODUCING MY RESEARCH

Food Culture in Micronesia
YAMAMOTO, Sota
International Center for Islands Studies, Kagoshima University
Introduction
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is composed of approximately 600 small
islands lying just above the equator in the Western Pacific, and consists of four states: Yap, Chuuk,
Pohnpei, and Kosrae (from west to east). Prior to the 1950s, the people of the FSM ate a “traditional”
food based on staple starchy crops (e.g., breadfruit, root and tuber crops, banana) and marine
resources (e.g., fish, octopus, clams, turtles, land and coconut crabs). By the 1960s, the traditional
diet was being replaced by a modern diet consisting of rice, flour, sugar, fatty foods, and various
imported and processed foods after the United States Department of Agriculture initiated a
supplementary feeding program. This phenomenon was accelerated by the Migration, Remittance,
Aid, and Bureaucracy (MIRAB) economy, a cash economy mainly consisting of migrated workers’
remittance and salary of bureaucratic workers funded by aid from the United States. A Compact ofFree Association agreement was signed between the FSM and the United States in 1986. Since
then, the FSM has faced serious public health problems, such as obesity, diabetes mellitus,
hypertension, cardiac disease, and vitamin A deficiency, due to the modern diet and other lifestylechanges. Therefore, some dietary surveys have been conducted in Micronesia, but only for a shortperiod of time. Long-term studies are necessary to understand dietary habits in Micronesia, whether
they are traditional or modern. Thus, I conducted a detailed evaluation of household foodconsumption at every meal over 4 to 5 years in Chuuk and Pohnpei states, the FSM.
Study Sites and Data Collection
Piis-Paneu Island, located on the ring reef of Chuuk Atoll (Fig. 1), is < 1 km2 in area. The
whole island lies just above sea level, and houses are scattered throughout the island with threepatches of puna (Cyrtosperma merkusii; giant swamp taro) at the center of the island. About 45
households reside on the island, which has a population of approximately 320. The average income
surveyed in 2013 was approximately USD 8,000 per year. Although Piis-Paneu Island is the most
distantly inhabited island from Weno Island, the capital and commercial center of Chuuk State, on
Chuuk Atoll, it takes 1 hour to travel from Piis-Paneu Island to Weno Island in a small boat withan outboard motor. Therefore, people living on Piis-Paneu Island frequently visit Weno Island toshop, sell marine resources, and go to school or work.
1

1

Pingelap Atoll has three islets, Pingelap, Deke, and Sukoru islands, which have a total
area of 1.8 km2 (Fig. 1). Of the three, only Pingelap Island is inhabited and the inhabitable area
extends from the shoreline to a patch of mweiang (C. merkusii) at the center of the island. There
are about 58 households on Pingelap Island, which had a population of 239 and an average incomeof USD 3,000 per year in 2012. Pingelap Atoll is about 270 km from Pohnpei Island, the center ofPohnpei State and site of the capital city Kolonia, and about 120 km from the nearest inhabitedatoll, Mokil Atoll. There is a 300 m airstrip on Pingelap Island, and Caroline Islands Air flies alight aircraft to the island, but flight schedules are irregular and the price of a one-way ticket is
USD 190 (in August 2018), which is expensive for the islanders. The government operates a shipthat connects the outer islands in Pohnpei State with Pohnpei Island, and it costs approximately
USD 15 per person, a reasonable price compared with the airfare, to travel from Pohnpei Island to
Pingelap Island. However, the ship visits the island only a few times a year. The access to Pingelap
Atoll is very limited.
Pingelap Atoll
1km

Deke I.

Federated States ofMicronesia

Sukoru I.
Pingelap I.

Chuuk Atoll

Piis-Paneu I.

Weno I.

Oceania

20km

2000kmFig. 1. Study sites in Chuuk and Pohnpei states, the Federated States of Micronesia.
A total of 57 and 154 inhabited areas in Piis-Paneu and Pingelap islands, respectively,
have been identified (based on traditional land classification), including sites that were vacant at
the time of our survey. Edible plants at each site were documented in August 2013 to explore thefrequencies of crops and other edible plants in home gardens. The frequency of each plant was22calculated as follows: Frequency (%) = (total number of sites at which each useful plant was found/ 57 sites) × 100.
One household was selected to survey dietary patterns based on the average family size
and income on each island. Questionnaires were distributed to explore the foods consumed at every
meal. The frequency of consumption of each item per month was calculated as follows: Frequency(%) = (total number of meals at which an item was consumed/total number of meals in 1 month) ×
100. Data on food consumption were collected from 2013 to 2017 on Piis-Paneu Island and from2014 to 2018 on Pingelap Islands.
Edible plants and their frequencies in home gardens
More than 30 species of edible plants were recorded in home gardens of Piis-Paneu Island.
Artocarpus spp. (breadfruit) and Cocos nucifera (coconut) were the most common (91.2%),
followed by Musa spp. (banana) (87.7%), Citrus spp. (citrus) (54.4%), and Pandanus spp. (pandan)and Syzygium spp. (both 49.1%). These top six crops are very important in daily life, yielding
starchy staples, fruit, drink, and condiments; material for food-wrapping; and raw materials forhandicrafts, canoes, and construction. Of the root and tuber crops, Alocasia macrorrhizos was themost common (47.4%), followed by Xanthosoma sagittifolium (arrowleaf elephant ear) (28.1%),
Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) (14.0%), and C. merkusii (10.5%). Among fruits other than the top
six crops, the frequencies of Carica papaya (papaya) (43.9%) and Crataeva speciosa (garlic pear)(31.6%) were high but those of others were very low. Vegetables such as Cnidoscolus chayamansa(29.8%), Cucurbita sp. (pumpkin) (29.8%, the leaves were also eaten), and Alternanthera sissoo(12.7%), and spices and herbs such as Capsicum spp. (chili pepper) (15.8%) and Ocimum
tenuiflorum (holy basil) (14.0%, principally used for decoration), were sometimes found in homegardens, but other vegetables were rarely cultivated (all frequencies below 3.5%).
More than 25 species of edible plants were observed in home gardens of Pingelap Island.
C. nucifera was present at the highest frequency (82.8%), followed by Musa spp. (79.0%),
Pandanus spp. (66.9%), Artocarpus spp. (52.9%), and C. papaya (44.6%). The frequencies of root
and tuber crops were low. They included C. merkusii (8.3%), Dioscorea spp. (yam) (7.0%), X.
sagittifolium (6.4%), Colocasia esculenta (taro) (1.9%), and I. batatas (1.3%). This is partly
because there is a big patch of C. merkusii on the island and it is difficult to cultivate some crops,
e.g., Dioscorea spp. which are one of the most important crops in Pohnpei Island, due to alkali soil
derived from coral. A. macrorrhizos (12.1%) and Tacca leontopetaloides (1.9%), which wereregarded by villagers as famine food, were found in home gardens as both cultivated andspontaneous forms. Citrus spp. (28.7%) and Capsicum spp. (28.7%) were very importantcondiments, thus they were grown frequently. However, the frequencies of other fruit trees,
vegetables, and spices were low, except for A. sissoo (12.7%) and C. chayamansa (10.8%), which
are native to the Americas and consumed as vegetables.
33

Dietary patterns and food consumption
The household on Piis-Paneu Island often consumed imported foods, especially rice
(94.5%; 5-year average), canned fish (19.6%), and instant noodles (33.6%), suggesting that theirdietary patterns have become “modern”, at least to some extent. However, they also ate local
starchy crops (breadfruit 27.5%, banana 26.5%, and puna 12.7%) and local marine resources (fresh
fish 78.9%, dried fish 36.6%, and others 8.8%) at high frequencies. The 5-year study confirms thatthe dietary patterns of Piis-Paneu Island seem to be basically “traditional”, with the addition of“modern” food, rather than lying between “traditional” and “modern” (Fig 2). During the survey
period, a huge typhoon (Category 5 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale) hit Piis-Paneu
Island at the end of March 2015. Some people took refuge from the strong winds and high waves
in a school building. Huge high waves hit the southern part of the island twice; several houses werecompletely destroyed, whereas others were partially destroyed. It is revealed that this huge typhoon
had a devastating impact on the production of some crops, especially breadfruit, on the island, andthe frequency of breadfruit consumption did not return to a normal level even 3 years after thetyphoon. It is necessary to manage famine food, such as A. macrorrhizos and T. leontopetaloides,
or naturalized plants on each island, and to pass traditional knowledge of these plants to the next
generation as a precaution for food shortages caused by typhoons or other natural disasters.

Fig. 2. Local and imported food served in Sep. 2013, Piis-Paneu Island.
Upper (from left to right): imported instant noodle, banana, and soup with tango (a Japanese
sweet dumpling). Lower (from left to right): imported rice, breadfruit, shell meat, and lobster.
The 4-year average of the frequency of consumption of starchy staples was highest forimported rice (47.4%), followed by banana (37.4%), breadfruit (19.9%), mweiang (16.3%), and44

imported wheat flour (12.5%) in Pingelap Island. The monthly variation in the consumption of rice
and wheat flour was much greater than the annual variation. The household ate banana in all months
during the survey period and banana was the most frequently consumed local starchy staple on
Pingelap Island, suggesting that banana supports subsistence on this small, remote island
throughout the year. The additional value of the 4-year average frequency was 60.7% for imported
starchy staples and 73.6% for local starchy crops, indicating that the household still relied on local
starchy crops for more than half of the total starchy staples consumed by frequency. Among marine
resources, the 4-year average was highest for fresh fish (69.9%), followed by other marine
resources (1.3%), imported canned fish (1.0%), and dried fish (0.5%). Regarding meat, the 4-year
average was highest for local fresh meat (2.3%), followed by imported canned meat (0.7%), andimported fresh meat (0.1%). These results suggest that the main source of protein on the island isfresh fish caught locally. The frequency of the consumption of imported instant noodles was low.
The dietary pattern on Pingelap Island was still traditional compared with Pohnpei Island, probably
due to the very limited access from Pingelap Island to the main island of Pohnpei where imported
food products are abundant (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Local and imported food served in Aug. 2010, Pingelap Island.
Upper (from left to right): grilled fish, grilled fish, breadfruit, and imported rice. Lower (from left
to right): dipping sauce (soy source with fruit of chili pepper) and mweiang.
If you would be interested in more detailed results of my study, please see the below papers.
YAMAMOTO, S. 2019. Long-term survey of food consumption on Pingelap Island, Pohnpei State,
55the Federated States of Micronesia. The Journal of Island Studies, 20(2): 141-154.
YAMAMOTO, S. 2018. Long-term food consumption survey on Piis-Paneu Island, Chuuk State, theFederated States of Micronesia. The Journal of Island Studies, 19(2): 115-126.
YAMAMOTO, S., KAWANISHI, M. and NISHIMURA, S. 2015. Dietary patterns and food consumption
in the Federated States of Micronesia: A case study conducted on Piis-Paneu Island, Chuuk
Atoll, Chuuk State. Tropical Agriculture and Development, 59(4): 170-178.
YAMAMOTO, S., KAWANISHI, M. and NISHIMURA, S. 2015. Dietary patterns and food consumption
survey in the Federated States of Micronesia: A case study in Pingelap Island, Pohnpei State.
Tropical Agriculture and Development, 59(4): 161-169.

Research Seminars
No.217, 7 March 2022
“Recent Archaeological Research of Ancient Human Evidence in the Southern Ryukyu
Islands, Southwestern Part of Japan Archipelago”
YAMAGIWA Kaishi (Research Institute of Islands and Sustainability, University of the Ryukyus)[ABSTRACT]This presentation will introduce the recent archaeological research of ancient human andmaterial culture in the Southern Ryukyu Islands. The Southern Ryukyu Islands (also called
Sakishima or Miyako and Yaeyama Islands) is southwestern part of Ryukyu Islands, the southern
region of Japan archipelago. This region has a different culture and history from the Ryukyu Islands
north of the Okinawa Islands, and has been shown to have regional characteristics in language andgenetic traits. In recent years, human bone fossils from a very old period (approximately 30,000
years ago) have been discovered in this area, some morphological and genetic analyses have shownthat these people have a population origin different from that of the Japanese archipelago. Since
the Southern Ryukyus is adjacent to mainland China; Taiwan; and the Philippines; mostarchaeological and anthropological studies have been focusing on human migration and culturalinteraction with these surrounding areas since such older period, and considered that such diverse
origin caused the regional character of this region. On the other hand, cultural characteristics thatare difficult to explain by simple origin relationships have been identified in the southern Ryukyu
Islands, and in recent years, new research has also been conducted to approach the process andmechanism of the formation of unique cultures in the region, such as environmental uniquenessand diversity and adaptive behavior to them. This multifaceted research movement shows thepossibility of developing comparative studies with various island regions, and is expected to leadto more extensive and advanced island research.
No.218, 1 April 2022
“Efforts to Protect the Health of Remote Island Residents as a University”
TAKEZAKI Toshiro (Community Medicine Support Center, Kagoshima University Hospital)[ABSTRACT]66Health, medical and welfare organizations and the government are responsible for direct
efforts to “protect the health of remote island residents”. This lecture will introduce the efforts toprotect the health of remote island residents conducted through education and research while I wasenrolled in the Department of International Island and Community Medicine.
As an education, we started to let all medical students learn community medicine in islands.
As a result, the community medicine in islands that had been special has become one that everyone
knows. In addition, the students who entered the school with the obligation to take charge ofcommunity medical care had the experience on additional training in island, and the practices inislands spread to nurse and dentistry students. In terms of research, we started population-based
epidemiological research in 2005 to prevent lifestyle-related diseases on five islands in Amami,
continue until 2035. By conducting ongoing research on remote islands, we have established dataand human networks that will be the basis for solving health issues faced by the region, and havegained knowledge that is of interest to academically. In addition, research on islands has become
an attractive place to train researchers, and we were able to attract and nurture young researchers
who are interested in community medicine in islands. The research base on the remote island also
led to a place where universities can contribute academically to solving the health issues ofresidents, and received many commissioned research, and the analysis results were fed back to theadministration and residents of the remote islands. In addition, the remote islands have become aplace for international human resource development for health care.
No.219, 30 May 2022
“Plant diversity of Kagoshima to Southeast Asia”
TAGANE Shuichiro (The Kagoshima University Museum, Kagoshima University)[ABSTRACT]
Vascular plants, with ca. 400,000 species, have diversified and adapted to the various
environments in the world and are an important element in our life and ecosystem. Despite its
importance, our knowledge on the local flora is still poor, and ca. 2,000 new plants are discoveredor described every year.
In this presentation, I will introduce plant diversity of the Kagoshima Prefecture and Southeast
Asia, both of which are known as diversity hotspots, and some activities to elucidate the local flora
there.
No.220, 27 June 2022
“Maintenance Mechanism of Fruit Dimorphism Related to Seed Dispersal of Coastal
Plant, Scaevola taccada”
EMURA Naoko (Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University)[ABSTRACT]For sessile plants, seed dispersal is the only way to colonize new sites and expand their ranges.
The seeds of individual plants have suitable fruit traits for specific dispersal vectors such as wind,
water and animals. The environment in which seeds are dispersed tends to vary depending on thedispersal vector. A phenomenon has been observed in some plant species that they would havespeciated with the acquisition of fruit morphology to adapt to a new dispersal vector when they
invaded a new habitat environment where the original dispersal vector was absent. However, the77process of this phenomenon is mostly unknown.
I found the fruit dimorphism (inter-individual variation) of a coastal shrub, Scaevola
taccada (Goodeniaceae), individual plants produce either cork-morph or pulp-morph fruits. The
former is buoyant and common on sandy beaches, whereas the latter does not float, is birddispersed, and is common on sea cliffs. This plant can be expected to be a suitable study material
for understanding the early processes of speciation resulting from the evolution of seed dispersal
traits. In this presentation, I will introduce my research conducted so far with the aim ofunderstanding the maintenance mechanism in which the two morphs of S. taccada exist.
No.221, 19 July 2022
“High-pressure Experiment and Observation of Chlorite in the Area Where Inter-mediate
Earthquakes Occur”
YAMAUCHI Sachiko (International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University)[ABSTRACT]Inter-mediate earthquakes occur in the interior of the subduction zone plate (at depths of about
60 to 300 km). These occur in areas where earthquakes should not theoretically occur, and theircauses have not yet been clarified. The islands of Kagoshima Prefecture are located along thePhilippine Sea Plate. In 1911, an earthquake with a magnitude estimated to be 8.0 occurred there.
They have not been verified and cannot be predicted, although there are some strong hypotheses.
Since the area where chlorite exists and the area where inter-mediate earthquakes occur are almost
the same, we hypothesized that the behavior of chlorite is the cause and conducted an experiment.
In this presentation, I want to introduce the structural change of chlorite in the area where intermediate earthquake occurs.
Chlorite is a layered mineral. Chlorite is classified into polytypes, which have slightly
different properties depending on the way they are layered. It is known that under high pressure
conditions, chlorite undergoes a sudden change in the way each layer overlaps one another. Someof these changes are accompanied by polytype changes. Acoustic Emission, a wave similar toseismic waves, occurs more frequently and its energy magnitude increases with this polytypechange. In other words, the behavior of chlorite is generating waves like seismic waves. However,since these data were obtained at room temperature, we verified whether this change also occurs
under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions.
No.222, 26 September 2022
“Physicians from Okinoerabu Island, the 'Island of Education'”
HIDAKA Yusuke (Regional Management Research Center, Kagoshima University)[ABSTRACT]This presentation focuses on physicians from Okinoerabu Island, located in the Nansei Islandsof Kagoshima Prefecture.
In previous research on Okinoerabu Island, it is possible to confirm the discourse on
Okinoerabu Island as an 'island of education.' It can also be confirmed that Saigo Takamori,Kawaguchi Seppo, Kihira Uemon and other exiles from the Edo period had an influence on the
education on Okinoerabu Island. Based on such discourses, narratives such as "there are manyteachers and physicians from Okinoerabu Island" can also be confirmed.
88However, it has not been confirmed, as far as we know, whether there are actually 'many' ofthese professions.
In this presentation, we focus on " physicians " specifically among these professions andpresent the results of a verification based on the Amami Meikan, a social register published by the
Amamisha. Through comparison with the number of physicians from other Amami Islands, it will
be clarified whether there were "many physicians from Okinoerabu Island" in the Showa period.
In the situation of islands with various restrictions on education and mobility, the physiciansfrom the island of Okinoerabu moved vertically in society (changes in social status) andhorizontally in space (continuation of careers outside the island). The conditions that produced
such physicians from Okinoerabu Island are also examined from the perspective of the island'ssocial, political and cultural contact with YAMATO (mainland Japan).
No.223, 24 October 2022
“Heirloom Island Radishes on the Verge of Extinction — Amami-Oshima Island ‘Koshi
Radish’ and Kikai-jima Island ‘Onotsu Radish’”
NAKANO Hatsunori (Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University)[ABSTRACT]Heirloom crops have been maintained and developed by adapting to the climate unique to theregion, building regional culture through the life of residents and developing human resources.
However, as the heirloom crops unique to the region disappear one after another, diversity ofgenetic resources is disappearing, due to rise of commercial varieties, changing cultivation form,
decrease in farmers, and disappearance of villages caused by declining birthrate and aging
population. In recent years, the diverse food culture and education rooted in the region are being
reconsidered. With the growth of local production for local consumption and health consciousness,these vegetables with regional diversity have been recognized. On the other hand, preserving andenlightening the heirloom crops is an urgent issue.
I surveyed the entire Kagoshima prefecture and collected more than 100 varieties of crops. In
almost all regions, heirloom vegetables are replaced by commercial varieties. Moreover, in areas
where heirloom vegetables remain, it was only left by elderly people producing their own seeds.
In this way, it is necessary to leave these crops with their stories to future generations, since crops
have supported the local food culture and people through a long history have value as cultural
assets.
In this presentation, I introduce heirloom radishes of south Amami-Oshima island (Setouchitown) and Kikai-jima island.
No.224, 7 November 2022
“Diversity of Banana Cultivars and their Usages in Papua New Guinea”
ODANI Shingo (Faculty of Letters, Chiba University)[ABSTRACT]
Banana cultivation in New Guinea is important subject to explore the origin of agriculture in
human history and the distribution pattern of banana cultivars in the contemporary world. However,studies on bananas in New Guinea have been less numerous than those on sweet potatoes or sago
palms. The purpose of this study is to clarify the classification of banana cultivars and usage in the99areas where banana is a staple food; the Markham River basin of Morobe Province and the coastal
area of Central Province.
This study focused on the kalapua group, which is generally regarded as a distinct group by
local people in both areas; its usage is different from that of the other groups. kalapua is the nameof this group in Melanesian Pidgin and some local languages. The genome type of the kalapua
group is ABB, and the shape of its fingers is unique; they are short and angled, with a thick peel.
Local people regarded the kalapua group as having tolerance to both drying and flood.
Categorizations of this group were not conducted in previous studies on the Highlands fringe
region; therefore, it is supposed that local people in the lowland regions where banana is staple
food especially regard them as indispensable for their subsistence.
We observed that the kalapua group and other group were planted in separate gardens, because
informants assess that the growth rate and tolerance to climate differ between kalapua and othercultivars. A nutritional status assessment showed that nutrient levels, except for carbohydrate, arecomparatively low in kalapua. It is concluded that farmers classify and produce kalapua and othercultivars separately. kalapua, for their tolerance to both drying and flood, are cultivated for asustainable staple food. Other bananas may be grown because of their nutritional compositions,preference, and means of a cash income.

No.225, 19 December 2022
“Biodiversity and Biogeography of Obligate Plant Parasites-Rust Fungi in the Ryukyu
Archipelago”
OKANE Izumi (Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba)[ABSTRACT]
Rust fungi (Pucciniales, Basidiomycota) are biotrophic obligate parasites, and ca. 6,000
species in approved 130 genera, 18 families (Cummins & Hiratsuka, 2003; Aime & McTaggart,2020) have been reported globally. Rust fungi are characterized by 1) unidirectional formation of
up to five morphologically and functionally different spore stages (spermogonial, aecial, uredinial,
telial, and basidial stages), 2) including heteroecious species in which two phylogeneticallydifferent host plants are required to complete their life cycle, and 3) high host specificity. In Japan,
ca. 760 species have been reported (Ono, 2008), of which about 90 species have been reported only
from the Ryukyu Archipelago and Kyushu (Hiratsuka et al., 1993). In field surveys conducted
mainly by the University of Tsukuba and Ibaraki University, more than 160 species (including
many unidentified species of the genus Puccinia) have been collected in this region. Of these, ca.
40 species are known to be distributed in the Ryukyu Archipelago and Kyushu. Recent molecularphylogenetic studies have confirmed that Uredo yuwandakensis (found uredinial stage only),previously reported only from Amami-Oshima, is parasitic on several Smilax spp. in addition to
Himekakara (Smilax biflora) and is distributed in Chiba Pref. Furthermore, this species was
revealed to be assigned to the genus Puccinia (Gibu, 2022). Chrysocelis gynostemmatis, which had
been reported only from Amami-Oshima and Nakanoshima islands, was found on the Amachazuru(Gynostemma pentaphyllum) collected in Thailand. It suggests that this species may occur
universally on Amachaduru in East and South Asia (Unartngam et al., 2020). Puccinia kraussiana,
which had not been previously reported in Japan, was found on Sarutoriibara (S. china), Satsumasankirai (S. bracteate), and Karasukiba-sankirai (Heterosmilax japonicum) from Amami-Oshima,
1010Tokunojima, and Okinawa Pref.It is required to reconfirm the distribution of Hamaspora
okinawaensis, a new species reported on Okinawa-urajiroichigo (Rubus utchinensi), which is listed
as an endangered species and Hamaspora acutissima, which has also been reported on Kuwanohaichigo (Rubus nesiotes: an endemic species) distributing in Okinawa, and to compare them basedon molecular phylogenetic analyses. Further investigation of the flora of rust fungi in the Ryukyu
Archipelago will be very important in elucidating the biogeography and speciation of rust fungi in
East, Southeast, and South Asia.

No.226, 16 January 2023
“Medicine and Food - from Satsuma Kurozen to Ninjin’yoeito Research”
INUI Akio (Pharmacological Department of Herbal Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate
School of Medical & Dental Sciences)[ABSTRACT]The Kagoshima University Food and Health Project aims to contribute to healthy longevity,with special reference to the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases and frailty, a condition
requiring a cane, through Kagoshima functional food, the same source as Kampo medicine.
One of the projects is Kurozen (Satsuma Kurozen bento), which incorporates black rice andblack vegetables containing rich anthocyanins, won the Excellence Award (2nd place) in the bento
category of the 2019 National Supermarket Association. Another is the shochu project, in which
we have identified functional ingredients with anti-metabolic effects as well as ghrelin-like
substances that work similarly to ghrelin, a hunger hormone secreted from the stomach, that can
suppress aging and promotes healthy longevity. Based on these findings, we are now developing
functional shochu.
Ninjin’yoeito is called the strongest Hozai in Kampo medicine, and it has been reported toshow the preventive and therapeutic effects on frailty such as strengthening immune function,
promoting appetite, and reducing sarcopenia in the elderly. This Kampo medicine acts to stimulate
ghrelin and hypothalamic neuropeptide Y downstream thereof. This hunger system forms the basisof caloric restriction and is deeply involved in healthy longevity, tumor suppression, and stress
tolerance.
Kampo medicines contain many kinds of herbal drugs. Chinpi, dried citrus peels, arecomponents of a substantial number of Kampo medicine including ninjin’yoeito. One of the origins
of chinpi is Sakurajima small tangerine that also contains a lot of active ingredients such ashesperidin which stimulate ghrelin secretion. In this lecture, I will discuss the progress of modern
medicine in healthy longevity from the standpoint of the same source of medicine and food.

No.227, 6 February 2023
“Trends in Banana Cultivation and Utilization in the Japanese Islands”
SATO Yasuaki (School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University)[ABSTRACT]
Banana production in Japan was mainly limited to the sub-tropical islands of Ryuku andOgasawara. Over the past few years, however, attempts have been made to cultivate the fruit in thetemperate zones of Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaido, which were considered unsuitable
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for banana production. This study aimed to review the trends in banana cultivation and utilizationin the Japanese archipelago.
The relationship between humans and bananas consists of two major components. One is theindigenous cultures that developed in different tropical and subtropical zones whereas the other ismass production on tropical plantations and mass consumption in the temperate and cold zones.
Today, such issues as the global spread of diseases and pests, long food miles, and inequality
between producers and consumers are particularly complicated. Against this background, the newdevelopments in Japan can be viewed as a sign of a changed outlook of people in Japan, including
the Nansei Islands, and modifications in the flow of banana production and consumption.
Based on newspaper and magazine articles on domestically produced bananas until 2018,
banana plantations north of Kyushu can be roughly classified into the following three types. The
first is farms that focus on sales to consumers (sales-specific); the second is farms that concentrate
more on hands-on activities, such as harvesting events and plant ownership (experience-oriented);
and the third is gardens that grow bananas on a small scale as an extension of a personal hobby andat times give them away as gifts or, on rare occasions, for sale. Since 2018, different methods ofcultivation and use have been observed, and the exchange of information among banana growers
has increased. However, the characteristics of this fruit and its history of spreading throughpersonal networks have made it challenging for growers to identify cultivars.

Recent Publications+++ Kagoshima University Toushoken Booklet +++No. 17 YAMAMOTO, S. and H. TAKAMIYA, H. (eds.): The Amami Aarchipelago, Rich in Nature
and Culture Resources: Society, Economy and Education (October 2021)
No. 18 YAMAMOTO, S. and H. TAKAMIYA, H. (eds.): The Amami Aarchipelago, Rich in Nature
and Culture Resources: Plants and Animals (October 2021)
No. 19 TSUDA, K.: Save the Island’s Specially Tangerine -Eradication of the WhitespottedLongicorn Beetles, Anoplophora spp. by an Entomogenous Fungus, Beauveria
brongniartii in Kikaijima Island- (March 2022)
No. 20 SATO, M.: Nereidid Polychaetes Inhabiting Rivers in the Ryukyu Islands (March 2022)

KagoshimaUniversity Toushoken Booklets No. 17, No.18, No.19, and No.20

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CONTENTS
Page
Introducing My Research
YAMAMOTO, S.: International Center for Islands Studies, Kagoshima University···················1
University··················1

Research Seminars ······························································································6Recent Publications ·······················································································12Cover photo: Meal at Amami
ChineseinNew
ChineseYear by
New
Amami
Year by
Traditional
Amami Traditional
Meal StudyMeal
Group
Study
(by Group
KAWAI Kei)(by KAWAI Kei)

SS

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