Trip to Amami Oshima Island
December 3, 2024
I visited Amami Ohsima Island for the first time late last month.
As I have been to Okinawa Prefecture more than ten times, I thought I had already known much about the Southwest (or Nansei in Japanese) Islands including Amami. But that was my misunderstanding.
If I were to mention three things I newly learned during my trip there, they would be as follows.
Firstly, although Okinawa and Amami had been on equal footing and good terms with each other until the mid-15th C., Okinawa began to dominate Amami when kings of Okinawa became powerful than before. I guess this relation may be similar to what was between Yamato Kingship in Nara and small countries led by powerful families in other regions around the 5th C. in the main Japanese Islands. I would like to learn more about the history.
Secondly, both Amami and Okinawa became under U.S. rule after the World War II and then, after a movement by Amami people, only Amami Islands were returned to Japan in 1953. Before this trip of mine to Amami, I only knew that Okinawa was restored to Japan in 1972.
Thirdly, culture in Amami is quite different from that of Okinawa. For example, scales in music are contrasting, and tomb shapes are not the same. It seems to be misleading to classify all cultures in Amami and Okinawa as "culture in the Southeast Islands." Especially, I was amazed to see a group dance in Amami looks like Awaodori Dance in Tokushima, Shikoku.
Although the population in Amami Islands is around one fourteenths of that in Okinawa Prefecture, the presence of Amami in my mind has become much larger than the ratio.