Sakai clan
Tobishima has been populated for several thousand years, with archaeological finds from the early Jōmon period dated to 6000–7000 years ago. In the late Heian period, the island was controlled by the Abe clan, followed by the Kiyohara clan. In the Edo period, it was part of the holdings of the Sakai clan at Shonai Domain and an occasional port for the "kitamaebune" coastal trading vessels.