Question: where are the ryukyu islands located on a map

title: Ryukyu Islands
text: Some articles of 1187 of the Azuma Kagami state that Ata Tadakage of Satsuma Province fled to Kikai Island ( 貴 海島 , Kikaishima ) sometime around 1160 . The Azuma Kagami also states that in 1188 Minamoto no Yoritomo , who soon became the shōgun , dispatched troops to pacify Kikai Island ( 貴 賀 井島 , Kikaishima ) . It was noted that the imperial court objected the military expedition claiming that it was beyond Japan 's administration . The Tale of the Heike ( 13th century ) depicted Kikai Island ( 鬼 界 島 , Kikaishima ) , where Shunkan , Taira no Yasuyori , and Fujiwara no Naritsune were exiled following the Shishigatani Incident of 1177 . The island depicted , characterized by sulfur , is identified as Iōjima of the Ōsumi Islands , which is part of Kikai Caldera . Since China 's invention of gunpowder made sulfur Japan 's major export , Sulfur Island or Iōgashima became another representative of the southern islands . It is noted by scholars that the character representing the first syllable of Kikai changed from ki ( 貴 , noble ) to ki ( 鬼 , ogre ) from the end of the 12th century to the early 13th century .