Amami Islands
Although the Amami Islands are today part of Kagoshima Prefecture in the Kyūshū region, the inhabitants share much cultural heritage with Okinawans to the south. Politically, however, they were controlled by different polities for a long time. The Amami Islands were relatively late in being conquered by the Okinawa-based Ryūkyū Kingdom, and Ryūkyū's direct control only lasted about 150 years. In 1609, Satsuma Domain of southern Kyūshū invaded Ryūkyū, forcing the kingdom to cede the Amami Islands. Thereafter Amami and Okinawan naming systems separately underwent great changes. Today they are distinct from each other.