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Kikaijima

Native name: Kyaa (喜界島)
Kikaijima
Geography
Location	East China Sea[clarification needed][further explanation needed]
Coordinates	28°19′35″N129°58′27″E / 28.32639°N 129.97417°E /28.32639; 129.97417
Archipelago	Amami Islands
Area	56.93 km2 (21.98 sq mi)
Coastline	48.6 km (30.2 mi)
Highest elevation	214 m (702 ft)
Administration
Japan
Prefectures	Kagoshima Prefecture
District	Ōshima District
Town	Kikai
Demographics
Population	7,657 (2013)
Pop. density	134.49/km2 (348.33/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Ryukyuan,Japanese

Kikaijima (Japanese:喜界島;Amami:Kyaa;Okinawan:Cikai-zima) is one of theSatsunan Islands, classed with theAmami archipelago betweenKyūshū andOkinawa.^[1]

The island, 56.93 square kilometres (21.98 sq mi) in area, has a population of approximately 7,657 people. Administratively the island forms the town ofKikai,Kagoshima Prefecture. Much of the island is within the borders of theAmami Guntō Quasi-National Park.

The nameKikai is attested inOld and Middle Okinawan with the various phonemic kana spellingsききや,きゝや,きちゃ,きちや,ちちや, andちちやァ,^[2] which may have been the antecedent of the Kikai name.

Kikaijima is isolated from the other Amami islands, and is located approximately 25 kilometres (13 nmi; 16 mi) east ofAmami Ōshima and approximately 380 kilometres (210 nmi; 240 mi) south of the southern tip of Kyūshū. It is the easternmost island in the Amami chain. Compared with Amami Ōshima andTokunoshima, Kikaijima is a relatively flat island, with its highest point at 214 metres (702 ft) above sea level. It is a raised coral island with limestone cliffs, and draws the attention of geologists as it is one of the fastest rising coral islands in the world.

The climate of Kikaijima is classified as ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) with very warm summers and mild winters. The rainy season lasts from May through September. The island is subject to frequenttyphoons.

Due to its relative isolation, Kikaijima is home to several rare species endemic to the island itself, or more generally to the Ryukyu archipelago. However, it is one of the few islands in the Amami chain to which the venomoushabu viper is not indigenous. Larger biogenically coated nodules (25–130 mm in diameter), named macroids, have been found off Kikai-jima shelf, at water depths of 61 to 105 m.^[5] These macroids are made up by encrusting acervulindforaminifera. These macroids host boring bivalves whose holes represent the ichnogenusGastrochaenolites.^[6]

Although the Ryukyu Islands appeared in written history as Japan's southern frontier, the name of Kikaijima was not recorded in early years. TheNihongi ryaku (c. 11th–12th centuries) states that in 998Dazaifu, the administrative center ofKyūshū orderedKikajima (貴駕島) to arrest theNanban (southern barbarians), who in the previous year had pillaged a wide area of western Kyūshū. TheNanban were identified as Amami islanders by theShōyūki (982–1032 for the extant portion). Accordingly, it is assumed that Dazaifu had a stronghold in the Kikaijima concerned.^[7]

TheShinsarugakuki, a fiction written by an aristocratFujiwara no Akihira in the mid-11th century, introduced a merchant named Hachirō-mauto, who traveled all the way to the land of theFushū in the east and to Kika-no-shima (貴賀之島) in the west.^[7]

Some articles of 1187 of theAzuma Kagami state that during the period of the Taira clan's rule,Ata Tadakage ofSatsuma Province fled to Kikaijima (貴海島). TheAzuma Kagami also states that in 1188Minamoto no Yoritomo, who soon becameshōgun, dispatched troops to pacify Kikaijima (貴賀井島). It was noted that the imperial court objected to the military expedition claiming that it was beyond Japan's administration.^[7]

TheTale of the Heike (13th century) depicted Kikaijima (鬼界島), whereShunkan,Taira no Yasuyori, andFujiwara no Naritsune were exiled following theShishigatani Incident of 1177.

Boats rarely passed, and people were scared. Residents were dark colored and their words were incomprehensible. Men did not weareboshi, and women did not wear their hair down. There were no farmers or grain, not even clothing. In the center of the island was a tall mountain, and it was constantly in flames. Due to the large amounts ofsulfur, the island was also known asSulfur Island.^[8]

The island depicted, characterized by sulfur, is identified asSatsuma Iōjima of theŌsumi Islands, which is part ofKikai Caldera.

There are some controversies over which Kikaijima described in these sources refers to. It may be the modern-day Kikaijima, Satsuma Iōjima or a collective name for the southern islands. From the late 10th century, Kikaijima was seen as the center of the southern islands by mainland Japan.^[9] It is also noted by scholars that the character representing the first syllable ofKikai changed from "貴" (noble) to "鬼" (ghost) from the end of the 12th century to the early 13th century.

Archaeologically speaking, theGusuku Site Complex, discovered in Kikaijima in 2006, rewrites the history of the Ryukyu Islands. The group of archaeological sites on the plateau is one of the largest sites of the Ryukyu Islands of the era. It lasted from 9th to 13th centuries and at its height from the second half of the 11th to the first half of the 12th century. It was characterized by a near-total absence of the native Kaneku Type pottery, which prevailed in coastal communities. What were found instead were goods imported from mainland Japan, China and Korea. Also found was theKamuiyaki pottery, which was produced inTokunoshima from the 11th to 14th centuries. The skewed distribution of Kamuiyaki peaked at Kikaijima and Tokunoshima suggests that the purpose of Kamuiyaki production was to serve it to Kikaijima. The Gusuku Site Complex supports the literature-based theory that Kikaijima was a trade center of the southern islands.^[7]

In 1306,Chikama Tokiie, a deputyjitō of Kawanabe District, Satsuma Province on behalf of theHōjō clan, the de facto ruler of theKamakura shogunate, created a set of documents that specified properties to be inherited by his family members, which included Kikaijima, together with other islands of theŌsumi,Tokara and Amami Islands.^[10] After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, the southern islands seem to have been transferred to theShimazu clan. It claimed thejito of the Twelve Islands, which were limited to the Ōsumi and Tokara Islands. However, whenShimazu Sadahisa, the head of the clan, handed over Satsuma Province to his sonMorohisa in 1363, he added the extra Five Islands as the territories to be succeeded, which seem to refer to the Amami Islands including Kikaijima.^[11]

Kikaijima was conquered by theRyūkyū Kingdom. TheHaedong Jegukgi (1471), whose source was a Japanese monk visiting Korea in 1453, describes Kikaijima as a territory of Ryūkyū. An article of 1462 in theAnnals of the Joseon Dynasty, which records an interview from aJeju islander who had drifted to Okinawa in 1456, states that Kikaijima was resisting Ryūkyū's repeated invasions. According to theChūzan Seikan (1650), KingShō Toku himself pacified Kikaijima in 1466, claiming that Kikaijima had not paid tribute for years.^[12]

As a result ofSatsuma Domain's conquest of theRyūkyū Kingdom of 1609, Kikaijima fell under the direct control of Satsuma. After theMeiji Restoration it was incorporated intoŌsumi Province and later became part of Kagoshima Prefecture. FollowingWorld War II, although with the other Amami Islands, it was occupied by theUnited States until 1953, at which time it reverted to the control of Japan.

In 2018 resident Nabi Tajima, the last remaining person known to have been born in the 19th century, died in a local medical facility.

Kikaijima is connected by regular ferry service to Kagoshima, Amami-Oshima and various of the Amami islands.

Kikai Airport connects the island with Amami-Oshima and Kagoshima by air.

The economy of the island is based on agriculture (primarilysugar cane and citrus fruits) as well as commercial fishing. Seasonal tourism also plays a role in the local economy. Industry is limited to sugar refining andShōchū production.

TheJapanese Maritime Self-Defense Force maintains an importantSIGINT station on the island, which includes a largeCircularly Disposed Antenna Array. The station was opened in 2006, and is considered a vital component of the MSDF's JOSIS (JMSDF Ocean Surveillance Information System).^[13]

The traditional local language, aRyukyuan language known as Kikai orKikai-Ryukyuan, is deemed endangered, as younger generations have little to no knowledge of it.^[14][15]

• Eldridge, Mark.The Return of the Amami Islands: The Reversion Movement and U.S.-Japan Relations. Levington Books (2004)ISBN 0739107100
• Hellyer. Robert. Defining Engagement: Japan and Global Contexts, 1640–1868. Harvard University Press (2009)ISBN 0674035771
• Turnbull, Stephen.The Most Daring Raid of the Samurai. Rosen Publishing Group (2011)ISBN 978-1-4488-1872-3

Media related toKikaijima at Wikimedia Commons

• Geographic data related toKikaijima atOpenStreetMap

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• Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture
• Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

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