Amami Ōshima

Amami is a large island in Japan. It sits in the sea between two other places. The island has many trees and green plants.

It has a big forest made of mangroves.

Many special animals live here. You can find a rare rabbit on the island. Some people also go to see big whales in the water.

It is often warm and wet there. The sun is hot in the summer.

In the winter, the weather is mild.

People grow food like rice and sweet potatoes. They also make beautiful silk cloth. They use mud to make the silk black.

Amami is a very special place to visit.

Amami Ōshima is a large island in Japan. It is part of the Satsunan Islands. The island sits between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is the seventh-largest island in Japan.

Much of the land is in a national park. This park protects the trees and the sea.

The island is made from old volcanoes. It has a high peak called Mount Yuwanda. The weather is warm and wet. Summers are very hot. The rainy season lasts from May to September.

Many animals live here that live nowhere else. The Amami rabbit is one of them. People call it a living fossil. You can also see large whales in the water during winter.

About 73,000 people live on the island. They grow rice, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. People also make special silk called Ōshima-tsumugi. They use mud to dye the silk black. This silk is used to make kimonos.

The island has a port and an airport. These help people travel to big cities like Tokyo.

Amami Ōshima is a very large island in Japan. It is the seventh-largest island in the whole country. The island sits in the middle of the Satsunan Islands. It is located south of Kyūshū and north of Okinawa. The East China Sea is to the west. The Pacific Ocean is to the east.

Much of this beautiful land is inside the Amami Guntō National Park. In 2021, UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site. This helps protect the island for the future.

The island was formed by old volcanoes. Its highest point is a peak called Mount Yuwanda. The weather is warm and wet all year. Summers are very hot and winters stay mild. A rainy season lasts from May until September. Sometimes, large storms called typhoons hit the island.

You might see a coral reef around the coast. These reefs are very special to the ocean.

People have lived on the island for a long time. Stone tools show that people were there in the Japanese Paleolithic period. The island is even mentioned in an old book from the year 657 AD. Long ago, it was a place where travelers stopped. Between 1571 and 1611, it was part of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Later, samurai from the Shimazu clan took control of the land.

In 1859, a man named Saigō Takamori lived there for two years.

About 73,000 people live on Amami Ōshima today. They live in five different areas. These are the city of Amami and the towns of Tatsugō and Setouchi. There are also two villages called Uken and Yamato.

Many people work in farming or fishing. They grow rice, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. The island is also famous for making Ōshima-tsumugi. This is a high-quality silk that is dyed with mud to make it black.

The island is a very important place for animals. The Amami rabbit lives here and nowhere else. Some people call it a living fossil. You can also find the Lidth's jay bird here. In the winter, people go whale watching in the sea. Humpback whales visit the waters near the island.

The North Pacific right whale also comes to this area. It is one of the rarest whales in the world.

Amami Ōshima is a major island located in the Satsunan Islands of Japan. It is the largest island in the Amami archipelago. This island sits between the larger islands of Kyūshū and Okinawa. The East China Sea borders the island to the west. The Pacific Ocean lies to the east.

The island covers an area of 712.35 square kilometers. It is the seventh-largest island in the Japanese archipelago. Much of the land is protected within the Amami Guntō National Park. In 2021, UNESCO added it to a serial World Heritage Site list. This list includes several islands in the region.

The island was formed through volcanic activity. Its highest point is Mount Yuwanda, which rises above sea level. A coral reef surrounds the coastline of the island. During the last glacial period, the island may have hosted the northernmost coral reefs in Japan. The climate is classified as humid subtropical. This means the island has very warm summers and mild winters. A rainy season occurs from May through September. The island also faces frequent typhoons.

Human history on the island spans many eras. Stone tools prove people lived there during the Japanese Paleolithic period. Artifacts like pottery show contact with the Jōmon, Yayoi, and Kofun periods. The ancient chronicle Nihon Shoki mentions the island in 657 AD. During the Nara and early Heian periods, it served as a stop for envoys traveling to China. Mother of pearl was an important export to Japan. From 1571 to 1611, the Ryukyu Kingdom controlled the island. Later, the Shimazu clan invaded in 1609. The Tokugawa shogunate recognized their control in 1624.

Life on the island changed significantly through the modern era. Saigō Takamori was exiled to Amami Ōshima in 1859. He lived there for two years. After the Meiji Restoration, the island became part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Following World War II, the United States occupied the island. This occupation lasted until 1953 when control reverted to Japan. In 2001, a naval confrontation occurred near the island. A North Korean spy craft entered the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone. This six-hour battle ended with the sinking of the vessel.

Today, approximately 73,000 people live on Amami Ōshima. The population is divided into five municipalities. These include the city of Amami and the towns of Tatsugō and Setouchi. The villages of Uken and Yamato are also part of the island. Amami city is the largest, with 44,561 residents. The economy relies on agriculture, fishing, and shōchū distillation. Farmers grow sugar cane, rice, and sweet potatoes. The warm climate allows for two rice crops every year. Tourism is also a vital economic sector.

The island is famous for unique traditional crafts. One notable craft is Ōshima-tsumugi, a high-quality hand-crafted silk. This silk is used to make beautiful kimonos. The fabric is dyed with mud to create a black color. Some say it is one of the three greatest textiles in the world. The island is also a sanctuary for rare animals. The Amami rabbit is an endemic species found only here and on Tokunoshima. It is often called a living fossil. The Lidth's jay is another bird found only in this area.

Marine life around the island is incredibly diverse. Humpback whales are a major winter attraction for visitors. The North Pacific right whale also appears here. This is the most endangered whale species in the world. Amami is the only place in the East China Sea where they have been seen in 110 years. The island also marks the northern limit for dugongs. Leatherback turtles have even been seen nesting here. However, invasive mongooses once threatened local wildlife. Authorities launched an eradication campaign to protect the rabbits. They successfully removed the mongoose population by 2024.