ISSN 1345-0441

OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No. 62（2021）

No. 62（2021）

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター

南太平洋海域調査研究報告

南太平洋海域調査研究報告 No.62 （ 2021 年 12 月）
OCCASIONAL PAPERS No.62 （December 2021）

Science of Amami:
From an Island of“Nothing”to“Something”
Edited by
TAKAMIYA Hiroto, SUZUKI Eizi and YAMAMOTO Sota

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター
KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIES

南太平洋海域調査研究報告No.62(2021）●

PUBLISHED BY
KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIES
郵便番号 890-8580
Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagosima, 890-8580 Japan
鹿児島市郡元一丁目21番24号
Tel. : +81-99-285-7394
電話 099（285）7394
Fax. : +81-99-285-6197
ファックス 099（285）6197
E-mail: shimaken@cpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
令和３年12月25日発行
December 25, 2021
www http://cpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/index-j.html

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター●

KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIESOCCASIONAL PAPERS No.62（2021）

KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIES
南太平洋海域調査研究報告 No.62（2021年12月）
OCCASIONAL PAPERS No.62（December 2021）
Science of Amami:
From an Island of “Nothing” to “Something”

Edited by
TAKAMIYA Hiroto, SUZUKI Eizi and YAMAMOTO Sota

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター
KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIESi

Preface“There is nothing on the Amami Islands.” The people of Amami often sigh and saythese words. Is it true that “Amami are islands with nothing?” No, Amami has awonderful history, culture, and even nature. One of the reasons why the people of theAmami Islands do not know such information is because of the researchers. This is also
something that the locals often lament. “Even if we work with the researchers from themainland, those people just take the data back home with them and never tell us aboutit.” As a solution, in April 2015, the Kagoshima University International Center for
Island Studies (Toshoken) set up an Amami branch office in Amami city, where faculty
and staff are stationed, provide education and conduct research more closely tied to the
Amami Islands.
For example, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology’s
special expense project “Development of Education and Research Infrastructure for
Biodiversity and Its Conservation in the Satsunan Islands” (Kagoshima University,
FY2016–2019) involved comprehensive research (joint research by science andhumanities researchers). The research was conducted in the Amami Islands toinvestigate the detailed distribution of terrestrial and marine organisms, elucidate themechanism for maintaining the diversity of ecosystems, and clarify the relationshipbetween humans and nature.
In addition, study sessions have been held to return research results to the local
people as much as possible. These sessions have included “Let’s talk in the Amami
branch office”; symposia on the archaeological sites, island songs, industry, andbiodiversity of the Amami Islands; observation sessions on land and marine life; andlectures on visiting the Amami Islands. However, while the return to the local
community has increased since the opening of the Amami branch office, compared tothat in the past, this was only a part of our research. Furthermore, the local people who
participated have been limited to only a select number of people. Therefore, we carriedseries, “The Enchanting Amami Islands: Bringing Research Results to the Locals,” inthe local newspaper “Nankai Nichinichi Shinbun” from January 2020 to March 2021 topresent our discoveries and the latest studies to the people of the Amami Islands.
This series was written by full-time faculty members, adjunct faculty members, andvisiting researchers at Toshoken (49 scholars and 66 publications), and comprised of

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eight fields: (1) Island Civilization, (2) History and Culture, (3) Society and Economy,(4) Nature on Land, (5) Nature in the Sea and Rivers, (6) Utilization of Animals andPlants, (7) Various Problems over Nature, and (8) Island as a Place of Education.
Then, we picked up and recomposed publications related to History, Culture,
Society, Economy, and Education and we translated them into English for this book. The
book was partly supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, andTechnology’s special expense project “Formation of a Global and Local Education andResearch Base in the Amami Islands, a Candidate Site for World Natural Heritage”(Kagoshima University, FY2020–2021).
“Is there nothing in the Amami Islands?” We hope that readers who feel that there
is “nothing” would be able to answer “no” to this question after reading this book, andreaders who think that there is “something” would be further charmed by the Amami
Islands.

TAKAMIYA Hiroto
SUZUKI Eizi
YAMAMOTO Sota
International Center for Island Studies,
Kagoshima University
December 2021

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Contents
Preface・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・iContents・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・iii
SECTION ONE: History
Prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands (1) ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・3
TAKAMIYA Hiroto (International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University)
Prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands (2) ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・5
TAKAMIYA Hiroto (International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University)
New technology for elucidating archaeological sites (land edition)・・・・・・・・・・7
SHINZATO Akito (Research Center for Buried Cultural Properties, Kumamoto University)
New technology for elucidating archaeological sites (seabed edition)・・・・・・・・・9
SHINZATO Akito (Research Center for Buried Cultural Properties, Kumamoto University)
Agricultural rituals held in inner caves of Okinoerabujima ・・・・・・・・・・・・・11
SHINZATO Takayuki (College of Global and Regional Culture,
Okinawa International University)

Satsuma ware in the political context ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・13
WATANABE Yoshiro (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
War ruins that connect memories to the future・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・15
ISHIDA Tomoko (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
Listening to the Shima war stories ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・17
KANESHIRO Itoe (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
Memories of a hometown that connect to the future ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・19
SATO Hiroyuki (Faculty of Education, Kagoshima University)
SECTION TWO: Culture
Following the birth of the Tatsugo pattern・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・23
UCHIYAMA Hatsumi (Amamiiru)
Oshima Tsumugi to be left in the future・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・25
UCHIYAMA Hatsumi (Amamiiru)“Amami Folk Song Awards”: Challenges for the future・・・・・・・・・・・・・・27
YANAGAWA Hidetoshi (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
New song of Shima-uta!・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・29
YANAGAWA Hidetoshi (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)

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SECTION THREE: Society
The making of urban Amami: Past and present of the city of Amami, Naze・・・・・・33
KIKATA Junne (Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University)
SHIMA (island) and Shima (village community) on Kikaijima ・・・・・・・・・・・35
NAKATANI Sumie (Global Initiative Center, Kagoshima University)
Supporting the revitalization of remote islands: Diversity and community ・・・・・・37
NISHIMURA Satoru (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
Ecotourism, and relationships with the community・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・39
SONG Da-Jeong (International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University)
What are the opportunities for taking a second look at the obvious?・・・・・・・・・41
SONG Da-Jeong (International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University)
Re-questioning the common sense of education from Amami・・・・・・・・・・・・45
OGURI Yuko (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
Towards research for exploring together・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・47
OGURI Yuko (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
SECTION FOUR: Economy
Reflections on island research ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・51
KAKINUMA Taro (Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University)
Agriculture, characteristics, and challenges of the Amami Islands・・・・・・・・・・53
SAKAI Norio (Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University)
Sugarcane and potatoes ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・55
SAKAI Norio (Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University)
Applying the wisdom of the reservoir in Okinoerabujima
to small-scale irrigation in the Philippines ・・・・・・57
NISHIMURA Satoru (Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University)
Fish is the “Treasure of the island” ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・59
TORII Takashi (Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University)
Society 5.0 @ Amami Islands ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・61
MASUYA Masato (Computing and Communications Center, Kagoshima University)
SECTION FIVE: Education
Young medical professionals studying on remote islands・・・・・・・・・・・・・・65
TAKEZAKI Toshiro (Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University)
Nursing and nursing staff at the Shima ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・67
KODAMA Shimpei (Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University)

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Charms of the island that nurture life・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・69
INOUE Naomi (Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University)
Ecosystem and environmental learning on Yoronjima・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・71
KITAMURA Yujin and UYENO Daisuke(Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University)

Intensive lecture on Yoronjima: An Island’s System ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・75
YAMAMOTO Sota (International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University)

Nagashima
The Koshikishima Islands
Kuchinoshima
The Tokara Islands Nakanoshima
Suwanosejima

Tanegashima

Yakushima

Amami Oshima

The Amami Islands Kakeromajima
Yoroshima
Okinoerabujima
Iheyajima
Izenajima
IejimaKumejima
Ishigakijima
Iriomotejima

Kikaijima
Ukeshima
Tokunoshima
Yoronjima

Okinawajima

The Okinawa Islands
Miyakojima

The Yaeyama Islands
Map of eight inhabited islands of the Amami Islands and islands mentioned in this book
(Map source: National Land Numerical Information [Administrative Division] by Japanese
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism).

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SECTION ONE:History

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands (1)TAKAMIYA Hiroto
You might first imagine the pyramids of the ancient Egyptians and Mayans when you
hear the words “ancient civilization.” There were no pyramids in the prehistoric period (theera without writing system, from approximately 30,000 years to several hundred years ago) of
the Amami and Okinawa Islands. Then why do we describe the prehistoric Amami andOkinawa Islands as an “island civilization”? Here, if we assume that civilization is an“ultimate culture established by humankind,” then it is clear that there was an ultimate culture
unparalleled in the world in the prehistoric Amami and Okinawa Islands. We would like tointroduce those points below.
Our direct ancestors (Homo sapiens) were born in Africa about 200,000 years ago. By
about 10,000 years ago, they had spread throughout the continents of Eurasia, Australia,
North America, and South America, except for Antarctica. The most astonishing part of thisspread was that it spanned from Alaska at its northernmost point to Chile at its southernmost
point in several thousand years. This aspect clearly shows the high adaptability of humanbeings to various environments.
It should also be emphasized that they were hunter-gatherers. Thus, hunter-gatherers
demonstrate their high adaptability to many different kinds of environments. While highlyable to adapt to various environments, even hunter-gatherers had difficulty crossing theislands 10,000 years ago. In reality, there have only been 10–15 islands inhabited by humans
10,000 years ago or earlier worldwide (Paleolithic period). However, archaeological sites
dated in the Paleolithic have been found on Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, Okinawajima,
Iejima, and Kumejima. Moreover, Paleolithic sites have been known to be in Tanegashima,
Miyakojima, and Ishigakijima. Thus, Paleolithic sites (approximately 35,000 to 10,000 yearsago) are known to be in a total of eight islands from the Ryukyu Islands—the Ryukyu Islands
rival those worldwide.
One of the explanations for why there were only a handful of islands with humanpopulations during the Paleolithic period was that island environments lacked sufficientnatural resources including animal and plant foods, making the hunter-gatherer lifestyledifficult; human populations needed farming to survive on the islands. Farming began in the
Neolithic period (from 10,000 years ago onwards), after which people inhabited most islands
worldwide. However, the world is still a large place.
There have been some exceptional examples of islands where hunter-gatherers lived.
Characteristics of these islands include (1) a large surface area, (2) proximity to continents
and larger islands, (3) the ability to utilize marine animals such as seals, (4) edible animals
and plants brought in from their motherland, and (5) combinations of some to all of these
possible.

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Prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands（1）TAKAMIYA Hiroto

None of these characteristics apply to the islands of Amami and Okinawa. However,recent studies continue to indicate that hunter-gatherers-fishers were present in the
Shellmidden period (approximately 7,000 to 1,000 years ago) of the Amami and Okinawa
Islands for several thousand years (several tens of thousands of years when including the
Paleolithic period). There are few other islands where this was the case. To use a slightly
exaggerated expression, the information being obtained from the Amami and Okinawa Islands
is thought to add a new page to human history as well as to world history.
As mentioned above, it seems that people on the Amami and Okinawa Islands made aliving by using animals and plants obtained from the natural world for thousands of years(tens of thousands when including the Paleolithic period). The people of the Shellmidden
period knew about the existence of rice cultivation through interactions with the Yayoi people
and the culture of the mainland; however, they did not leap into rice farming. According tosome researchers, they stubbornly refused to farm. This was not because thehunter-gathers-fishers of the Shellmidden period were “backwards” or “barbaric” people, butrather because the nature of the Amami and Okinawa Islands was abundant. Therefore, there
was no need to incorporate labor-intensive farming.
However, this period also ended approximately 1,000 years ago. It was clear that the
Amami and Okinawa Islands introduced farming focusing on rice and wheat during this time.
This farming began between the 8th and 12th centuries in the Amami Islands and the 10th and12th centuries in the Okinawa Islands. In other words, farming was introduced first in the
Amami Islands and then the Okinawa Islands. Therefore, during this time, the Amami andOkinawa Islands oversaw a transition from hunting, gathering, and fishing to farming. Still
there are almost no other islands worldwide where there was a transition from hunting andgathering to farming.
As previously mentioned, most islands
worldwide were colonized by farmers—there wasno hunter-gatherer period on these islands.
Meanwhile, exceptional examples of islands
inhabited by a hunter-gatherer society continued
to do so until “discovered” by Europeans andothers. In other words, there was a rare cultural
phenomenon in the prehistoric periods of theAmami and Okinawa Islands in this respect as
Oldest edible acorns in the Amami
well. The transition from hunting and gathering to Islands (from approximately 11,000
farming is one of the most important, yet years ago, excavated from the Hango
site, Tatsugo town). Hunter-gatherersmysterious, research themes in archaeology and fishers of the Amami and Okinawa
anthropology while the fact that the transition Islands ate nuts such as acorns for long
periods of time.
occurred on islands provides extremely important
evidence of this theme to these fields.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands (2)TAKAMIYA Hiroto
The environment of an island is very delicate. The environment of an island before
people colonized it, had its own long history: several hundreds of thousands to millions ofyears ago, or perhaps even longer; plants and animals arrived on the islands, where they
adapted and evolved. As a result, a balanced and extremely delicate environment was created.
One can easily imagine that the ecosystem, evolved over millennia, would be influenced by
the arrival of an external species. It is said that humans are the most troublesome among theseexternal species.
For example, humans need forest resources for homes, boats, fuel, and so on. Even thearrival of the single species, the human, into an island environment would affect that
ecosystem, but humans intentionally bring with them livestock, animals such as dogs, andcultivated plants, and may unintentionally bring in animals and plants such as rats and weeds.
As a result, human colonization in many islands worldwide has been reported to cause
environmental degradation or destruction, such as the extinction of species (it is said thatapproximately 2,000 species in the islands of Oceania have become either extinct ordisappeared from the islands), deforestation, landslides, and resource depletion. Researchers
have hypothesized that: human colonization of an island environment = environmental
destruction / degradation.
Thinking that “there must have been a similar trend during the prehistoric period of theAmami and Okinawa Islands,” researchers have investigated this hypothesis for about 30
years. This research focused mainly on the Shellmidden period, where data were accumulated.
First, no extinct animals were found according to TOIZUMI Takeji of Waseda University, who
conducted analyses of vertebrates, unlike other islands worldwide. What was learned recently
was that people had eaten Amami no Kuro Usagi (the Amami rabbit hereafter in this book,scientific name, Pentalagus furnessi) since the early part of the Shellmidden period.
It would be very likely that the Amami rabbits, consumed from a very early period,
would have been extinct long ago if this were another island. However, they continued tosurvive, and it is now a symbol of the World Natural Heritage. According to TOIZUMI, it was
believed that the utilization of vertebrates was stable throughout the Shellmidden period.
Furthermore, research on the global utilization of shellfish on islands has indicated that thetypes of shellfish gathered changed from those that were easy to collect to those more difficult
or dangerous to gather. Moreover, since the objective was to gather shellfish meat, the size ofshells gathered were large at first, but excessive gathering resulted in a gradual decrease in thesize of the shellfish.
These trends, however, were not recognized in the Amami and Okinawa Islands.
KUROZUMI Taiji of the Chiba Prefectural Central Museum, who has been studying shellfish

6Prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands（2）TAKAMIYA Hiroto

excavated from sites dating to the Shellmidden period for many years, stated that “there wasno human-based influence on shellfish.” Though not surviving as well as the animals, theplants of the Shellmidden period, understood from plant species and pollen, exhibited no
major human-based influence on the environment. The analysis methods of the archaeologicaland related disciplines available today suggest, for now, that the impact of humans on thenatural environment was not significant on the Amami and Okinawa Islands, during theShellmidden period, unlike many islands worldwide. This was perhaps the case during thepreceding Paleolithic period as well. Recent studies have shown that human populations
began to affect the islands’ environment around the 11th century when farming began.
Comparing and verifying the prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands withislands globally have made it clear from the results of research over the last 30 years that the
Amami and Okinawa Islands had an extremely rare cultural phenomenon regarding theabove-mentioned four aspects (the islands where Homo sapiens were settled in the Paleolithic
period, the islands where hunter-gatherers-fishers lived, the islands that transitioned fromhunting, gathering, and fishing to farming, and the islands in “harmony” with nature (?)).
Globally, if even one of the four aspects is recognized in the “island” environment, then it
seems to have been an anthropologically “rare” island. Not only one but four of these aspects
may have existed in the Amami and Okinawa Islands.
There are six ancient civilizations in the world, but there may only be one island in theworld with a prehistoric history like that of the Amami and Okinawa Islands. The ultimate
human culture, so to speak, may have developed in the prehistoric period of the Amami andOkinawa Islands. There was no “urbanization” or “writing system,” the elements ofcivilization, in the prehistoric period of the Amami and Okinawa Islands, but if the facts
introduced here are not rejected in the future, can they perhaps be added as one of thetriumphant cultures of humans as well?

Oldest grain in the Amami Islands (rice excavated from the
Gusuku site group, Kikai town). Cereal farming was first
introduced in the area approximately a thousand years ago.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

New technology for elucidating archaeological sites(land edition)
SHINZATO Akito
There has been dramatic progress in recent years on the investigation of thearchaeological sites in the Amami Islands. This progress has been because each local
government in the Amami Islands has a curator (or curators) specializing in archaeology.
Furthermore, academic researches and excavations accompanying land development havedramatically increased. Not only have the number of excavations increased, but also theintroduction of new technologies has enabled further investigation of the discovered sites thanin the past. Let’s introduce practical examples from the field and the results obtained fromthem.
Archaeological excavations primarily involve recordkeeping, using photographs anddrawings. This is to broadly convey the situations at the sites by showing the locations andshapes of the remains (buildings, tombs, etc.) excavated from the sites in a drawing. The past
events confirmed in the excavation area are represented in a drawing, and the history of theland is examined from its characteristics. In that sense, archaeological excavation can berephrased as the one way to make a historical map.
On-site mapping work has mainly been conducted by handwriting until recent, but
nowadays a range-finding device called a “total station” has been used, enabling themeasurement of a wide area with a high level of accuracy. The use of digital cameras and GPS
is quite commonplace. Drone-generated aerial photographs and ortho-images (photographsthat correct distortion of shot image and have accurate positional information and scale data)
are also being adopted.
These devices are used to create a plan view of large villages spanning tens of thousandsof square meters at the Gusuku site group in Kikaijima. The devices have also been used torecord, in detail, the internal shapes of cave sites and ancient tombs in steep cliffs on
Okinoerabujima and Tokunoshima.
A village operated in the flatland area on a limestone plateau in the Maeatari site
(Gusuku period: 11th to 12th centuries) in Omonawa, Isen town, which I have conducted an
excavation, and paddy fields were confirmed in the adjacent valley. These new types oftechnological devices make it possible to reflect a floor plan of the survey area in thesurrounding topographic map and represent the land use in the Gusuku period as a map. The
coordinates of the world geodetic system are the standard, so the new technology also makes
it possible to place information on archaeological sites on a world map.
Remort-sensing methods have also been developed that can investigate undergroundobjects and structures without excavating sites. The Tokunoshima Kamuiyaki pottery kiln site

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New technology for elucidating archaeological sites（land edition）
SHINZATO Akito(11th to 14th centuries) comprised a group of kiln sites buried in a forest of over 100 hectares.
A magnetic probe-based survey was conducted to identify the places where the kilns wereburied. Soil contains a large amount of iron, so heating this to high temperatures using a fire,
results in the material developing stronger magnetic properties than its surroundings. A
magnetic probe can detect this magnetic anomaly.
Explorations of areas where many Kamuiyaki pottery pieces were found in the forest
revealed several magnetic anomalies, increasing the likelihood that many kilns were buried in
the ground. Combining these results with high-precision topographic maps created at thesame time as the exploration allowed for the mapping of the remaining kiln sites, making thisa successful example of a survey that clarified the current state of the sites without excavation.
Archaeology is known as a discipline in the humanities, but it is indispensable tocollaborate with various disciplines to unravel the history of an area from the traces thatpeople in the past carved into the earth. How did the people of the past face nature; how did
they use it? Further understanding the history of island civilizations and depicting them evenmore vividly requires the selection of the best methods according to the characteristics of thearchaeological site while keeping an eye out for new technical development, and achallenging spirit to gain new knowledge. Curators should play a large role in this process.

Plan view of the excavated area of the Maeatari site in Omonawa, Isen town. Paddy fields
were found in the valley on the west side facing the Omonawa River, and traces ofbuildings and tombs were found on the flat land at the foot of the hill on the east side.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

New technology for elucidating archaeological sites(seabed edition)
SHINZATO Akito
Traces of the activities of people in the past can remain not only on land but also on
seabeds, lakebeds, and riverbeds. Typical examples are harbor sites and ship moorings foundon the beach and downstream of the river, and sunken ships on the seabed. The Kurakizaki
underwater site (Uken village), where many Chinese ceramics dating from the 12th and 13th
centuries were discovered, are famous on the Amami Islands. However, iron anchors and
Ikariishi (weights for sinking wooden anchors) were also found in the sea at the ports inOmonawa and San ports. The three towns in Tokunoshima (Tokunoshima, Amagi, and Isen)that focused on these discoveries have engaged in efforts to investigate cultural properties thatsank into the sea and have begun excavating the history of the area.
Underwater sites are often found because of information from divers and fishermen.
Some examples of this are a bottom trawl net pulling up items on the seabed, or when part of
the wrecked ship or an anchor when a diver finds an anchor accidentally during a recreational
dive. The ocean is more expansive than the land, so random diving does nothing but consume
time and energy to find archaeological sites. Therefore, it is important to narrow down the
diving points by collecting historical information on the coastal waters by examining local
historical materials and folklore with the cooperation of people who are involved with the sea
every day. It is also important to walk along the beaches and reefs of the sea and collectmaterials that have washed ashore. Archaeologists sort out this information and select target
areas where they should investigate.
Cultural properties found in the water are fragmentary materials of underwater sites, but
let’s examine how to reflect these places on a map. Tokunoshima is known as the location of
the Tokunoshima Kamuiyaki pottery kiln site (11th to 14th centuries). The shipping port thatwas the starting point for transporting Kamuiyaki pottery to various areas has not yet beenfound. For these reasons, the three towns of Tokunoshima have decided to investigate the sea
area around the island by cooperating beyond their respective towns and boldly taking on thechallenge of elucidating the history of the sea in anticipation of the discovery of the
Kamuiyaki shipping port.
What are the characteristics of the sea area that are likely to be related to the traffic ofships? To clarify this question, historical information obtained through interview surveys,
coastal surveys, and a collection of local historical materials were recorded on a map, andseafloor topography surveys were conducted in areas where results were concentrated. The
multi-beam sonar used for seabed surveying is a device that measures the distance (depth) tothe seabed by calculating the time it takes for sound waves emitted from the ship to reflect off

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New technology for elucidating archaeological sites（seabed edition）
SHINZATO Akito

the seabed and return, so that a seabed topographic map can be created under the navigationroute of a GPS-equipped ship. Multiple iron anchors with four claws (Edo period) have been
discovered around Omonawa port in Isen town. However, it became clear when the locationsof those discoveries, recorded in the preliminary survey, were displayed on the completed
topographic map of the seabed that the anchors used for the ships were distributed in thecrevices of coral reefs. It is speculated that the sailors of that time were anchoring their ships
in deep areas to avoid grounding on the rocks. We were surprised at their high level ofknowledge about coastal topography in an era when it was difficult to grasp underwaterconditions without diving equipment.
We do not know the location of the shipping port of Kamuiyaki, so these investigations
will continue. However, it is certain that underwater exploration equipment will be effectivein elucidating the history of island civilization. It may not be too long before the unknown sea
area history is disclosed by combining traditional method (historical information gathering onland by interviewing people and visual inspection underwater) and new technology whichenable us to explore the bottom of the water.

Iron anchor with four claws found at Omonawa port (photographed on November 16,2015). Photograph shows the process of attaching floats to acquire GPS data on thewater’s surface.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Agricultural rituals held in inner caves of Okinoerabujima
SHINZATO Takayuki
There are over 300 caves in Okinoerabujima. The beautiful structures of nature, taking
the form similar to an underground palace filled with abundant groundwater, have often beenfeatured in the media, making it famous as an island with beautiful tourist caves. However,
did you know that there are many caves that are very valuable as archaeological sites on
Okinoerabujima?
One of these is the Nakafu cave ruins, known to have been used for approximately 6,000
years ago. Glass beads and cylindrical beads made of jasper worn on human bones have been
discovered from Shoryudo cave, a famous tourist cave. Caves and rock shelters have beenused since ancient times because they can help people avoid wind and rain and often haveabundant spring water.
About a thousand years ago, the Southern Islands experienced major socioeconomicchanges from the Amami Islands to the Yaeyama Islands. New tableware, cereal farming,
livestock, ironware, and other items were introduced from Kyushu. The life of thehunter-gatherer society, which had been supported by rich reefs and forests as well as sporadic
exchange, rapidly began to change into one of farming. These are some of the rituals thatwould have been held in the caves of Okinoerabujima during these turbulent times.
Hosudo cave is said to have a total length of over 2,179.7 meters and eight caveentrances. The Kansei Gakuin University expedition discovered a part of this in 1977, and theentire structure was revealed by the expedition of the fifth Okinoerabujima cave in 1998. A
2018 survey by TV Asahi discovered earthenware and human bones from the fourth cave,
making it a “well-known archaeological site,” and the first archaeological excavation was
conducted in 2011.
The opening of the fourth cave entrance is a vertical hole and can become as narrow as
one meter. Descending this hole down a narrow sloping passage for 10 m leads to the bottomof a waterway. There is no large space inside, and many cave-in ceilings overlap. The lime inthe caves sticks to the side walls, forming some narrow flat areas and slopes. There is no
outside light, and it is a pitch-black darkness.
Earthenware and Kamuiyaki (Tokunoshima pottery) fragments have been discovered
here without being buried at the bottom-most areas of the waterway, and surprisingly, bovinebones are also scattered here. One step above the waterway on the flat parts and slopes formedby the cave-in, there are many cracked earthenware remains almost without any burying, andtraces of burned fire can be seen in places when the thin topsoil is taken off. The flat part canbe ascended further in a spiral shape, and earthenware broken into quarters can be found evenat that level. On the wall was a stone-enclosed hearth, above which was a charcoal layer 2 cm
thick, where a quarter of the broken earthenware was placed.
The positions of the items were all recorded, and some of the earthenware, Kamuiyaki,
bovine bones, human bones, and hearth soil were removed and taken back to the laboratory

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Agricultural rituals held in inner caves of Okinoerabujima
SHINZATO Takayuki

for further analysis. The analysis results showed a surprising development. With the exceptionof some items, the bovine bones, charcoal from the heath, and the carbides attached to theearthenware were all dated to the 11th to 13th centuries. The results also showed that the
charcoal in the heath contained only a large amount of barley that was dated to the 13th
century.
The items and their production conditions were re-examined based on the results of thisanalysis, and the findings indicated that there was something unnatural about considering
these to be living spaces, for these reasons. (1) There are other cave areas, but the items wereconcentrated only at the fourth cave entrance. (2) There are traces behind the pitch-black cavewhere light does not reach. (3) The flat part inside is very narrow, and without space where
people can live day-to-day. (4) Despite the fact that the openings are barely over one meter attheir narrow sections, bovine bones were found inside the cave (Were they cut up and brought
in as pieces?). (5) Only half of the earthenware was brought inside the cave, intentionallybroken, and placed separately. (6) Only carbonized barley was in the heath (usually detected
as a group alongside rice, wheat, millet, etc.). (7) There are no marine shellfish or fish bones.
(8) There are only a few pieces of earthenware and Kamuiyaki comprising tableware (usually,a large amount of talc stone pots, Chinese ceramics, ironware, etc. that are excavated as a set
of utensils for daily life).
Integrating these eight aspects, the results indicate that this cave was not just a place ofliving or a shelter for disaster avoidance, but also that rituals and ceremonies related tofarming were introduced and conducted in the caves at introduction and development stagesof farming on the Southern Islands. Similar sites have not yet been confirmed on the Southern
Islands. Using this excavation as an opportunity, we look forward to the day when locals will
convey the value and charm of the cave on Okinoerabujima, which is not limited only tonatural beauty.

Earthenware placed in front of an altar-like stone, with stalactites stuck
into it, on a flat area at the top of the cave. Approximately a thousand
years old but unburied (Hosudo cave’s fourth cave entrance ruins).

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Satsuma ware in the political context
WATANABE Yoshiro
Ceramics were not produced in the Amami Islands during the early-modern period (fromthe 17th century to the middle of 19th century), so they needed to be obtained from outside theisland. Hizen ceramics came from the North Kyushu (currently Saga / Nagasaki Prefectures),
Satsuma ware from Kagoshima, and Tsuboya ware from Okinawa. Chinese ceramics also
were brought in through Okinawa. In other words, the Amami Islands formed a distribution
area consisting of three layers: flows from the north (Hizen / Satsuma), flows from the south(China), and flows within the island area (Tsuboya). Among the flows from the north, I willdeal with the products of the Tateno kiln, a Satsuma domain kiln.
A domain kiln is directly operated by a domain, and its primary purpose was to produce
tea utensils and daily necessities used by senior samurai, including the feudal lord; furniture,and banquet equipment at the domain residence in Edo (currently Tokyo); and tributes andgifts to the shogunate and other daimyo. The most famous was the Nabeshima domain kiln in
Saga, which fired the Nabeshima ware that was considered the finest ceramics for the
shogunate. The Tateno kiln of the Satsuma domain produced Shirosatsuma, a transparent
glaze on a white body; Sunko Roku-utsushi, imitating Thai pottery; and Mishimade, whereclays of different colors were inlaid. These were not easily obtainable by common people
during the early-modern period.
Products of this Tateno kiln have been stored in the old families of Amami Oshima. The
Nishi family of Ikomo on Kakeromajima in Setouchi town has been a Yohito (highest island
official) for generations beginning in the latter half of the 18th century. Three Shirosatsuma
clove boilers and one Mishimade clove boiler with black soil inlaid on white body, have been
handed down in this family (stored in the Setouchi Town Folk Museum). A clove boiler is asmall boiler that is used for deodorizing and moisture-proofing by decocting cloves andgenerating a fragrance. It is commonly seen among Tateno kiln products. The items of the
Nishi family all used a fine white clay with delicate decorations.
Clove boilers fired in the same Tateno kiln have also been handed down in the Morioka
family of Yamato village (stored in the Amami City Amami Museum). However, this boiler iscovered in a brown glaze. The wooden box in which the clove boiler was placed has the yearof Kaei 7 (1854) as well as the name of the owner, “Maebuni.” The Morioka family was afamily of influential people in the region who also served as Yohito in the early-modern era,and Maebuni also became a Yohito in 1846. One Shirosatsuma bowl from the Tateno kiln has
been also handed down.
There are similar examples in Okinawa. Double-handled jars in the Mishimade style
from the Tateno kiln (stored in Kumejima Museum) have also been passed down throughfamilies who turned out many Kimihae (Chimbe), the highest rank of Noro in Kumejima. The

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Satsuma ware in the political context
WATANABE Yoshiro

Noro was a religious authority appointed by the Ryukyu Kingdom and was an influential
figure in the region.
The Tateno kiln products in Amami Oshima are likely to have been bestowed by thedomain since the owners were local influential persons. The items of Kumejima were
probably given through the Ryukyu Kingdom. Though these domain kiln products were madewith precision and beauty, they were more valuable as domain kiln products and gifts fromthe domain. For people of influence, gifts are not only an honor but also effective inincreasing the authority of the owners themselves against the background of the authority ofthe domain. For the domains as well, gifting these to people such as Yohito may have hadpolitical significance to smooth their rule over the islands.
Many of the early-modern ceramics were products necessary for daily life, such astableware including bowls, plates; jars for storing liquids such as water; and mortar for
grinding miso or sesame. At the same time, some were produced and distributed as symbols
of political power and authority. The Tateno kiln products handed down in the old families inAmami tell of how the domain ruled the island at that time.

Shirosatsuma clove boiler handed down by the Nishi family in Ikomo,Kakeromajima (stored in the Setouchi Town Folk Museum)

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

War ruins that connect memories to the future
ISHIDA Tomoko
I saw war for the first time with my own eyes. The former Japanese Army ammunition
arsenal in Tean; the observatory in Nishikomi; the Shinyo suicide motorboat storage trenches
in Nominoura, Kakeromajima; the Kaneko-Tezaki defense station in Ankyaba. These are thefeelings felt at the sites of many war-related ruins (war ruins) that remain in Setouchi town,
located in the southern part of Amami Oshima. War is a memory of my grandparents. Since I
was born after the war, it is a story I heard from those who experienced the war while I wason a school trip at the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. I also learned a difficult decision at
the Chiran Peace Museum. A war that I thought was an extraordinary event, far removed frommyself, it is still in front of me in Amami Oshima even after the war. I was overwhelmed by
the power of the real thing.
As I look around with interest, I notice that many war ruins remained close to me. For
example, traces of the war remain in current living areas where the houses are lined up, suchas the remains of the Oshima Fortress Command Center and the Hoanden in the center
Koniya, Setouchi town, and the three radio towers looming over Akaogi, Tatsugo town. The
war ruins have remained there all this time, but they are “invisible” without any interest or
knowledge. However, once recognized, they become storytellers of the history of the areas
affected by war.
There are countless war ruins in the Amami Islands that are surprisingly well preserved.
We have been exploring the war ruins of Amami Oshima with students from Kagoshima
University since 2016. We have learned through this process that we can directly confront thereal existence of these areas as a result of the efforts of many people, including culturalproperty managers and local historians, who continue their research to connect the memoriesof the war to the future; residents who voluntarily perform management work such as mowing
so that people can safely visit; and guides who help visitors develop a deeper understanding.
Meanwhile, there are many war ruins that decay without being of interest to anyone.
I was asked at Kakeromajima, “Why are archaeologists interested in war ruins?” The
entire history of humankind, not just the prehistoric period where no written records exist, isthe subject of archaeological research. There has been increased interest in recent years, inresearching, preserving, and utilizing war ruins following the 1984 advocation by a researcher
in Okinawa Prefecture for war ruins archaeology in the Pacific War.
Many war-related documents were lost because they either disappeared during the war,
were intentionally destroyed at the end of the war, or disposed of alongside postwar
development. Nevertheless, materials such as concrete structures on the ground as well as
military ammunition and tableware unearthed from archaeological excavations remain. We
can infer from the large quantity of rocks and coral mixed into the concrete that conditions at
the end of the way were difficult. The painful and abominable past of repeated failures is an
important aspect of history, in addition to the bright aspects of favorable development.

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War ruins that connect memories to the future
ISHIDA Tomoko

It is the responsibility of modern people to record the “memories of loss” and convey tothe future generations the folly of choosing war as a means of solving problems. There is amajor role to be fulfilled by archaeology, a discipline that seeks ways to live in the future byknowing the process by which the present world is constructed from a long-term perspective.
During my surveys with students, I did not know the location of the destination that I had
checked in advance, and I asked for directions in Sani village in Kasari town. I heard a
detailed story of the “Banzai Rock,” which was the place where the locals last saw young
boys being shipped off to war. It is an important place for the people of Sani; however, thiswould be an ordinary rock if this story were not known. There are memories of the war
revolving around not only artificial structures such as military facilities but also naturallandscapes and places, but these cannot be known without human language. Things alone aremeaningless. If the knowledge or experience were not left behind as records now, they will begone forever.
Is there something we can do? We first thought that it was important to know, and webegan to be involved in the battlefields of Amami Oshima, centering on the archaeology
seminars of the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Humanities in Kagoshima University.
Recently, people have become more interested in the project. We are now collaborating withthe anthropology and social science education seminars.
Now is the only opportunity to directly compare the testimony of war survivors(humans) and war records based on historical documents (events) with the war ruins (things /locations), and verify the mutual value and historical awareness. We hope that you will watch
over us—who do not know war—as we find new value in war ruins as a cultural heritage ofthe region and seek to connect the memories and records related to the war to the future.

Survey scene at the former Japanese Army ammunition arsenal in Tean, Setouchi town

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Listening to the Shima war stories
KANESHIRO Itoe
The island of Amami Oshima is known for its abundant nature. However, few people
know the fact that this beautiful island once had military stations, and that many war-related
constructions remain. It was a few years ago that I came to know the fact from a conversation
with a colleague. Then, I began to walk around the island to see war ruins, and I found thatmany of them were located near the villages, which means that the war happened right infront of the residents.
So, how did the people in the village experience the war? Although the relationshipbetween the war stations and the local community can be found in fragments in collections
written by local people about their war experiences, it is difficult to grasp the whole picture ofwhat was happening in the villages. This is because, access by the general public to themilitary installation areas was greatly restricted, so that even the local people did not know
the details. However, did the military installations have any impact on the daily lives of the
Shima, considering that they were adjacent to the villages? If that were the case, how did thepeople of the Shima survive the war? These questions come to me one after another when I
visited the war ruins.
In 2018, faculty and students studying cultural anthropology and archaeology at
Kagoshima University formed a team to conduct interview surveys on the war in the Shimaon Amami Oshima. The first interviews were conducted with people in their 70s to 90s livingin Tatsugo town in December 2018. We mainly asked for their stories of living through the
war and their memories of the battles. We were able to learn many aspects of the war in the
Shima including stories of making bombproof shelters, escaping from air raids with their lives,
school life during the war and after.
We also heard some episodes where even though the war was raging, they as children at
the time played, made jokes and fooled around. One student mentioned that it reminded themof the war drama ‘In this Corner of the World’ at the discussion after the survey. It seemedthat they could understand how people in Shima continued to live their lives in wartime, andhow easily their daily life was threatened by massive violence—this is war.
Now that more than 70 years have passed since the end of the war, the number of those
who directly experienced it is decreasing, and their voices are about to be lost. Therefore, it
can be said that this is the last chance to directly listen to these war experiences. It is
undoubtedly necessary to collect, as much as possible, the voices of how people survived thewar and transcribe them so that anyone in the future will be able to “hear” them. Compilingrecords of the war in the Shima in this way will be important information to convey the war to
those generations who did not experience it.

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Listening to the Shima war stories
KANESHIRO Itoe

In addition, it is meaningful to think once again about the war on the island. Islands areoften far from the center of the nation geographically and marginalized politically andeconomically. In states of emergency such as war, islands often become places that are easily
abandoned as frontlines of the battlefield.
Therefore, thinking about the “War of the Shima” is important issue when considering
the relationship between war and society. We together with our students would like tocontinue the surveys in collaboration with the local people in order to be able to pass on thehistory of the region and the stories of the war.

Students listening to the stories of war in the Shima (photographed by ISHIDA Tomoko)

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Memories of a hometown that connect to the future
SATO Hiroyuki
On December 14, 2019, I participated in the “Sacred Land of Japanese Sweets” study
tour of Koniya High School. Given that Christmas was just around the corner, there were atotal of 40 first- to third-year students dressed as Santa Claus and reindeer who took a tour
around the site of the white sugar factory in Kuji, Koniya town. They shared quizzes andgames with a total of 44 preschoolers, elementary school students, and their parents joining.
I took part in the quiz as practice on the bus from Koniya to Kuji. The participants weredivided into four teams once at the factory, and with worksheets in hand, they toured four
locations, such as the white sugar rocks and ruins of the white sugar factory that remain in thevillage, where they learned about the history of those areas while having fun with quizzes andgames that the high school students prepared at each location. On the ride back, theparticipants had a great time playing a bingo game which reflected the content learned on thetour.
A rehearsal tour was held a month ago, in November, in which I also participated.
Besides the tour, which involved only listening to the quizzes and explanations given by thehigh school students, there were games to search for photographs and keywords hidden in thesurrounding area and experiences to measure the length of the chimney (36 m) of the whitesugar factory with your own stride length, and there were a variety of efforts to make children
enjoy learning.
I had thought that there was still room for improvement in the worksheet, but this is justthe ramblings of a random man. The children were writing in the worksheets while
passionately listening to the explanations of the high school students. There were scenes
where the children would ask questions and the high school students would answer them. To
what extent has the memory of the white sugar factory being here permeated into thechildren? This is not something for which the answers should immediately be sought and is aproblem that should be considered over a long time.
During this time, the high school students went through numerous phases of trial anderror, thinking about how to best communicate this information in an easy-to-understandmanner. On the day of the tour, each high school student took responsibility for explaining theinformation. In fact, the high school students themselves have simulated the experience ofconnecting the memories of the white sugar factory to the future. It can be said that thismemory was certainly inherited by the high school students.
The memory of the hometown created in relation to society is also evidence that people
inhabited and lived there. The disappearance of this signifies the disappearance of the people
there, and their history. However, today, local communities have become weakened withaging, population outflow, and industrial decline, making it difficult to pass on conventional

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Memories of a hometown that connect to the future
SATO Hiroyuki

and practical wisdom and memory. Meanwhile, it is not always the case that the population
flowing into a city would create something like that of a local community. I felt comfort andreliability in watching what seemed more like neighborhood lads and lasses doing their best toteach neighborhood children rather than high school students teaching elementary school
students.
This kind of inheritance of the memories of a hometown cannot be completed by leaving
them in the hands of experts. That being said, it is also not a solution to rely entirely on highschool students. It is each resident who is interested in each position of society who connects
the circle of inheritance of memory, and it is desirable that residents take the initiative in theirown efforts. The communities in which we live every day contain a large amount ofheterogeneity and diversity. Having a regular and constant relationship is important for eachindividual resident to understand each other’s differences, find connections in them, andnurture those connections.
On top of this, there is no choice but to expand the “mutual” aspect as a collaborative
arena that includes diversity in the process of learning or rediscovering the past and creating
something new while inheriting that past. A new historical image should be opened by new
relationships with people.
I was able to see this in the study tour.
The fact that, on December 14, 2019, there were high school students in Koniya whocarried out activities to connect the memory of the Kuji white sugar factory, built by theSatsuma domain, from the Bakumatsu period to the future; and the fact that there werechildren who passionately participated in those activities.
This series will be reliable material that conveys this fact 100 years later, 1000 years later,and even beyond.

Children taking a quiz in front of the model of a white sugar factory

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SECTION TWO:
Culture

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
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No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Following the birth of the Tatsugo pattern
UCHIYAMA Hatsumi
Most people would answer “Tatsugo pattern” to the question, “What is the representative
pattern of Oshima Tsumugi?” A part of the Tatsugo pattern has been symbolically used forT-shirts and wrapping paper in recent years, so it seems that it is becoming popular as one of
the icons representing Amami.
How would people answer the question, “What kind of pattern is the Tatsugo pattern?” I
could answer, “This is the Tasugo pattern” if actually shown it, but if asked to describe thepattern verbally, I would struggle to answer. Recently, there have been hypotheses that it is a
design of Habu, cycads, or hibiscus.
About ten years ago, Mr. NAKATA Kazuo (1934–2019), a member of the Tatsugo Town
Cultural Properties Protection Council, told me that the “origin of the Tatsugo pattern was apinwheel pattern made from pandanus leaves,” which triggered my developing an interest in
the Tatsugo pattern. I have been blessed with the position of a visiting researcher at theInternational Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University, giving me the opportunity toconsider this in depth.
Mr. NAKATA wrote about clothing in general, including Oshima Tsumugi, in publications
such as “Tatsugo Town Magazine: History,” “Cultural Properties of Tatsugo Town,” and“Tatsugo History Society Bulletin / Eternal.” The section on Amami Oshima Tsumugi,
particularly in Tatsugo Town Magazine: History (1988), described in detail the origin of the
Tatsugo pattern. He considered 13 Tsumugi samples and two designs that were woven around1900. The design was described as a Gajimosha (pinwheel), “The design at the center was aGajimosha (pinwheel) made of pandanus leaves. Two of these were stacked on top of eachother to produce a cycad leaf motif, which was then called a cycad pattern.”
The pinwheel made from pandanus leaves was a familiar toy for children in the past.
Growing up in the middle of the Showa era, I did not have many toys around me, so I madethis pinwheel on the beach and ran toward the wind. It is easy to imagine that a pinwheel wasa more familiar toy to children of the Meiji era than those of my generation.
The Kasuri motif or pattern, named a pinwheel, is listed as a sample of old patterns in
Wadomari Town Magazine and Yoron Town Magazine. In addition to the “Oshima District
Textile Summary” made by SASAMORI Gisuke, the island official in 1895, which was written
to promote the distribution of Tsumugi on the mainland. The name of the pattern originated inthis old era and has nothing in common with the motif except this pinwheel pattern. It is thesame as the name indicated by Mr. NAKATA.
At the time, the Kasuri motif with the pinwheel pattern was woven by hand-tied kasuri
threads. Around 1907 a shimebata loom was invented that could weave patterns with evengreater detail. Additionally, the cycad leaf motif was born to complement these patterns and24
Following the birth of the Tatsugo pattern
UCHIYAMA Hatsumi

played an auxiliary role in filling that space. The cycad leaf motif differed from thespace-filling patterns to date, and the new space-filling design was actively adopted in each
Shima (village community) of Tatsugo. The name was different depending on each village andproducer, but merchants and middlemen from the mainland unified the name as the “Tatsugo
pattern.”
In the Taisho era, a Tatsugo pattern with four Tama (the four Tama involved two different
patterns as a single set, with four sets arranged on the sides), called the “Sumi-chiyo pattern,”
was developed. It was from this time onwards that the image of the current general Tatsugo
pattern was established.
Large patterns, such as with one or two Tama, were born with the development of theshimebata loom, and the early Showa era was the heyday of the Tatsugo pattern. There wererequests from wholesalers on the mainland after the war. Oshima Tsumugi in various patterns
began, but the Tatsugo pattern had an enduring popularity regardless of the era and is now arepresentative classic pattern.
I have looked at various Tatsugo patterns and re-consider the question, “What is the
Tatsugo pattern?” asked in the beginning of this story.
What these have in common are that (1) two different patterns are developed as a set, and(2) a cycad leaf motif is included. The shape of the motif is often the shape of a rhombus, andthough relatively few, there are some combinations with circles. These patterns are combinedwith large and small variations. A cycad leaf motif is used to connect them, in turn generating
the many Tatsugo patterns seen, which people from the late Meiji era have been untiringly
loved by to the present. The Tatsugo pattern made of the pinwheel and the surrounding cycad
leaf motif is truly a wonderful pattern born from the nature of Amami. As I think about theancestors who created this design, I hope that the Tatsugo pattern will remain forever.

Gajimosha pattern, which is said to havebeen the origin of the Tatsugo pattern

Tatsugo pattern with four Tama

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
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No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Oshima Tsumugi to be left in the future
UCHIYAMA Hatsumi
I was blessed with the opportunity to conduct research on the theme of the formation of
the pattern of Oshima Tsumugi (Tatsugo pattern) and the transitions of the pattern in 2019 as avisiting researcher at the International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University.
I have re-read the materials I collected to date and searched for the name of Oshima
Tsumugi and read books in places such as libraries on the island, libraries in Kagoshima
University, and in used bookstores. I felt that there were very few books on the origin andhistory of the Oshima Tsumugi pattern.
For three years beginning in September 2007, I had the opportunity to publish essays on
the dyeing and weaving culture of Oshima Tsumugi and Amami in the Nankai Nichinichi
Shinbun. From that time onwards, I was occasionally consulted on the remodeling of old
Tsumugi, and the Oshima Tsumugi including various stories, such as an “Oshima Tsumugi
woven by their mother when she was young,” and “What their grandmother did when she wasstill alive.” As I looked at these, compared the patterns, and estimated the production periodof each, I began to sense a joy in learning the living history of the Oshima Tsumugi; obtaining
a knowledge and gathering information that could not be learned from written works.
Furthermore, at every opportunity, I began to emphasize the importance of preserving the oldOshima Tsumugi in the local area.
I recently had the opportunity to meet two people who had old Oshima Tsumugi. The
first person had a men’s haori with a pattern that I had never seen before. The pattern wasvery fine, the round shapes were very visible, and it was clearly different from the pattern of
men’s items that I have usually seen. I became very excited over the pattern, quickly looking
up the name. As I compared it with old scrap samples from the second volume of the Naze
City Magazine, I found that this pattern was called the “Koyo Chirashi.” The second person
had a kimono with a “Hakkina Tobi” pattern, where stars and round shapes were neatly
scattered on a black background, then surrounded by small diamonds, circles, squares, andother shapes. It was a pattern that gave the impression of the shapes copied from the nature of
Amami itself. I had seen this pattern in scraps and materials, but this was the first time I had
seen a kimono with the Hakkina Tobi pattern itself.
The haori and kimono I encountered this time were excellent, and once again I felt theappeal of the Oshima Tsumugi. The beauty of the motif represented by the fine kasuri iscomparable to that of textiles worldwide. The ancestors of this technique utilized theirknowledge, time, and effort; sought constant improvement, and poured their passion intocreating an ever-superior Oshima Tsumugi until reaching the shape of today’s Oshima
Tsumugi. These techniques were passed down verbally from the Meiji to the early Showa era.
Therefore, there are very few fabrics that have been recorded in line with the occurrence of26
Oshima Tsumugi to be left in the future
UCHIYAMA Hatsumi

patterns and technological reforms in dyeing and weaving compared to the heyday of that
time.
There is no definitive evidence to date, but the previously mentioned “Koyo Chirashi”
and “Hakkina Tobi” patterns are thought to have been from the Taisho era, considering thematerials and the stories heard from their respective owners. Comparing and analyzing theirrespective stories, when Oshima Tsumugi with similar patterns emerge in the future, willallow for the identification of the production period and location, and we can be closer to aconfirmation.
Precious clothing from the Meiji to Showa era is being secretly discarded today, but thisis the last period of time for elucidating the history of Oshima Tsumugi. Oshima Tsumugi is asilk fabric, so it becomes more easily damaged with age. Fabrics that are so damaged that they
become unwearable are thought to have no value and are often thrown away. However, nomatter how damaged it is or even if it is scraps, there is no harm in seeing the pattern, andadhesive interlining from dressmaking can be placed in weak spots to preserve it carefully,
like a document. We should shed light on precious old textiles and share information on theseas island properties to explore our own roots.
It is necessary to trace the history of Oshima Tsumugi through the old cloths that we willencounter in the future in place of the ancestors who could not leave records of these fabrics
at the time. It would be ideal to build a dyeing and weaving museum that houses the importantmaterials collected in this way to pass this information on to the next generation. I believe that
this will lead to honoring and being grateful for the efforts of the ancestors who created theOshima Tsumugi with detailed kasuri patterns that emerged from nowhere, as well as theabundant nature of the area. This is truly learning from the past, and this will also be an
opportunity for new things to emerge from these efforts.

Koyo Chirashi. There are 72 round patterns along the sides.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）“Amami Folk Song Awards”: Challenges for the future
YANAGAWA Hidetoshi
For more than 10 years I have been attending the “Amami Folk Song Awards” sponsoredby the Nankai Nichinichi Shinbun every year—I watch the entire show from start to finish. A
long time ago, when it was hosted over two days, I watched both days from morning until
evening. When I tell others this, they are usually impressed, saying that I must have a great
deal of patience. Perhaps it might be better to say that they found it somewhat ridiculous.
However, I love to listen to the Shima-uta (in my articles, Shima-uta designate Amami folksongs whereas Shima Uta indicates a particular song sung by THE BOOM), so even if I’m
tired of sitting, I’ve almost never been tired of listening.
I’ve heard many opinions about the “Amami Folk Song Awards,” ranging from thosesaying, “we need them” or “we don’t need them,” or that “they’ll attend” or that “they won’t
attend.” I think that they were all reasonable opinions in their own right. However, I
personally have looked forward to it every year, so I hope that it will continue.
The “Amami Folk Song Awards” was formerly called the “Amami Folk Song
Newcomers Tournament.” The objective was clear. It was to find a new singer. The folk song
festivals held by the leading figures of the Shima-uta at the time have become too familiar andlost a sense of freshness. The first tournament was held in 1975. The winner was TSUKIJI
Shunzo, still unknown at the time in 1979. As is now well known, Mr. TSUKIJI won the“Japanese Folk Song Awards” and became the best folk singer in Japan. This was a major
incident in Amami at the time.
There were more and more voices who wanted to see the second and third incarnationsof the best in Japan, and from the following year onwards, the “Amami Folk Song Newcomer
Tournament” was then called the “Amami Folk Song Awards” as a prelude to the “Japanese
Folk Song Awards.” The Shima-uta content in Amami then transitioned at once from thediscovery of new talent to “the best folk song in Japan.” The “best in Amami” was just a
passing point. The ultimate objective was to be the “best folk song in Japan.”
However, after Mr. TSUKIJI, the second incarnation of the best in Japan did not appear soreadily. It was in 1989 that TOHARA Mitsuyo finally won the coveted crown. It had been 10
years since Mr. TSUKIJI won the award and the following year, NAKANO Rikki became theyoungest in history to become the best in Japan. Shima’chu (Amamian people) finally foundits moment to shine once again, but the all-important “Japanese Folk Song Awards” wasabolished in 1992 due to the bursting of the bubble economy. The “Japanese Folk SongAwards” disappeared, but the “Amami Folk Song Awards” remained. However, its role as theprelude to the best folk song in Japan disappeared.
The prelude to the best folk song in Japan has now been handed over to the “Folk Song
Folk Dance Amami Union Tournament.” So, what is the objective of the “Amami Folk Song

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“Amami Folk Song Awards”: Challenges for the future
YANAGAWA Hidetoshi

Awards”? It feels that the “Amami Folk Songs Awards” have reached the present day without
properly discussing this question. To begin with, it is very difficult to choose only one person
for the grand prize among hundreds of people, including the qualifiers. I suspect that thepeople involved in the “Amami Folk Song Awards” are also quite miserable over the current
situation.
In an era where the diversity of evaluations has become commonplace, why should wechoose the best based on uniform evaluation criteria? Furthermore, a scoring standard can beshown for figure skating, but there is no equivalent in the “Amami Folk Song Awards.” Theperson coming in at second place does not properly understand what was wrong with them to
put them in that position. This would leave those who choose, those who are chosen, and eventhose who were not chosen in a miserable state.
It is not that I am criticizing the system; it is because this is not a problem that can be
resolved with a simple criticism. On the contrary, the problem of the “Amami Folk SongAwards” seems to be inseparably linked to the fundamental question of “What is the mostimportant thing for Shima-uta?”—a question that is completely different from the one about
enjoying the best folk song in Japan.
Is the reason why the “Amami Folk Song Awards” have been so controversial that
Shima’chu has been released from the curse of being the best in Japan, and that the people
have begun to seriously consider the question of “What is the most important thing for
Amami?” It is unclear if this question has a conclusion. However, the exchanges discussed
here will never be wasted for Shima-uta and for Amami’s future.

Stage of “Amami Folk Song Awards”

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

New song of Shima-uta!
YANAGAWA Hidetoshi
A song that always appears in student reports when talking about Amami Shima-uta in a
lecture at Kagoshima University is the “Waido-Bushi.” Or rather, rarely have I seen any othersongs in the student reports. Even students who don’t know about Shima-uta at all know
“Waido-Bushi.”“Waido-Bushi” is a song composed by TSUBOYAMA Yutaka based on the lyrics of
NAKAMURA Tamiro and released in 1978. From the mid-1960s to the 1970s, the Amami
tourism boom was at a tailwind, and there were many folk songs being actively produced. The
lyricist NAKAMURA Tamiro also wrote the lyrics for new songs such as “Adan no Hana.”
Therefore, “Waido-Bushi” is not exactly a Shima-uta, but rather a new Shima-uta. This songis now the representative Shima-uta for the today’s youth. The new Shima-uta has surpassed
the original in terms of name recognition. I think that this is frankly a major issue.
Songs frequently sung in the new Shima-uta are not only the “Waido-Bushi.” Songs like
“Oshima Tsumugi nu Urigyurasa” composed by ISHIHARA Hisako with lyrics by YAMADA
Yonezo, and “Kikai ya Yoi Shima” composed and written by YASUDA Takahide are often sungas lively music at singing parties and banquets. Old Shima-uta are of course great, but new
Shima-uta have a familiar melody and, above all, other people can easily sing along with thesong.
It goes without saying that the term “Shima-uta” originated from Amami; however, mostJapanese people think that the Shima-uta are folk songs from Okinawa. This may be due tothe influence of “Shima Uta” by THE BOOM, but it is also because Okinawa has many new
folk songs that are familiar. The folk singers in Okinawa are very talented in their songwriting
and their advantage is that their scale is the Ryukyu scale, which is different from that of themainland, so any song sounds like an Okinawan song. Furthermore, the listener just assumes
that it is an old song.
The reason that there was not much resistance to Mr. TSUBOYAMA creating a new
Shima-uta was because he was actively interacting with Okinawan singers and watching theiractivity up-close. There were many more opportunities for singers from Amami and Okinawa
to do joint work than there are today. However, creating new Shima-uta in Amami does notwork as well as it does in Okinawa because the music scale in Amami is the same as on themainland. If not done properly, it would just sound like a folk song from the mainland.
Whether to express the qualities of Shima-uta or Amami, is a difficult question.
Folk songs are activated by “putting new wine into old wineskins.” This is clear from theexample of “Waido-Bushi” as well. Fortunately, Shima-uta has gained considerable popularity
across the country, but rarely does one hear of new songs. Instead, there has been the arrivalof Shima-uta-style pop music. There are some with the opinion that this kind of pop music

30
New song of Shima-uta!
YANAGAWA Hidetoshi

should be thought of as the Shima-uta of today. However, pop music is pop music, andShima-uta is Shima-uta. To activate the Shima-uta world of Amami, new Shima-uta isdesirable.
It may be difficult to suddenly create a masterpiece like “Waido-Bushi.” However, it
seems that there are quite a few young singers active today and likely to make one or two
Shima-uta. What may be somewhat problematic is the lyrics. If the younger generation singsabout unpretentious everyday life in the natural island style, perhaps they will be able to write
good songs. If they feel uncomfortable writing the songs individually, then they can work
together. Shima-uta is originally a song that was unknown to the singer, so it may be more inline with tradition than expected. They should play the songs for their friends for the time
being, and if popular, try it out on a broader audience.
I may be scolded, “Don’t say such things so lightly.” However, the extent to which“Waido-Bushi” has contributed to, and has continued to contribute to, increasing therecognition of Amami Shima-uta to the world is clear from the student reports discussed
earlier. I just wrote something irresponsible with the expectation of a second and third“Waido-Bushi.” Young singers, please don’t hesitate to give it a try. I am sure that you will beable to write good songs.

TSUBOYAMA Yutaka singing “Waido-Bushi”

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SECTION THREE:
Society

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

The making of urban Amami:
Past and present of the city of Amami, Naze
KIKATA Junne
Naze is the largest city in the Amami Islands. As of 2021 the population of the city areaof Naze was approximately 35,500 people; more than one-third of the Amami Islands’ total
population. The city is one of the largest ten cities within the Kagoshima Prefecture now. The
history of the town of Naze is surprisingly complex.
There is a theory that “Naze” is a corruption of the archaic word Naji, meaning vacant lot,
and when looking at provincial maps of Japan, “Ryuku Kingdom, Oshima,” of the Genroku /Tempo-period (1696-1702, 1835-1838), the area where Naze is currently located is indeed
blank. The origin of Naze’s development as the center of the archipelago was due to therelocation of temporary residences and other facilities of the local magistrate to Kaneku
village, in Naze Magiri in 1801, so it is not a particularly old development.
In 1875, the administrative division system came into effect, creating Oshima District
within Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Oshima branch office was moved from its earlier site,and opened in what is now the center of Naze. The branch office subsequently changed its
name and relocated several times, finally settling in 1907 at its current location as theprefectural Oshima branch office.
Under the Oshima Development Concept (1865) proposed jointly between the Satsuma
Domain and the Glover Trading Company, Kaneku village developed as a domestic andinternational distribution base, becoming a port of call on the Kagoshima-OkinawaTaiwan-Shanghai route. From the mid-1870s, merchants from Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Osakaand other cities contributed to the expansion of commercial and residential areas along thecoast. Around 1891, a notation in a map compiled in the Amami Chronicle (Shidan) indicatedthat “there is an island office, court, police station, prison, school, and restaurants. There arerows of crowded shops … it is a small metropolis.” In 1910, restaurants for visiting merchants“were relocated to the designated area in Western Yanigawa,” and Yanigawa was created as aplanned entertainment district, under the supervision of the police.
Concurrently, the Oshima Tsumugi silk industry was developing, and the number of
Tsumugi (silk) factories expanded, into the remaining fields of Itsubu village. During the
Taisho era, the Tsumugi industry surpassed the traditional sugar cane industry, and the roots ofNaze as an industrial city based on the commerce of Kaneku and the manufacturing of Itsubu
were planted. The population increased with the development of industry, and a market wasformed near Nagatabashi-bridge—a key point on both sea and land routes. The public
Nagatabashi market was opened in 1931.
Roads were gradually built near Naze as the population increased, and were classed
under prefectural management from the mid-1870s onwards. River repairs and estuary
reclamation also progressed, and sewers were installed in the Taisho era. By 1932, a budget

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The making of urban Amami: Past and present of the city of Amami, Naze
KIKATA Junne

request was made for projects such as port repair, roads, and land improvement. In 1940, thefirst legal city plan known as the Naze City Plan was drafted.
The Navy Oshima Base Corps and Koniya Air Base were established in Amami Oshima
during World War II, subjecting it to intense attacks by the U.S. military at the end of the war.
The attacks “moving as loudly as possible to give the impression of a large fleet approaching”(U.S. Army General HALSEY, 1944) extended to even the small villages. The largest city ofNaze was devastated, and excellent buildings such as the former Naze Catholic Church(construction started in 1902, completed in 1928) were lost.
After the war ended in 1946, the U.S. military government occupied the former branch
office, and island administration was separated from the mainland. Aid from Government Aid
and Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA) did not lead to full-scale reconstruction, and theburnt remains of Naze were lined with huts built from split beechwood and corrugatedcardboard released by the U.S. military. In December 1953 the island was returned to Japan,
and just as promotion plans such as port renovations and public facility development wereresumed under the Amami Islands Reconstruction Special Measures Act (1954), the city ofNaze burnt down twice over, following the Great Sakaemachi Fire (October 1955) and theGreat Irifunecho Fire (February 1955).
Although the War Damage Reconstruction City Plans had been in progress on themainland since 1946, these were delayed in Naze where full-scale urban remodeling beganfrom 1956 as part of the “Fire Reconstruction City Plan.” Having built up expertise throughexecuting the War Damage Reconstruction City Plans on the mainland, Kagoshima Prefecture
applied this knowledge to expedite the rehabilitation of businesses in anticipation of the
expiration date of the Special Measures Act and the city of Naze entered a period of highgrowth with this momentum.
Even now, land readjustment projects are underway in the Suehiro / Minato districts inNaze, and progress has been seen in the development of a marine town. Since the mid-1950s,
there has always been a city planning project occurring in Naze. It will not be long before thepainting of the Naji will be complete. However, the city must mature in order to become a
comfortable place to live. Perhaps it is time to set aside the paintbrush, walk around andexamine the progress of the city, and switch to a small brush to finalize the work.

Naze City Plan – Naze Fire Reconstruction Land Readjustment
Plan (1st Implemantation Area, Amami City Hall Collection)

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

SHIMA (island) and Shima (village community)
on Kikaijima
NAKATANI Sumie
The island of Kikaijima has just the right population and area for anthropologists to
conduct surveys independently. In other words, it is at a scale where one person can grasp theentire island. However, there is no shortage of research subjects as each Shima (village
community) on the island has inherited different dialects and events. It is a research site where
something new can be discovered with every visit. One aspect of particular interest to me in
my research is how traditional events and lifestyles are maintained, changed and passed on to
the next generation.
Until the 1930s, there were over 20,000 people living on this island of only 57 square
kilometers. One can imagine how people helped each other with sugarcane production andcrafting Oshima Tsumugi textiles as sources of income. People made their livelihoods
maximizing the limited resources from the land and sea. Currently, the population has
decreased to one-third of its original size, since young people are moving off the island. Also
it is aging rapidly.
The question of how to maintain lifestyles in rapidly depopulating areas and pass on
traditions is not a problem unique to Kikaijima. However, what I found deeply interesting
about Kikaijima was that people find it difficult to share what they consider as culture of the
SHIMA (the island), because each Shima (village community) has developed different
temperaments, spoken dialects, and customs. On this point, one person said, “There has been
an initiative to teach dialects at school in order to keep them alive, but it always run into theroadblock of deciding which Shima’s dialect should be taught. There are opinions that itshould be the dialect of the main village with the largest population, but then this can nolonger be called a local tradition,” and “What should we be protecting and passing on to thenext generation?”
Based on an academic argument, “traditions” are often not something passed down fromancient times but rather something “invented” in recent history. Famous examples include
how the checkered tartan skirts and bagpipes, which are considered to be “old” Scottish
traditions, were actually created by Scottish nationalism after the 19th century to emphasize
differences from England. As a similar phenomenon, it would not be so strange to think thatthe dialect of the main village, Wan, would become the traditional dialect of the whole of
Kikaijima. However, it is an accepted view that an enhancement of SHIMAism is necessary, inwhich a sense of belonging to the SHIMA (island) becomes stronger than the sense of
belonging to each individual Shima (village community).
Interestingly enough, what I have learned from surveys on Kikaijima over the past
several years is that dialects and customs differ from one Shima to another; this does notnecessarily prevent people from creating connections beyond their own Shima, or having a

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SHIMA（island）and Shima（village community）on Kikaijima
NAKATANI Sumie

sense of belonging to Kikaijima. Simply put, SHIMA and Shima need not be a zero-sum gamewhere alignment with one means a weakened relationship with the other. In contrast, it can besaid that varieties of Shima culture have formed Kikaijima.
I would like to introduce one episode which has helped me to realize this fact. I spoke to
one woman over the age of 80 in a small mountain village called Shimanaka, which does not
face the sea. Due to its geographic isolation, Shimanaka has faced a significantly declining
population. However, there is a strong sense of unity, a high level of participation in thevillage activities, and also Chinese and Filipino women who were active as members of thelocal women’s association. I imagined that it must be quite difficult for foreign women to livein such a small village, and I asked to the old Shimanaka woman how the village community
accepts people with different languages and customs to which she casually responded,“Because we are used to accepting outsiders,” as if there was nothing out of the ordinary.
According to her, “For a long time, Shimanaka was not able to survive without accepting
outsiders (due to being a small village). This person, that person—they all came by marrying
in from other Shimas. The same situation applied for the wife of the village head as well. In
this way we have accepted people with different languages and customs for such a long time.”
My presumption that anybody other than so-called “Japanese” people were seen as outsiders,
and lumping together all people born in Kikaijima as insiders had collapsed loudly in the faceof such reality.
Whether it is possible to create a diverse and open society that includes a variety ofdifferences such as language, culture, disabilities, and sexual orientation, will be an issue ofsurvival and development for all communities in the age of globalization, where people,
goods, and information from all over the world move across national borders. On Kikaijima,
activities, such as children performing a classical Kyogen drama using the village dialects,
and writing the dialect of each village on the sign boards at bus stops using crowdfunding
measures, have already begun in order to preserve the different varieties of dialect.
Efforts to disseminate these Shima cultures have the effect of connecting people invillages as well as understanding the differences between the villages, sharing them, andgrowing from them. I cannot forget the shock of being told by that old lady who had never left
her Shima with her pioneering way of thinking during the globalization era, when she said,“Because we have always accepted outsiders.”

Photograph of village landscape from
HyakunodaiParticipating in the activities of theAugust Dance Song Preservation
Society

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Supporting the revitalization of remote islands:
Diversity and community
NISHIMURA Satoru
The population is declining and aging on remote islands in Japan, and the number ofvillages whose survival is at a critical stage is increasing. Meanwhile, there are many islands
that have achieved population growth and a youthful population due to the diversification ofpeople’s preferences for residential areas, narrowing of the disparity between rural and urban
areas in the living and working environment mainly due to development and the spread of ICT,and the government’s migration policy. A good example of this is Suwanosejima. The
population of Suwanosejima went from 74 people in 2000 to 42 in 2010. However, due to thevarious initiatives of Toshima village and Suwanosejima, the population increased to 79
people by 2016. Many of these migrants are I-turners (people who relocated from other placethan their home town). According to statistical data by Toshima Village Hall, there were 38
migrants from FY2009 to FY2016, of which 31 were I-turners and seven were U-turners(people who temporarily relocated and returned to their hometown). I-turners constituted
81.6% of all migrants. The elderly population percentage also decreased from 29.5% in 2010
to 17.5% in 2016. Population growth and a youthful population are developing at the sametime. Let’s take a look at the process by which this island attracted I-turners and began to takea step toward revitalization.
Suwanosejima became an uninhabited island following a large volcanic eruption in 1813,
and was settled by FUJII Tomiden and others from Amami Oshima nearly 70 years later in the
1880s. In the late 1960s, the formation of communes (autonomously living villages) formed a
new islander group. These people were called “Hippies” by outsiders. At the time, the island
desperately wanted youth migration to maintain its distribution network by regularlyscheduled ships. Upon a request from the island, SAKAKI Nanao, a member of a group called“The Tribe” in Tokyo, called out to his friends and created a commune with an American poet
SNYDER Gary and others in 1967. Many youths visited this commune, and they lived analmost self-sufficient communal life without using currency until around 1977 or 1978.
Marriages and child-raising among the members forced the development of households, andthe commune collapsed. However, five households (as of 2016), including members of thecommune, play a central role as an island elder group for Amami-originating festivals such as
Arasetsu and Shibasashi held in shrines, as well as the management of local government
events and school events. The descendants of the Amami settlers and the islanders of thecommune overcame their differences to create communities, passing on the island culture
while retaining the Amami culture, to the next generation. They have laid the foundation for
the acceptance and retention of I-turners.

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Supporting the revitalization of remote islands: Diversity and community
NISHIMURA Satoru

Furthermore, the spread of the internet has made it easier for people of various
occupations to settle on remote islands. Some guesthouse owners are obtaining customers byusing websites. A woman earns income from website creation. There are no shops on theisland, but islanders can now obtain products through online shopping, in addition to thelimited shops in Kagoshima city that they have used for many years. The number of islanders
who obtain various products through the leading Kagoshima city supermarket “Taiyo” andAmazon is increasing. The online supermarket for Taiyo has the same delivery fees regardlessof whether the destination is a remote island or Kagoshima city. The gap between cities andremote islands is steadily narrowing in terms of the procurement of supplies. With thenarrowing of gaps in logistics and information as a tailwind, veteran I-turners havesuccessfully accepted various migrants. The collaborative relationships of various actors in
the area are also of note. The islanders are working hard to accept I-turners in cooperation
with government offices and non-profit organizations (NPOs). The NPO Tokara Interface
plans and manages island tours for those wishing to move. This NPO breaks away fromtraditional economic activities that depend on public works projects and searches forindependence and self-reliance. They seek to recognize and reconstruct the regional
mechanisms, the “connections” in which people and nature, and people and people co-exist
and cooperate with each other, with a focus on the “richness” that is unique to this region.
Projects that revitalize the economy and society of remote islands with a declining andaging population are not easy to achieve. However, accepting diverse people and creating newcommunities while making use of the cultural resources cultivated in the history of remoteislands is considered to be one way to revitalize remote islands.

A set of Jizos, or stone guardian deities of children, showing the diversityof Suwanosejima islanders

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Ecotourism, and relationships with the community
SONG Da-Jeong
I came to Amami Oshima for the first time in August 2011. I visited various places fromthe north to the south of the island, and I experienced the nature, history, and culture of
Amami. I fell completely in love with Amami during the course of my three-day trip, and I
had a vague desire to learn more about Amami. Therefore, I chose Amami as my researchsubject in graduate school while at Kagoshima University, and I began going to the island ona regular basis. Here, I would like to introduce the kind of survey research I have been doingin Amami Oshima, with the keyword of “relationships with the community.”
I chose tourism and ecotourism in Amami as my research topic. Ecotourism is a form ofsustainable tourism—a tourism concept that makes the appropriate use of the nature, history,
and culture of a region while using of them. Its characteristics involve (1) the importance of
having a guide (in order for tourists to further understand the region), and (2) conducting thistourism on a smaller scale (in order to reduce the burden on the natural environment and local
community). Ocean activities such as diving, snorkeling, and whale watching; canoeing inmangrove forests in Sumiyo town; walks in the Kinsakubaru national forest; and observing
wild animals and plants such as the Amami rabbit all come under the umbrella of ecotourism.
In 2013, when I began surveying the island, the Amami Islands Wide Area Office
Association (administrative organization where 12 municipalities of the Amami Islands
gathered) brought together guides under a single organization as part of efforts towards World
Natural Heritage registration. They put in efforts for creating a system of cooperation andimproving quality among guides. I interviewed registered guides of the Amami Oshima
Eco-Tour Guide Liaison Council (established in 2008) on the reasons why they became aguide, their way of thinking about nature, what they recognized as valuable nature, and how
they spoke to tourists. I also asked their thoughts on the importance of history and culture inthese interviews.
I paid particular attention to the organizations and people on the island who have been
conducting nature observation meetings and conservation activities since the late 1980s in
association with these efforts. Among the people operating guide businesses in Amami
Oshima, most ocean guides (including those for diving) were migrants; but most in the fields
of nature, history, and culture of the land were from Amami. I learned that about half of thesepeople were U-turners who re-affirmed the value of Amami after leaving the island to go on
to school or employment and became involved in nature observation meetings andconservation activities after returning to the island.
At the beginning of my surveys, I focused on people who actively used the nature ofgiven areas for tourism (government and guides), but in reality, there were few opportunities
for directly interacting with local residents who continued to live in that natural area. From

40
Ecotourism, and relationships with the community
SONG Da-Jeong

October 2014 for half a year, when there was still a regional revitalization cooperation team in
Amami Oshima, I became involved with the residents by working in the Sumiyo General
Branch Industrial Construction Division in the Amami city long-term internship system,“Knowledge / regional revitalization cooperation project” for university students. With thecooperation of members of the NPO Sumiyo Yamura Land and the Sumiyo Town Union
Youth Group, we created a walking course and map utilizing the familiar nature and culture of
the Satochi / Satoyama, and implementing targeted monitoring tours for islanders outside of
Sumiyo town.
What I learned from this experience is that these kinds of tourism cannot be maintained
without the participation of residents. No amount of effort by strangers to come up with ideas
and create new plans have meaning if nobody is there to continue them. There is a limit to
how long such matters can be left to strangers. However, when personally calling upon thelocal people and becoming a tourist menu creator, I learned that “resident participation” and“cooperation” were easy words to say but difficult to put into practice.
After returning to the university, I visited Sumiyo town regularly and began to ask theresidents about their relationship with nature, questions I had previously asked thegovernment and guides. What does the nature of the area used for tourism mean to theresidents? For example, in the case of mangrove forests, most of the residents recognized theforests as a natural landscape that they took for granted when they saw from the road, andonly a small number of people used them in their daily lives. Furthermore, the mountain paths,
which are now used for night tours, were only used by people involved in forestry. Since themid-1990s, outsiders such as governments and guides evaluated these natural areas asvaluable resources that could be developed for tourism and World Natural Heritage sites, andresidents in recent years have begun to review these local resources once again. It was not thecase that these regions have nothing, but rather, they were buried with treasure. Fortunately,
the nature, history, and culture of theregion have been reviewed from eachstandpoint and are beginning to bepassed down because of thecollaborative activities of outsiders andlocals.
I would like to continue suchinvestigations in the future, and mostimportantly, keep a record of theinvestigation results. Hopefully in the
future I can use the records I have madewith the local people when I researched Place for discussion for local issues among local
people (April 1, 2017, Sumiyo inland sea Park
Sumiyo town of this era.
Bungalow)

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

What are the opportunities
for taking a second look at the obvious?
SONG Da-Jeong
I think that readers have experienced times when things they took for granted in their
daily lives were not the case when seen externally. The same applies to nature; there are manythings that we overlook while living in a place, only to see the tremendous value there whenlooking from different angles.
In early February of 2021, I took a tour to observe wildlife at night in Sumiyo town,
Amami city. It was not a major event for me since I often observe wild animals in my research,
but this time, I accompanied a colleague on her first night tour. She had never encountered an
Amami rabbit, so I was able to experience my earlier days of feeling like a tourist. My
colleague, Ms. SEI, who worked with me at the Amami station, International Center for Island
Studies, Kagoshima University, brought me back to the feelings of excitement that I had
forgotten. She was born and raised in Hirata town in former Naze city (part of Amami city
today). She rarely had opportunities to go to Sumiyo town, one of the habitats of the Amami
rabbits, at most just passing the town by when going to her grandmother’s house in
Kakeromajima or going there on a drive.
The reason why we were able to participate in a night tour, to begin with, was because in
November 2020, we applied to the “Accommodation / Experience Program Usage Subsidy
Program for Islanders” and were fortunate enough to win it. The five municipalities in Amami
Oshima conducted the program. Since the number of tourists has decreased due to the
influence of the novel coronavirus, the project aims to let islanders experience hotels andsightseeing on the island that they would usually not use. The tours we participated in areusually 7,500 yen, but almost half of the tour was subsidized, and we were able to participate
for 3,800 yen.
While traveling from Naze to Santaro-no-Sato (tourist facility) in Sumiyo town, thelocation of the meeting, I was able to hear many stories from Ms. SEI, such as her
expectations of the tour and her feelings about Amami Oshima, where she was born andraised. She lived in Osaka for about three years due to work, but that was far away from theoceans and mountains, and she told me that this was the first time since leaving the island thatshe felt “how close nature was in Amami.” She played all the time in the nature of Amami asa child; however, after becoming an adult, nature was just a landscape to her, and she did not
really have any opportunities to directly interact with nature.
We were able to see about seven Amami rabbits during the roughly two and a half hoursof the tour. Ms. SEI had an honest impression that she was happy to be able to observe the real
Amami rabbit for the first time in her life. She described this tour as having taught her,42
What are the opportunities for taking a second look at the obvious?
SONG Da-Jeong

through experience, the nature that until then she had just driven by and not properly observed,
and that this was a precious experience for her. She had heard about how the Amami rabbit
was a precious animal and was, therefore, aware of its value, but it was far removed from herdaily life, and she had rarely given it much attention. However, after the tour, she told me thatit left a big impression on her, saying that “the nature of Amami is amazing indeed.”
How do the residents of Sumiyo feel about the nature that is so close to them? I haverecently conducted interview surveys relating to night tours. During these sessions, I was able
to listen to the stories of some of the residents of Sumiyo town. The city road Santaro Lineand its surrounding forests, where night tours are currently being conducted, were places ofeveryday life for the residents of Sumiyo. Sumiyo town is broadly divided between Tojo andSumiyo, with Santaro Pass as the boundary. The road that crosses this pass is the current cityroad of the Santaro Line, which was opened as a prefectural road in 1917. This city roadserved a major role as a road that connected Naze and Setouchi town until the Santaro tunneland bypass were created in 1989. It was particularly active in 1960s–1970s when the forestry
business was in its heyday. The forestry business declined with the passage of time, and thecity road Santaro Line was gradually used less often with the creation of the tunnel andbypass.
Two things have been revealed through the interview surveys. The first is that the cityroad Santaro Line and its surrounding nature has been recognized as a landscape that theresidents of Sumiyo town take for granted. To them, the city road Santaro Line is just a paththat they can visit at any time, and the Amami rabbit is an animal that lives in the nature nearthem and which they can go to see at any time. However, the second point is that thisproximity is one of the factors that creates a distance between the relationship of the residents
with their surroundings. Like that of air, there are no opportunities to recognize the “obvious.”
It is known that the Amami rabbit is a precious animal that only exists on Amami Oshima andTokunoshima, but people have taken their presence for granted so much that there seem to be
few people who actively go to see them. Some of the people in Sumiyo town have visited thecity road, Santaro Line, to show children and grandchildren who have returned to the island,
as well as acquaintances who have come from outside the island to see the Amami rabbit. It
seems that the knowledge that the precious treasures are buried there is too apparent andsuppresses the act of seeing the real thing—despite there being a sense of awe in doing so.
I introduced my personal experience and examples of specific areas in this article.
However, I think that the content shown here would apply to anybody in the world. Finally, I
would like to focus on Amami and propose my thoughts. What is needed for the people ofAmami to become aware of the obvious nature of their respective regions, and to take asecond look at their relationship with nature?
Amami will steadily change in the coming years, including the World Natural Heritage
Site status that they are aiming to register themselves for this year (as of 26th July 2021
Amami was registered as the World Natural Heritage Site). The people of Amami need to takea second look at themselves properly and continue to have a relationship with nature. It is43
What are the opportunities for taking a second look at the obvious?
SONG Da-Jeong

only when the people of Amami become aware of the value of nature and continue to have arelationship with it that they can continue to leave behind to future generations a valuable
form of nature, which is also the purposes of the World Natural Heritage. Phrases like “World
Natural Heritage” and “Protection” are often heard in recent years, but there may be some
who feel like these terms “don’t quite click,” or are “far removed from your lives.” However,I would hope that you would be more aware of the extraordinary nature of Amami by taking
an interest in the nature around you, even the trivial elements, and reconsider how the obvious
is actually of global value.

The Amami rabbit

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Re-questioning the common sense of educationfrom Amami
OGURI Yuko
My specializations are social education (adult and community education) andenvironmental education, but unlike in economics and biology, people don’t quite understandthese fields intuitively without an explanation. Therefore, I would like to introduce my
specialization using the theme of Amami’s “environmental culture,” which I have worked onin Amami for the past several years.
The origin of the word “environmental culture” dates to 1994, when Yakushima wasregistered as a World Natural Heritage Site, a term used by the Kagoshima Prefecture andYakushima. More recently, Amami National Park, born in 2017, once again shed light on thisterm. To be exact, this is an environmental cultural national park.
According to the Ministry of the Environment’s explanation, “the natural environment of
Amami, such as its forests, rivers, and beaches, have been deeply related to culture such as
people’s lives and activities. One of the attractions of the national park is the relationshipbetween people and nature, such as ancient roads, coral stone walls, and rice cultivation, as
well as the scenery with customs related to those practices and catching seafood on the reef.”
These should be protected and inherited, according to the Ministry of the Environment.
Meanwhile, the Kagoshima University Kagoshima Environmental Studies ResearchGroup, where I have been active for the past ten years, has a different perspective. While the
Ministry of the Environment says so, we may ask, “What meanings do these words have interms of the experience and perspective of those who actually live in Amami?” The research
activity that started from such a question has entered its third year, and we are currently
preparing for the publication of the “Amami Environmental Culture Book.” It is a compilationof interviews with 100 people of various generations from Kasari town in the north to
Ukeshima and Yoroshima in the south. They talk about their relationship with nature. We havealready listened to the stories of more than 80 people. We hope that you will see the content
upon publication, but I would like to introduce some common items that we have come tounderstand by listening to these stories.
There are three points. First, we confirmed that childhood experiences were extremely
important. The second was that everyone has a “guide” that serves to connect theirrelationship with nature, such as the sea and mountains. The third was that everybody had an
opportunity to objectively review the meaning of their childhood experience.
Each person had their own “guide” who invited them to this relationship: family
members, relatives, the old men and women, the younger men and women in the village.
What they had in common was that they all had some hint relating to nature, whether about

46
Re-questioning the common sense of education from Amami
OGURI Yuko

the habits of fish or how to catch them, how to make tools or how to use them. Even these
relationships with nature are just experiences in childhood. However, this experience begins
to develop a new meaning and value to the individual once they leave the island, were pointed
out by others, or when reading a book.
There is no end to this list of realizations: the ocean that they took for granted wasactually so beautiful and valuable, the Shima-uta that they sang without actually knowing had
a deep meaning, the human interactions of the people in the village that they thought were sobothersome were actually done out of gratitude. The important aspect is that they have an“experience” to which they can give value with a new perspective. Let’s consider the Habu (apoisonous sneak, Protobothrops flavoviridis). There is a difference between people who haveand those who have not seen, caught, or had a terrifying experience with Habu in theirunderstanding of the scary aspects of the snake. Similarly, there is a big difference between
understanding something on an intellectual and theoretical level, and understanding
something through experience.
Such a point may seem obvious, and some may ask why this is so important. However,our value judgments and actions are based on these firm perceptions within us. That being
said, has our society seriously considered what kinds of experiences should be given tochildren?
What we have found through our interviews is the importance of rich experiences thatconnect life and nature, and what has been recorded is proof of that situation. Humans do notdevelop in the narrow time and space that is school. They grow and develop with thesurrounding environment and nature over a more extended period. Re-questioning thecommon sense of education from the Amami group of islands, and looking at future education
are my specializations.

Rope knitting machine at the Folk Equipment Museum in
Tawara village. The handmade museum was engraved withthe footprints of the villagers.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Towards research for exploring together
OGURI Yuko
For all participants, “please take three minutes to discuss with those around you what
you think is the difference between traditional events and ordinary events. … Okay, threeminutes have passed. What are some of your opinions?”
This statement is the introduction of a scene from a symposium that I am responsible forplanning. I think that people have the image of just unilaterally listening to a speaker. Fromthe perspective of my social education specialization, I am conscious of shifting the fixed
relationship of the teacher and the taught.
The reason for this is because I believe that it is more important to have opportunities for
dialogue that share and consider mutual knowledge and experience rather than obtaining new
knowledge; and also, because many of the “problems” to be solved also require discoveringrather than obtaining.
I have been working in a group called the Kagoshima University Kagoshima
Environmental Studies Research Group (henceforth, “university”) on the themes of Amami’sferal cat problem and environmental culture. One characteristic is that it has involved thinking
about the problem alongside those involved with the problem. I want to consider the meaningof this research style by taking the question asked in the introduction as an example.
This question was posed at the “Symposium: Thinking about Island Life (Environmental
Culture),” held in Yamato village in January 2019. The university prepared this symposiumwith the support of the Ministry of the Environment, and together with discussions alongside
the village leaders of Akina / Ikusato in Tatsugo town, Ichi in former Sumiyo town, andKuninao in Yamato village. The true opinions of the village leaders towards the university,
who were considering plans based on the theme of “environmental culture,” that “inheriting
traditional events is a more pressing issue than environmental culture.”
As is well-known, the Island has many traditional events that the people of the island
hold dear, such as the Hachigatu-odori (dance of the crop celebration in August), Honensai(harvest festival), and Hamaore (event to pray for a bountiful grain harvest). However, acommon theme across all of them is that inheriting these traditions has become difficult due toa declining birthrate and aging population. Therefore, respecting the wishes of the village
leaders, we took up the theme of the future of traditional events on the island and compared
traditional and regular events, as introduced in the beginning of this article.
There were many interesting opinions. For example, traditional events werecharacterized as “having a deep connection with the gods,” “a fixed date on the lunar
calendar,” “deeper bonds between youth and elders,” and “sad when it comes to end.” Whenthe content of “traditional events” becomes specific in this way, it becomes easier toinvestigate not only what is inherited, such as whether involvement with the gods is still heldin high regard or the lunar dates are followed, but also why these should be inherited.

48
Towards research for exploring together
OGURI Yuko

Meanwhile, we also began to see the relationship between the lives of the island people
and nature that are related to “environmental culture.” The relationship with god leads to asense of awe towards nature and ancestors, and the date on the lunar calendar expresses livingwith the rhythm of nature, such as the waxing and waning of the moon, the ebb and flow of
the tide, and the four seasons, as seen in the example of “the moon on the Jugo-ya (August 15
in the old lunar calendar) is a perfect circle.” We can see with regards to the bonds of thevillages that the wisdom of the group was needed to face nature and live without advanced
technology.
We were able to see action goals by respecting the opinions of the village leaders andothers. What if we had placed “environmental culture” at the forefront, or had experts defineand speak about “what are traditional events?” Our audience may have said that it was“interesting,” but this most likely would not have led to a force for changing reality. Even if
the opinions of experts were valuable, these are not enough to solve problems.
As seen with the problem of inheriting traditional events, there are many phenomena
around us where the relationship between cause and effect is complicated and diverse, making
it difficult to identify the “problem.” For these kinds of problems, it is more effective not tocome up with a universal and absolute correct answer, but to search for an “acceptable”
correct answer that can be valid for specific current situations, without distinguishing between
experts and non-experts. I would like to expand this kind of research style, which has thecharacter of collaborative practice, from Amami.

Preparatory meetings, including on-site inspections andremote conferences, were held multiple times with officials
from Akina / Ikusato village, Ichi village, Kuninao village,
Ministry of the Environment, and Kagoshima University.

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SECTION FOUR:
Economy

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Reflections on island research
KAKINUMA Taro
NATSUME Soseki talks about people with various personalities in a lively manner in“Botchan.” “Botchan” is the nickname of the main character, meaning a good boy, sometimes
a greenhorn. Early in the posting, the main character from Tokyo criticized the land andpeople in comparison with his own experience. Matsuyama in Shikoku was the countryside as
seen from Tokyo. Incidentally, Tokyo was the countryside as seen from the Western nations.
Islands far away from the mainland are referred to as remote islands. Japan in the Meiji period
was a remote island. Can we say that modern Japan is not a remote island from theperspective of the international community? The policy of remote islands is a microcosm of
the policy of the island that is Japan.
The results of the promotion of remote islands by the national and prefectural
governments can be seen in tangible developments such as the improvement of water supply
penetration rates, and securing medical facilities, although the number of midwives is stillinsufficient. However, it is not easy to distribute the promotion efforts to all remote islands
evenly. If we try to close the gap, these efforts will run short because of factors unique to theremote island, such as their distance to the mainland. Promotion is reminiscent of theinferiority complex that begins with the recognition of being behind relative to others.
The perception of inferiority was established by bringing in certain norms. Such norms
include population, economy, industrial power, and convenience, all of which are
disadvantageous for remote islands. The reason is that these are norms for searching forweaknesses in remote islands. What happens if a completely different norm was introduced?
Bring in a natural environment, which, once destroyed, requires a daunting amount of time torepair. Bring in unique cultures such as festivals.
Furthermore, remote islands are bases at the forefront when seeking resources in
economic zones, such as oil, natural gas, methane hydrates, and submarine hydrothermal
deposits. When these indicators are raised, the disparity between remote islands and themainland transforms into a superiority complex. People go to remote islands to enjoy what
would be extraordinary in the city. Regional disparities are widening not only in the negative
direction but also in the positive direction. This means that the difference is not only anindicator of superiority or inferiority, but also an indicator of characteristics.
Promotion and development are necessary to ensure a comfortable and secure life while
ensuring that the existing wonderful elements are maintained for both the remote island andthe mainland. In our laboratory, we are analyzing a variety of data to extract the properties of
the islands. For example, to consider the strength of the economic power of tourism, we
conducted a principal component analysis that focused on population density, the populationof workers in the tertiary industry, and the number of tourists.
The subjects are the remote islands designated in the Amami and Okinawa Promotion
Special Measures Act. The data were announced from the Japan Remote Island Center,

52
Reflections on island research
KAKINUMA Taro

Kagoshima Prefecture Planning Department Statistics Division, and Okinawa Prefecture
Planning Department Statistics Division in 2013. In the figure, Ishigakijima and Amami
Oshima have high scores on the Z1 axis and exhibit strong tourism power. Moreover,Iriomotejima, which has a high score on the Z2 axis, has a high number of tourists relative toits population density, and there is a possibility that tourism can be strengthened and profits
may improve. Yoronjima, which has a Z1 axis score similar to that of Iriomotejima, has a low
Z2 axis score and does not have as many tourists relative to its population density as
Iriomotejima, so one of its best measures can be said to focus on public dissemination while
combining with other industries.
Other examples include identifying similarities between Amami Oshima and
Sadogashima, which are far removed from one another, in classifications of economics andmedical care for all inhabited islands nationwide. Cooperation between islands is necessary
for the exchange of such information. A nationwide integrated specialized agency, including
resident representatives, should discuss and promote plans with local public organizations andcorporations that are advisors and businesses. Local government belongs to the residents
themselves. Local newspapers are effective in both listening to the opinions of residents andmonitoring by residents for promotion. It is only by organically linking updatable and flexible
tangible and intangible infrastructure and developing in close connection with the lives of the
inhabitants that the islands can become comfortable living spaces for residents.
Promotion may create an environment in which the air that naturally exudes from life
creates an island-specific culture. In this way, the island is freed from the two complexes
mentioned above, as if the rebellious spirit of “Botchan” blew away the complexes along withhis comrade, nicknamed “Mountain Strom.”

Principal component analysis results on the economy based on
Amami and Okinawa promotion of tourism on the islands

53
南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Agriculture, characteristics, and challengesof the Amami Islands
SAKAI Norio
The percentage of agricultural workers, as a fraction of the number of employedindividuals in the Amami Islands, is 13.5% (2015 census), considerably higher than thenationwide average of 3.4% and Kagoshima Prefecture average of 8.4%. Agriculture is an
essential industry in the Amami Islands. I will provide an overview of Amami’s agriculture,but since the Amami Islands consists of an “island,” let’s first look at the characteristics ofisland agriculture.
Generally speaking, islands are far from the mainland, surrounded by ocean, and small.
The agriculture of such islands generally has these four characteristics.
(1) There is a disadvantage in terms of transportation. The island is small, so the market
on the island is limited, and agricultural products will be shipped and sold to the mainland.
Since the ocean surrounds the island, they need to transport items by boat or plane. This
becomes expensive, the frequency of transportation is limited, and the delivery time becomeslong.
(2) Production costs tend to become high. Lands are narrow on many islands, and it isdifficult to conduct large-scale mechanized agriculture like that done on the plains of themainland. Materials such as fertilizer tend to become relatively expensive when buying fromvendors outside the island.
(3) There are few paddy fields. The island is small and without large rivers, so paddy
farming, which requires a large amount of water, is often difficult to implement.
(4) There is a tendency to specialize in a few specific items. Items must be technicallycultivated, bred, and sold for them to be viable for agriculture. Whether those items can besold is partially determined by competition with other production areas, and given theabove-mentioned disadvantageous characteristics, the items that can be sold are limited.
These are the characteristics of agriculture on islands. For farming in the Nansei Islands,
including the Amami Islands, there are also weather conditions to consider.
(5) While more likely to encounter summer typhoons and severe drought, it is warmer
than the mainland.
Based on these characteristics, let’s take a concrete look at the item composition of
Amami agriculture. The table shows the cultivated area and output of the main items in the
Amami Islands. Sugarcane has the largest cultivated area, accounting for more than half of thetotal. Next are vegetables, which account for about 20% of the total. Nearly 80% of thesevegetables are potatoes. This is followed by forage crops that feed cattle. This is also about
20% of the total. In other words, in terms of area, sugarcane, potatoes, and forage crops
account for approximately 90% of the agriculture in the Amami Islands. Amami is no
exception to the tendency of specializing in a small number of items, as in characteristic (4).

54
Agriculture, characteristics, and challenges of the Amami Islands
SAKAI Norio

Incidentally, paddy fields, which occupy over half of the cultivated area of Japan, account for
only 0.5% of the total in the Amami Islands, which is a characteristic (3) of island agriculture.
Meanwhile, different trends are seen when evaluating the amount of output. Beef cattle
account for 33% of the total; sugarcane, 27%; vegetables, 23%; flowers, 10%; and fruit trees,
5%. Potatoes are the main vegetables; flowers include chrysanthemums and goldenrods; andfruits include mangoes and tankan. This means that flowers and fruit trees, which have a highproportion of output relative to area, have a high output per unit area.
Next, let’s look at each item individually. Sugarcane is a rather special crop supported bynational policy; it is also resistant to typhoons and droughts in the summer and will be
addressed separately in the next article. Potatoes, beef cattle, flowers, and fruits are items thathave become established by taking advantage of Amami’s warm climate. Specifically,
potatoes, flowers, and fruit trees are shipped when other production areas cannot ship theiritems (off-season) to avoid transportation disadvantages. Additionally, beef cattle have theadvantage of fast production of feed, which is the food for cattle. Many flowers and fruits do
not require additional heating. Therefore, these items are advantageous because they can beproduced at a low cost.
In this way, the current agricultural items of Amami have established themselves bytaking advantage of the (5) weather conditions of Amami to overcome the disadvantages ofthe (1) transportation aspects or (2) the high costs of island agriculture. These items are also
the result of many years of hard work of farmers and stakeholders.
However, these are not unalterable. Market conditions are constantly changing, and thetechnology related to production, storage, and transportation is advancing every day. The
competitive environment of agriculture will also change in the future. Under suchcircumstances, off-season shipments or cost competition alone may not respond well tochange in the market and technology or may be depleted. Therefore, in addition toconventional efforts, measures to further increase the value of Amami’s agricultural products
must be promoted.

Sugar cane
Vegetables
Potatoes
Flowers
Chrysanthemums
Goldenrods
Gladiolus
LiliesFruitsTankanMangoes
Passion fruit
Forage crops
Beef cattle
Others
Total

Cultivated area

Outputha%
8,448 55.3
2,935 19.2
2,295 15.0
203
1.3
73
0.5
35
0.2
53
0.3
33
0.2
587
3.8
315
2.1
50
0.3
19
0.1
2,888 18.9
－
－
210
1.4
15,271 100.0

mil. yen%
8,556 26.7
7,324 22.9
5,334 16.7
3,290 10.3
1,117
3.5
1,054
3.3
421
1.3
545
1.7
1,441
4.5
431
1.3
584
1.8
204
0.6
－
－
10,574 33.0
829
2.6
32,014 100.0

Overview of agriculture of the Amami Islands

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Sugarcane and potatoes
SAKAI Norio
Sugarcane comprises over half of the area of agriculture in the Amami Islands, andapproximately 30% of the output. However, its status has been declining. Over the past 30
years, the cultivated area of sugarcane has dropped by around 30%, and in its place, forage
crops, which serve as food for cattle, and potatoes have increased. Even now, sugarcane is oneof the main players in the agriculture of Amami, but it is not the only main player. Consider
the role of sugarcane in Amami under such a situation.
As mentioned in “Agriculture, characteristics, and challenges of the Amami Islands” (pp.
53-54), because Amami is an island there are disadvantageous conditions in conducting
agriculture compared to the mainland. Because of these conditions, sugarcane farmers andsugar factories on the island have received support from the government in the form ofsubsidies, which allow them to make a living in agriculture.
However, sugarcane is a crop with low profitability per land area. If the government
provides more subsidies to sugarcane farmers, farmer’s incomes will increase, so why aren’t
more subsidies being provided? There is, of course, the problem of financial resources, but thefollowing reasons are also present.
If there is a competition among farmers to rent farmland when farming, then theoretically,
farmland with better conditions will be borrowed from farmers who grow crops that can pay
for lots of rent (high profitability). If the profitability of sugarcane is higher than that of othercrops, then sugarcane farmers would drive out other crops and use their farmland. This isproblematic if it occurs with crops that are receiving government support, so the subsidies tosugarcane farmers are limited, and the profitability per area is kept low.
Therefore, the cultivated area of sugarcane will increase or decrease depending on thecondition of other crops. As an example, if the area of farmland on the island is set as constant,when the price of calves is high, as they currently are, then cattle farmers can pay large
amounts to rent farmland, so the area of forage crops that feed cattle would increase, and thearea of cultivated sugarcane, which cannot pay the high rent, decreases. In contrast, whenitems other than sugarcane are not doing well, the cultivated area of sugarcane increases. The
fact that sugarcane is decreasing, relative to that in the past, can also be expressed as thepromotion and expansion of other items.
Though decreasing, sugarcane still composes a large amount of farmland in Amami eventoday, signifying that no item can substitute for it. If sugarcane were to disappear, then people
would struggle to maintain a large portion of the current farmland as farmland. Sugarcane also
has a role in maintaining farmland.
Approximately 80% of the potatoes in Japan are produced in Hokkaido, but many arealso grown in Okinoerabujima and Tokunoshima, in the Amami Islands. The potatoes in the
Amami Islands are harvested from February to April, when the production areas of Hokkaido

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Sugarcane and potatoes
SAKAI Norio

and the mainland are too cold and cannot be cultivated, and these potatoes are shipped to themainland as “new potatoes.” However, the Amami Islands are islands, so these potatoes
cannot be cultivated over a vast space like those in Hokkaido. To meet the stable demand for
potatoes, the small production areas cultivate and ship potatoes while alternating over a shortperiod. This system is called relay shipping. When the potato harvest in the Amami Islands
ends in April, production areas shift to Nagashima in the north of the prefecture until early
May, after which shipping starts in the Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture.
A common element of these potato-producing areas is that the soil to be cultivated is red.
Red soil is generally difficult to cultivate. It is difficult to say that this is fertile soil, but
potatoes grown in red soil look more beautiful than potatoes grown in black soil, and they aretraded at a higher unit price. Potatoes are a crop suitable for Amami, where the soil andclimatic characteristics of the Amami Islands outweigh the disadvantages of transportation.
However, there are challenges. Although not limited to potatoes, prices may decline as aresult of reduced demand due to the declining birth rate and aging population, as well ascompetition with other production areas. Under such circumstances, efforts to increase theprice of potatoes are required.
One of these efforts is PR methods. The solution here is not to conduct PR for each small
island, but to market red-soil potatoes under one brand for the entirety of the Amami Islands,
and possibly Nagashima and Nagasaki Prefectures. Furthermore, the skin of new potatoes
more easily peels off, so it is difficult to utilize mechanical harvesting, therefore most of theseare harvested manually. A major issue is securing a harvesting labor force, but on the other
hand, promoting this “hand-dug” aspect and increasing its added value may also be possible.

Potatoes harvest at Imura Farm in Okinoerabujima

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Applying the wisdom of the reservoir in Okinoerabujima
to small-scale irrigation in the Philippines
NISHIMURA Satoru
In the Philippines, small-scale irrigation such as reservoirs has been attracting attention
as a supplement to large-scale irrigation in expanding agricultural production and increasing
farmers’ income. The government has been working on a project called the Small Water
Impounding Project (SWIP) since the 1980s under the Marcos administration with the help ofnational budgets and foreign / international organizations. This project has many advantages
such as lower impacts on the local ecosystem, in addition to cost reduction, but there havebeen operational problems; it cannot be said to have developed smoothly.
Meanwhile, Japan has a long history of reservoir irrigation. There are many stories of
Buddhist priests such as Gyoki in the Nara period (from AD 710 to 794) and Kukai in the
Heian period (from AD 794 to 1185) building and repairing such reservoirs. Particularly inremote islands, the problem of water has been mitigated by the construction of undergrounddams, but these were once serious issues. The importance of reservoirs was particularly highwith expanding agricultural production and the securing of water for domestic use.
Okinoerabujima is one of these cases. The islanders have used the reservoir while coming up
with innovations for agriculture and daily life. If the experience of using reservoirs on remoteislands in Japan, such as Okinoerabujima, can be applied to SWIP operation in the Philippines
and an effective operation system for reservoirs can be established, then a SWIP model would
be created that enables the sustainability of ecosystems, people’s lives, and village societies.
The author clarified the following points through long-standing comparative surveys on
the use of reservoirs on Okinoerabujima and the Philippines. First, reservoirs were added inboth cases as national policy. Due to this nature, the construction and management ofreservoirs are the joint work of residents, local government, and government. The country
needs to develop the project after fully understanding the characteristics of the region. In thecase of Okinoerabujima, the operation of the reservoirs was more voluntary on the part of thevillages. In the case of the Philippines, the government indirectly manages the residents andthe area by organizing the irrigation association.
Second, the difference between the environment of Okinoerabujima and that of thePhilippines in the present day became clear. In Okinoerabujima, the villages had established astrong sense of unity as a community. In the case of the Philippines, however, there weremany cases where building a community was difficult due to the large differences between theunion members. Factors that determined these differences were the land ownership system of
the village, income source of the inhabitants, and so on. The strength of community between
the water use association members varied depending on factors such as whether the

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Applying the wisdom of the reservoir in Okinoerabujima to small-scale irrigation in the Philippines
NISHIMURA Satoru

landowner owns the land of the reservoir and the degree of dependence of the residents on
agricultural income. Site-appropriate support needs to be provided by the government. Third,in the use of the reservoir in Okinoerabujima, residents of the village established an effective
water use management system. The wisdom of water intake and water distribution in thereservoir on Okinoerabujima of the past is considered to be applicable to the Philippines in
the present day. For example, the method of distributing pumped water was devised in various
ways to prevent conflict in the village. A small weir (distribution weir) called an Oitama wasinstalled in each pond. Agricultural water was drawn into paddy fields through the wateroutlets (Ibi), but there were measures implemented to evenly adjust the amount of water.
Distribution weirs (Oitama) were created according to the number of people using the paddy
fields. A second and third Oitama were built when reservoir water had to flow to lands at theskirts of a mountain (Chibida) far from the reservoir. Rice fields through which the reservoir
water passed were called ditch fields (Nijumashi). These ditch fields were required to securewater for the lands at the skirts of the mountain farther down from them. The owners of theditch fields erected fine bamboo in the paddy field, made a water level (Mindai), andconstantly monitored its level. A system was constructed in which scarce water resourceswere evenly distributed by the residents.
Small-scale irrigation such as a reservoir is a very effective method of increasing
agricultural production and farmers’ incomes while protecting the ecosystem in countries withlimited national budgets, but the operational technology for applying this to various sites isstill under development. Exchanging the wisdom and technology of small-scale irrigation
operations over time and space will be important in order to form a new operation system.
There should also be a major focus on the wisdom and technology cultivated by residents ofremote islands.

Small-scale reservoir project in the Philippines

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Fish is the “Treasure of the island”
TORII Takashi
Generally, there are abundant marine resources around an island, but the market size ofislands is small. Given that all the marine products caught cannot be consumed on the island,
many of them are shipped to the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture or Okinawa Prefecture.
Although there are some fee subsidies from Amami Promotion Projects, shipping off islands
nevertheless requires considerable labor and cost. The market price of marine products carriedover time often remains low because long periods have elapsed since they were caught. In
other words, these products face the dual issue of decreased market unit price due to the long
periods that have elapsed since they were caught, even when the products were shipped at ahigh cost. These are the characteristics of the fishing industry of remote island areas,
including the Amami Islands.
However, advances in scientific technologies may alleviate some of the disadvantages
faced by these remote island fishery industries. A representative example of this is quick
freezing technology. There are several techniques such as liquid freezing and proton freezing,
but a common element among these is freezing fresh seafood and thawing it appropriately to
produce a “close to fresh” taste. The deterioration of freshness due to long-term transportation
can be prevented, so this has been introduced on one after another remote island regions.
Efforts to introduce rapid freezers and produce fish products have begun even in the Amami
and Tokara Islands.
Is it possible to breathe new life into the island fishery industry through the introductionof the freezer? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is “no.”The introduction of freezers has allowed the successful production of high-quality“produced goods,” but there are many efforts which have not found a final destination, suchas where to sell these as “commercial products.” Fishermen have focused on direct sales using
the internet and participated in various business meetings, but there are few cases where
sufficient sales channels could be secured. Although one would like to place hope in thefishery cooperatives’ sales abilities, managing fishery cooperatives has been very difficult inrecent years, and these cooperatives do not have time to spare for opening individual sales torestaurants and mass retailers outside the islands.
Without a destination, these “produced goods” simply accumulate in freezers asinventory. Simply introducing the freezer does not benefit fishermen.
What I want to investigate here is collaboration with private companies that have sales
abilities. In other words, this is the building of relationships where the specialized skills ofcatching specialists (fishermen) and selling specialists (private businesses) are utilized to sellhigh-quality “produced goods” as excellent “commercial products” to consumers. In reality,
the collaboration between producers and private companies is also advancing on remote

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Fish is the “Treasure of the island”
TORII Takashi

islands in Kagoshima Prefecture. The relationship of rapidly freezing very fresh catch, after
which companies in the prefecture take on the role of sales, has been implemented in
Nakanoshima (Toshima village), and private businesses have been positioned as one of theimportant shipping destinations. This kind of relationship building is about to spread to
Yoronjima and Koshikishima as well.
We would like to not only focus on shipping outside the island, but also the developmentof the island market. What kinds of seafood are handled as mass retailers, restaurants,
accommodation facilities, and so on, on the island? Is there no room for marine products fromthe island? Imported salmon and mackerel are delicious, but there is even more delicious
seafood in the Amami Islands. The demand of each individual store is limited, but this may be
a substantial when put together. We hope for producers to actively provide this information.
The number of tourists entering the Amami Islands is increasing due to the launch of
low-cost carriers and the arrival of cruise ships. There have also been full-scale efforts forWorld Heritage registration. What attracts these tourists are the nature, culture, people, andfood of the Amami Islands.
Colorful fish are unloaded every day around the Amami Islands. We would like topromote the development of the off-island market while utilizing the sales abilities of privatecompanies without dropping the freshness of the fish. We would like to provide abundantlocal fish to tourists visiting the Amami Islands in cooperation with the producers andrestaurants. I would like to capture the stomach of a tourist with fish, and increase the numberof fans of Amami because the fish of the Amami Islands are “treasures of the island” withmuch value and potential.

Local fish sashimi will no longer be available if the fishing industry
disappears from the Amami Islands.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Society 5.0 @ Amami Islands
MASUYA Masato
From the hunter-gatherer society (Society 1.0), agricultural society (Society 2.0),
industrial society (Society 3.0), and information society (Society 4.0), we are about towelcome the new society that comes next. Society 5.0 is a society where everyone can live
comfortably by utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence—a so-calledsuper-smart society. Super-high-speed internet lines and broadband are indispensable forachieving this society. Among these, super-high-speed broadband provided by optical fiber
networks has become indispensable as a lifeline of the future.
However, the development of the optical fiber network was mainly carried out in urban
areas, and its development in areas with unfavorable geographic conditions such as remoteislands and mountainous areas has been delayed.
Even in such situations, the development of optical fiber networks in the Amami Islands
has progressed through the joint efforts of residents and local governments. With the
exception of secondary and tertiary remote islands, many of these islands have been able touse super-high-speed broadband that is equivalent to urban areas, starting with Yoronjima andOkinoerabujima.
Meanwhile, there were some voices saying, “the internet speed is slow even when an
optical fiber network was set up.” The reason for this is actually due to the mechanism of theinternet. The mechanism used for exchanging data on the internet requires that the next set ofdata be sent after confirming that the previous data has arrived to ensure the reliability ofcommunication. If there was no response, the data is retransmitted in order to ensure reliabledata transmission. This mechanism results in less data being sent per second with greater
distance to the communication partner. In other words, the data transmission becomes slow. In
Japan, the servers that provide internet services are concentrated in Tokyo, so internet speeds
become slower the farther you are from Tokyo. This problem manifested on Yoronjima, thelongest distance from Tokyo in Kagoshima Prefecture.
When compared with a transportation network, the development of an optical fiber
network is equivalent to the development of a multi-lane paved road. No matter how good theroad may be, the amount of luggage that can be transported will not increase unless the car
performance changes. The communication mechanism at the time when the optical fiber
network was established in Yoronjima was, so to speak, luggage transportation by lightweighttrucks. Despite all the effort that went into building a good road, it was not fully utilized.
In order to resolve this problem of slow internet, Kagoshima University developed ahigh-speed technology by dividing the communication intervals. This would be the equivalentof setting up relay warehouses in terms of transporting luggage. The notification ofcompleting the delivery can be obtained by transporting the luggage to warehouses along theway, shorten the time for shipping the next package and increasing the number of packages
that can be carried.

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Society 5.0 @ Amami Islands
MASUYA Masato

This was a practical technology, but it was unfortunately not adopted. All of a sudden,
the internet speed in Yoronjima was no longer slowing down.
Communication performance was greatly improved in Windows Vista and later versions.
This could be thought of as upgrading from lightweight to medium-weight trucks. The
amount of data that could be transported at once greatly increased, and the performance of the
optical fiber network could be utilized.
Technological advances have also improved the relay devices, which have shortened thecommunication path as well as the time to and from Tokyo. In terms of the transportation
network, this was the equivalent of developing bypasses and motorways. These advances
removed the perception of a slow internet.
Furthermore, new communication methods have also been developed, enablinghigher-speed communication. Now, heavy-duty trucks have been coming and going. If the
optical fiber network was not established, this communication method, the equivalent of theseheavy-duty trucks, could not be utilized.
With the full utilization of the capabilities of the optical fiber network, it has become
clear that the next development is the 5th-generation mobile communication system (5G).
Although 5G is a super-high-speed wireless technology, communication with 5G is limited tocommunication between mobile phone base stations and terminals. The upstream from thebase station is an optical fiber network, so 5G will not be installed in areas where the opticalfiber network is not developed. Society 5.0 will not arrive unless the optical fiber network isin place. In that sense as well, it can be said that the people of the Amami Islands, who wereamong the first to work towards the development of an optical fiber network, had foresight.
They will undoubtedly introduce 5G into their society without greatly falling behind urban
areas. Only then will the true power of the optical fiber network be demonstrated and asuper-smart society be realized in the Amami Islands.

Society 5.0 is a human-centric society that balances economic development and theresolving of social issues. (Source: The Cabinet Office)63

SECTION FIVE:
Education

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Young medical professionals studying on remote islands
TAKEZAKI Toshiro
The various restrictions on medical care on remote islands endure today as they did in
the past. Therefore, a variety of supports and innovations have been implemented, and thecurrent state of medical care has improved considerably compared to 30 years ago.
Helicopters have become available as part of the emergency system, which was one of the
major issues. In addition to the Self-Defense Forces and Japan Coast Guard, disasterprevention helicopters by local government were introduced in the prefecture in 1998, and an
air ambulance system, “Doctor-Heli,” came into operation in 2011.
The advantage of an air ambulance is that doctors and nurses can quickly reach therequested location and transport the patient while starting treatment. Furthermore, a criticalcare center was set up at Kagoshima Prefectural Oshima Hospital as a base of operations forthe remote islands, and a long-awaited air ambulance system was underway in 2017. At thecountry’s only center installed in remote islands, young doctors—mainly emergency
specialists—form a team and work with hospital specialists to save lives on a 24-hour
response system. Young doctors with emergetic specialists are needed, especially for
emergency situations. Even if a critical care center were to be established, insufficient
manpower would exhaust medical staff, and the center would not function sufficiently.
Meanwhile, clinical doctors are treating and caring patients of various age groups
suffering from various diseases based on a wide range of knowledge and experience because
there are a limited number of specialists in remote islands and areas. Elderly people often
have multiple illnesses stemming from a variety of backgrounds, and clinical doctors who arefamiliar with the community and their families are a reliable presence. It is also vital toaccurately judge emergencies and specialized illnesses and transport and refer them; a truly
comprehensive medical treatment.
To support medical care in a Japan with a rapidly aging population, comprehensive
medical care is required, not only in remote islands but also in urban areas. The national
government, therefore, is promoting training for these purposes, but this has not gone as wellas they had hoped. Comprehensive medical care has long been present in remote islands; in asense, the remote islands are a model for the future of Japanese medical care.
There are many young medical students who are interested in medicine on remoteislands. When I was a student and visited Amami Oshima, I stayed in a two-story wooden
doctor’s dormitory in Amami Oshima and spent entire days driving along bumpy and winding
roads with my friends. I had the thought that I would love to be a doctor here if I had thechance.
While working as a pediatrician in Kagoshima, I had the chance to work at Kagoshima
Prefectural Oshima Hospital. I thought that this was finally my chance, but there were many
applicants, and I did not win the lottery. Afterward, I temporarily moved away from
Kagoshima. By the time I was appointed a faculty member (education and research) at

66Young medical professionals studying on remote islands
TAKEZAKI Toshiro

Kagoshima University in 2003, practical training for some of the medical students had alreadybegun at the remote islands. Later, I faced with the doctors and residents of the remote islands
while continuing their training; I was convinced that the remote islands were a wonderfulplace for an education in medicine.
Medical practical training at the remote islands developed further, and by 2007, all
medical students (approximately 120 students) were divided into groups of several people,
and they all began a one-week practical training program at about 10 medical institutions in
the remote islands. Furthermore, all students who enrolled under the regional
recommendation framework, which began in 2006 to support regional medical care, began to
conduct practical training in the remote islands during their first and second year summer
vacation. In recognition of these achievements, the national government approved theestablishment of the Education Center for Doctors in Remote Islands and Rural Areas at theuniversity. The content of the practical training came into its own, and medical students fromall over the country were called upon to experience their practical training at remote islands in
the Amami Islands. Furthermore, we have begun a supporting project by the university to
train medical personnel in the field of emergency medical care on remote islands.
The students are still burgeoning chicks, witnessing the actual circumstances ofcomprehensive medical care. As they feel its charms, difficulties, responsibilities, and various
other aspects, they will gain experience as medical professionals who will be responsible for
medical care in the future. Students’ reports and presentations convey the thoughts of thedoctors involved in medical care on remote islands, the gratitude of the residents, and the
expectations the doctors and residents have for the students. They are glad that they conducted
their practical training on the remote islands. When you see young medical professionals whowill be responsible for future medical care in the remote islands and Japan, working hard tolearn, train, and practice medicine while immersing themselves in the charm of the remoteislands, I hope that you can watch over them warmly.

Medical students accompanying a traveling clinic in Ukeshima

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Nursing and nursing staff at the Shima
KODAMA Shimpei
I was assigned to the Department of Nursing at Kagoshima University in the spring of2003. After mid-April, when I finally adapted to my new life in Kagoshima, a senior professor
said to me, “Will you go on a work trip for me?” The work trip destination was Yoroshima. I
will never forget the impression of Yoroshima when I first visited there. It was a small island
where all the residents, about 100 or so at the time, lived in a single community. There was a
remote area clinic there, but there was only one resident nurse. It was a massive shock to me,
who had only seen the Kanto region’s urban areas when speaking about local communities.
I still remember the story that the professor told me upon my return that the term Shimain Amami does not refer to the island, but rather the local communities such as thecommunities where the individuals live. Since then, I have visited the islands of Amami
multiple times each year. The professor has already retired, but I have continued to engage innursing education and research at Kagoshima University.
This question is somewhat out of the blue, but do you all know the term“community-based integrated care system”? It is a system that comprehensively ensures theprovision of health care, nursing care, prevention, housing, and livelihood support. By this,the elderly could live the rest of their lives in their own ways in environments familiar to them.
It was promoted throughout Japan by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare following
the 2011 revision to the Long-term Care Insurance Act. It is also an essential keyword incommunity health nursing—my field of specialization. The community-based integrated caresystem emphasizes each region’s making good use of their respective strengths with theirlimited resources and creating a system that voluntarily and independently utilizes theregion’s characteristics.
An additional characteristic of this system is that a small community such as a juniorhigh school district, is considered a regional unit; and that it is conscious of the balance ofself-help, mutual aid, and public aid, with a particular emphasis on the role of mutual aid thatinvolves people in the community helping each other. You may have heard of community
general support centers set up in municipalities to provide support for this system as a region.
The construction of a community-based integrated care system involves considerable
participation by nursing professions such as public health nurses, midwives, and nurses, so theimportance of community health nursing in the nursing fields has increased in recent years,
and there is a strong demand for enhanced education.
When I first heard about this community-based integrated care system, I felt like it was
something I had heard about from before. Aren’t these the activities of the island nursing
professions that I have always seen until now? What has always left an impression on me
when visiting Amami was the appearance of the nurses and local people working there. Each
person had their own approach, but the residents were supported with limited resources while
utilizing the connections of the people of the Shima as strengths so that they could live in their

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Nursing and nursing staff at the Shima
KODAMA Shimpei

own ways. In other words, the nurses of Amami naturally built a community-based integrated
care system in their respective regions. In fact, the activities of Yamato village and Tatsugo
town were taken up by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare as a pioneering example ofa comprehensive community care system, and Yamato village was selected as one of the 10
municipalities in the construction model example.
A comprehensive understanding of the patient is a very familiar concept to begin with in
the world of nursing. The idea of caring for a patient instead of diagnosing an illness isimportant in medical care as a whole. However, taking an overall view of the individual,
including their relationship with the surrounding environment (family and community), andhelping them to live in their own way, has been a particular point of emphasis in the nursing
profession. It is easier to say than to implement in practice, but for some reason, I feel that
there are many people on the small islands who have naturally learned this.
This feeling may be largely due to the fact that much of the nursing activities in the areas
where I was deeply involved, were based in the Amami Islands. However, I feel that one
reason is the small size of the islands and their scarcity of resources, as seen in Yoroshima. It
is a world that is small but in some sense complete. Within this world as well, there are thenurses who must deal with an overwhelming lack of resources. Each of these situations, bythemselves, are a disadvantageous environment, but perhaps the reasonably-sized communityof the Shima, which fits within a single person’s consciousness, can cultivate the ability ofnurses to comprehensively grasp the subject at hand.
My interpretation notwithstanding, there are indeed many nurses in Amami who are
doing great work. However, it is unfortunate that there are many of these who take this for
granted and do not realize the value of their efforts. I think that widely disseminating
information about nursing in the Shima can contribute not only to the regions in which they
are active but also to Amami as a whole, and even to nursing in Japan.
In November 2017, Professor HATANO Hiromichi, who had originally asked me to travel
to Yoroshima, hosted an academic meeting of the Japan Society of Rural and Remote Area
Nursing in Uken village. The theme was “Talking about Shima.” Although it is common that
academic meetings are generally held in places where transportation is as convenient as
possible, we intentionally selected the small
village as the venue, not only we had connections
with the villagers, but also because we hoped tohave attendees actually feel the Shima of Amami.
As many participants from inside and outside theprefecture gathered, many activities by people
active in Amami were also announced. It was anhonor for me to be involved as a member of theplanning committee as well. We would like tocontinue contributing to such opportunities and Opening remarks from the President ofan academic meeting of the Japangive back to the people of Amami who took care Society of Rural and Remote Area
Nursing held in Uken village
of us.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Charms of the island that nurture life
INOUE Naomi
The islands of Kagoshima Prefecture have maintained a high total fertility rate relative tothe rest of the country. Based on the total fertility rate ranking of all municipalities from 2013
to 2017, four towns have ranked in the top ten: Isen town at 2nd place, Tokunoshima town at
3rd place, Amagi town at 7th place, and China town at 8th place. There may be some, after
looking at these data, who think that the islands are places where childbirth and child-rearing
are easily done.
There are 26 inhabited islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, but only five islands haveobstetric medical facilities (hereinafter referred to as obstetric facilities) and where woman
have access to healthcare during childbirth. Kikai town and Yoron town, ranked 15th and 37th
in the previously-mentioned ranking, do not have obstetric facilities on their respective
islands. Women go to facilities off the island using boats and planes for maternity healthcheck-ups. When the expected date of delivery approaches, they leave the island and theirfamily, waiting for childbirth while living on an island with the appropriate facilities. Womenand their families go through these challenging experiences in order to have children.
I learned about the feelings women who live on islands without any obstetric facilities
and how they felt as mothers when interviewing them. “It is sad to leave my older children
and family, but I only think about having the baby safely. That is my responsibility as amother.” Giving birth off the island was supported by the woman’s determination of
becoming a mother. Of course, family support plays a large role as well. During the pregnancy,
they are told that “they do not have to do the farm work. They should not hold heavy things.”
After the pregnancy, they are told that “they should not work with needles or water.” In thisway, they are treated well.
Women on the island also have a high ability for self-care. Women not only gathered
information from the internet but also actively gathered information from the elderly andother mothers. This information included self-care that was unique to the islands, such as, “Do
not eat goat meat,” “Children’s hair will grow well when you eat seaweed,” and “Fish soup isgood.” Methods nurtured in the life and culture of the island were handed down throughpregnancy.
What was more interesting was what was done when something goes wrong. “Whenbleeding, call the hospital or public health nurse after carefully observing the amount andcolor.” This is an observational skill rivaling that of a medical professional. There are more
and more women today who feel that everything will be fine in pregnancy or childbirth if left
to the devices of medical professionals. It is also a struggle for midwives to bring out theindependence of women. However, women on the island felt a high level of awareness thatthey would be the ones responsible for protecting their own bodies and children.

70
Charms of the island that nurture life
INOUE Naomi

I once conducted a survey on health guidance on islands. The impetus for this survey
was that I had heard that mothers were less likely to attend maternity classes and would thinkthat everything regarding pregnancy and childbirth would be fine. However, thecircumstances that were revealed through the data told a different story. Women wereskillfully collecting the necessary information. They would directly ask midwives and doctors
at the time of maternity health check-ups about obtaining medical information according totheir own conditions. They would ask experienced people close to them about matters relating
to pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing. I felt that this easy-going attitude, thinking thateverything will work out, was actually a flexibility based on some degree of information andevidence.
Student training is also conducted on the islands. There are many students from theprefecture who have visited the islands for the first time and many who do not know theislands frequently have negative impressions of them, such as the inconvenience of island life,or the difficulty of island medical care. However, the students’ image of the island changes
significantly once they go there and interact with the people and lives of the island, and see
the actual circumstances of island medical care. They realize that not having medical facilities
or resources is not restrictive or inconvenient. They also learn the strong feelings of“protecting the lives of the people on the island with our own ability” shared among the
medical professionals on the islands, and this has a great impression on the students, who areseeking to become medical professionals themselves. The islands are a place that fosters asense of responsibility in medical students, as well as a sense of duty.
In the present day, when we prioritize convenience and avoid troublesome relationships,
we feel that it is the activities of the people on the island who make us aware of the important
things we are on the verge of losing. Above all, the vitality of the women on the island iswonderful. I will continue to study the island as my field site and teach students. I am excited
to see what kinds of wonderful things I will notice next time.

A woman who immerses her baby’s feet in seawater and wishes for her healthy growth(April 7, 2019, Yakomo, China town; provided by Nankai Nichinichi Shinbun)

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Ecosystem and environmental learning on Yoronjima
KITAMURA Yujin and UYENO Daisuke
Kagoshima University is one of the national universities in Japan which is located at thesouthernmost tip of the mainland. The beautiful natural environment around the university isdiverse and abundant, making it a suitable university for research and education inenvironmental sciences. Kagoshima Prefecture has a great nature; beautiful natural forests,
oceans, volcanoes, and more than 600 islands of various sizes—where this number is thesecond largest among the prefectures in Japan.
Imagine spending your student life here. On a sunny day, we have many options. Go tomountain trails to seek insects and plants in the Osumi Peninsula? Alternatively, you gosnorkeling at the coasts of Makurazaki or Bonotsu and play with marine life? In either case,
you will have to escape the classroom lectures. Even on days where you earnestly attend
compulsory lecture subjects, it is entirely possible to go to Sakurajima volcano in theafternoon. Of course, for overnight stays on weekends. Why don’t you go to Yakushima? The
Tokara Islands seems appealing as well. It might feel like you spend your days just playing,
but this is synonymous with attending lectures that are the ultimate in environmental
education. Said another way, it also means that if we half-heartedly conduct lectures, thenstudents will soon get bored of us. Practical courses conducted in the field need to bepresented in a powerful and stimulating manner that can satisfy the students’ immense desire
for knowledge. In this article, we would like to introduce a Kagoshima University’s style fieldlearning program that makes full use of this blessed natural environment.
The Faculty of Science at Kagoshima University has a so-called “Yoron Jisshu” with a
tradition dating back over three decades, the official name is “Field Studies in Regional
Environment.” Students experience the entire natural environment of the area, deepen their
specialized understanding, and learn the connections with the local culture. Yoronjima, thelocation for the program, is the southernmost tip in the prefecture. What awaits the students
living in city-side Kagoshima is an extraordinary experience.
Students are picked up by the school bus at our university campus, commencing thegreat journey, and head to the ferry terminal. They stay overnight on board to reach theisland—approximately 20 hours one-way. This ferry cruise is an important opportunity forlearning about Kagoshima’s great nature. Students experience the 600 km length ofKagoshima Prefecture, witnessing geological and topographical differences between theislands and the clear blue water as they move south while stopping at a series of islands. They
cheer over flying fish and turtles, and they feel the activities of the islanders (Shimanchu in
Amami dialect) as the people board and deboard the ferry with their large luggage every timethey arrive at a port.

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Ecosystem and environmental learning on Yoronjima
KITAMURA Yujin and UYENO Daisuke

The ferry that left Kagoshima in the evening finally arrives at the port of Yoronjima thenext day at noon. Awaiting us at the port is Mr. KAWAMOTO Harutoshi, the “master” of the
BeachLand Lodge, Yoron which has served as the base for this program for over 30 years.
Pioneer professors had groped the location for the field course at the beginning and tried aplace on the mainland of the prefecture in the second year of the program which end up with
unpopular rating by the students. Since then, the course has been held in Yoronjima. Professor
SATO Masanori, who studies annelids and used to be a young faculty member when he wasleading the course in its early stages, retired in 2021. The master and the Yoron training have
not only overseen the growth of students but also of professors.
Let us focus on the content of “Yoron Jisshu.” As we mentioned, the course has alreadystarted on the ferry, but it is not until arriving at Yoronjima that we fully take on tasks. The
content changes slightly depending on the weather and the types of instructors leading the
program. It is mainly for studying “coastal vegetation and the environment,” “inland
vegetation,” and “coral reefs and animals.” It also includes a “Day for free observation.” Oneof the best advantages of the program is that students can learn about flora and fauna that livein marine, coastal areas, and land while interacting with the actual organisms. It is customary
to head out to the mountains and sea during the day, and to “identify the names” of thecreatures at the lodge in the evening. Students not only acquire knowledge of the plants andanimals that live on Yoronjima, but also think about questions such as “What are their notablecharacters?” and “Does this match the explanation in the illustrated books?” improves theirability to observe and think logically.
Don’t forget the fun while studying. When the students finish daytime tasks early, wehead to the night beach to observe the activity of the nocturnal animals. This is an opportunity
to find tropical species such as the large land crabs dwelling underground during the day andthe coconut crab which is the world’s largest terrestrial hermit crab. Searching for thoseanimals while illuminating the gaps between rocks with flashlights is as much fun as treasurehunting—even better when they are lucky enough to encounter the spawning of sea turtles.
Based on the specimens collected by students during the program, two parasitic isopods,
Allocancrion yunnu Uyeno and Boyko, 2020 and Kepon grapsi (Nobili, 1905) were described
as a new species and a first recorded species in Japan from the intertidal crabs, respectively.
The “Yoron Jisshu” can also produce discoveries of great academic value.
In the last quarter-century, our faculty, the Faculty of Science, has gone throughre-organizations twice. From 1997 to the present, this practical training course “Yoron Jisshu”
has been conducted under the name field science as part of the Department of Earth andEnvironmental Science and frequently been led by many geologists as well as biologists. As aresult, the program has grown for learning more broadly and comprehensively about the“natural environment,” including topography and geology. In 2004, the former dean of ourfaculty presented a letter of appreciation to Mr. KAWAMOTO, the “master” who wasinstrumental in accepting the field program over the years. Looking at the students waiting for

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Ecosystem and environmental learning on Yoronjima
KITAMURA Yujin and UYENO Daisuke

the ferry to return Kagoshima after learning about the nature of the southern island, we hopethat they have broadened their horizons toward the outside world ever so slightly.

Let’s take Yurigahama Beach sandbar! Field course program, where students
learn from the great nature, is filled with a charm not found in any classroom
lectures.

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南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.62（2021年12月）
No.62（December 2021）

Intensive lecture on Yoronjima: An Island’s System
YAMAMOTO Sota
Kagoshima University has lectures on practical training on remote islands in Kagoshima
Prefecture. One of these is “An Island’s System,” a common educational subject and intensive
lecture. Faculty members of the International Center for Island Studies oversee the training on
Yoronjima conducted over six days (though two nights are spent on board a ship). This is a
so-called general liberal arts course, so most of the students are first- and second-year
students, but third- and fourth-year students also participate.
There is always a guidance session held prior to departing for Yoronjima. I have noticed
interesting trends when asking students at this time about why they decided to enroll in thiscourse. Students from remote islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, such as the Amami Islands (orthose who had experience living in remote islands), answered that it was because they wereinterested in “islands.” Students from outside of Kagoshima Prefecture answered that theywanted to go to the “islands” because they have come to Kagoshima.
What about the students from the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture? The passive
answers stood out: because a friend is going, or because a senior recommended the lecture.
Additionally, they would say that they have had experience going to Yakushima or
Tanegashima, but not to other remote islands in Kagoshima Prefecture. Coming from outside
Kagoshima Prefecture, I can’t help but think that there should be more educational programson the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture for elementary and junior high school students tolearn at the Amami, Tokara, and/or Koshikishima Islands.
A ferry is used instead of a plane when going to Yoronjima for the “An Island’s System”
lecture because we want the students to feel the “distance” from Kagoshima city to thesouthernmost island of Kagoshima Prefecture. The experience of being on a boat for around20 hours is an unknown one even for students who have been on a ferry before, let alone forstudents who have never ridden one. Even then, the students surprisingly have a good time on
the ferry (though this is when the seas are calm).
After arriving at Amami Oshima in the early morning the day after boarding, we thenhead to Yoronjima after seeing Kakeromajima / Ukeshima / Yoroshima, Tokunoshima, andOkinoerabujima, in that order. This also gives the students a sense of the positional
relationship, size, and topography of each island in the Amami Islands—another advantage ofthe ferry.
The Kagoshima University Yoron Revitalization Center (formerly Yoron Municipal
Clinic) located on a hill in Chabana has been used as the training center and accommodationin Yoronjima (guesthouses have been used since it was closed in 2017). Incidentally, the new
government building in Yoron town is currently at that location (opened in January 2020). The
damage inflicted on the old government building in the 2013 typhoon is still fresh in people’s
memory. It is thought that the hill is a good location after considering natural disasters such asa tsunami.

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Intensive lecture on Yoronjima: An Island’s System
YAMAMOTO Sota

During the intensive lectures, the students first attend classroom lectures by experienced
practitioners of Yoronjima on the current circumstances, issues, and future of theadministration, education, culture, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, and other facets of Yoron
town. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who were involved in theselectures.
It would be a wasted opportunity to just attend classroom lectures after coming to
Yoronjima. Therefore, we spend the entire day traveling around the island. The destinations
vary every year, but examples include the Yoron Town Hall, fire station, compost center,
fisheries cooperative, Nihon Maruko Co. Ltd. Yoron factory, Furusato water purification plant,
Arimura sake brewery, Yoron Minzoku Mura (Yoron folk village), Southern Cross Center, andKotohira Shrine / Tokonushi Shrine.
The entire island can be seen when going to the highest point in Yoronjima, and thestudents are not only moved by the beauty of the surrounding sea but also are surprised thatthey can see Okinoerabujima as well as Iheyajima, Izenajima, and even Okinawajima in
Okinawa Prefecture. The fact that the national border was located here (Yoronjima andOkinawa Prefecture) until 1972 does not seem to register with the today’s students.
A perennial favorite among the students is Yurigahama (Oganeku Coast). If lucky, you
can even go ashore onto Yurigahama as it floats onto the sea and look for star sand. Students
become totally enamored of Yoronjima after the lecture.
The subject of the intensive lecture report is “What should we do to revitalize
Yoronjima?” Despite the occasional dull essays scattered about among them, some of thestudents suggest very nice ideas from a youth perspective. I have made efforts to send thesereports to the instructors of Yoronjima each year in the hope that they would be of some help
to the island.
Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020, this lecture could not beheld in 2020 and 2021. I hope that students will be able to fully enjoy Yoronjima in 2022.

View of Okinawajima from Yoron Castle
Walking around the ruins of Yoron Castle
and looking up at the natural defensive
wallsKAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIES

南太平洋海域調査研究報告（バックナンバー）OCCASIONAL PAPERS (BACK NUMBER)

No. 35 “The Power of Place” of the Areas at the
Boundary between Land and Sea: The Viewpointfrom Southern Kyushu and the Southerly Islands(Japanese)
No. 36 Health and Medical Issues in Island Areas(Japanese/English)
No. 37 Researching Eruption Clouds of Volcanic
Island Chains (Japanese/English)
No. 38 The Progress Report of the 2000 and 2001
Survey of the Research Project “Social Homeostasisof Small Island in an Island-Zone” Islands in Southern Japan (Japanese/English)
No. 39 The Progress Report of the 2000 and 2001
Survey of the Research Project “Social Homeostasisof Small Island in an Island-Zone” Yap Proper andUlithi Atoll, Micronesia (English)
No. 40 Institutions in the Making: An Interdisciplinary Study on Social Life and Economy of the Philippine Local (Japanese)
No. 41 “Symbiosis” of Human Being and Nature in
the South Pacific Islands (English)
No. 42 The Progress Report of the 2002-2004 Survey of the Research Project “Social Homeostasis of
Small Island in an Island-Zone”: Interdisciplinary
Approach to Satsunan Islands Focussing on Yoron
Island (Japanese/English)
No. 43 Islam in Contemporary Southeast Asia (Japanese)
No. 44 The Future of Shimauta (Japanese)
No. 45 Innovation of Education in Remote Islands
to Affect a Request of the Present Age (Japanese)
No. 46 A Research Project for Sensor Zone Setting
on Kagoshima Chain Islands from South to North
for Cultural and Environmental Transition (Japanese)
No. 47 Global Warming and Pacific Islands (English/Japanese)
No. 48 Climate Changes and Globalization: Environment and People’s Life in the Pacific Islands(English)No. 49 Strategy on the Asian-Pacific Islands andKagoshima: Center-Periphery, Interdisciplinary andInternational Contribution (Japanese)
No. 50 Re-Opening as “The Center for Island Studies Education and Research”, Symposium: “Nesia
Empowerment” Developing Island Futures (Japanese/English)
No. 51 Interdisciplinary Research in the Small Islands, Subtropical Zone (Japanese)
No. 52 The Development towards Affluent and Homeostatic Kagoshima Islands (Japanese)
No. 53 Research on the Influence of Globalization
and Global Warming on Life in Chuuk Atoll (English)
No. 54 New Horizon of Island Studies in the
Asia-Pacific Region (English)
No. 55 Challenge of Integrated Disciplinary Research: Natural Resource Uses in the Pacific Islands(Japanese/English)
No. 56 Report of the 2014 Survey of the Research
Project (Presidential Discretionary Fund for Island
Studies (Japanese)
No. 57 2015 Project Progress Report: Biodiversity
and Its Conservation in the Satsunan Islands (Japanese)
No. 58 Future Collaboration on Island Studies between Pattimura University and Kagoshima University (English)
No. 59 2017 Project Progress Report: Biodiversity
and Its Conservation in the Satsunan Islands (Japanese)
No. 60 Island Voices, Island Songs (Japanese)
No. 61 2016-2019 Project Progress Report: Biodiversity and Its Conservation in the Satsunan Islands(Japanese)

ISSN 1345-0441

OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No. 62（2021）

No. 62（2021）

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター

南太平洋海域調査研究報告

南太平洋海域調査研究報告 No.62 （ 2021 年 12 月）
OCCASIONAL PAPERS No.62 （December 2021）

Science of Amami:
From an Island of“Nothing”to“Something”
Edited by
TAKAMIYA Hiroto, SUZUKI Eizi and YAMAMOTO Sota

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター
KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIES

南太平洋海域調査研究報告No.62(2021）●

PUBLISHED BY
KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIES
郵便番号 890-8580
Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagosima, 890-8580 Japan
鹿児島市郡元一丁目21番24号
Tel. : +81-99-285-7394
電話 099（285）7394
Fax. : +81-99-285-6197
ファックス 099（285）6197
E-mail: shimaken@cpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
令和３年12月25日発行
December 25, 2021
www http://cpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/index-j.html

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター

鹿児島大学国際島嶼教育研究センター●

KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ISLAND STUDIESOCCASIONAL PAPERS No.62（2021）