Tokara Islands

Tokara
Native name: 吐噶喇列島 (トカラ列島), Tokara rettō
	Akusekijima
	Map of Kagoshima Prefecture
Geography
Coordinates	29°58′00″N129°55′01″E / 29.9667°N 129.917°E
Adjacent to	Pacific Ocean
Total islands	12
Area	101.35 km2 (39.13 sq mi)
Administration
	Japan
Prefectures	Kagoshima
District	Kagoshima District
Village	Toshima
Demographics
Population	648 (2010)
Pop. density	6.39/km2 (16.55/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Japanese

Last updated November 30, 2024

The Tokara Islands (吐噶喇列島, Tokara-rettō) is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are part of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The 150 kilometres (81 nmi) chain consists of twelve small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima. The islands have a total area of 101.35 square kilometres (39.13 sq mi). Administratively, the whole group belongs to Toshima Village, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Only seven of the islands are permanently inhabited. The islands, especially Takarajima, are home to the Tokara horse.

Etymology

One theory^{[ by whom? ]} holds that the name “Tokara” was derived from “tohara”, or “distant sea area”, as viewed from Okinawa. Another theory^{[ by whom? ]} states that the name come from the Ainu word tokap, which means “breast”. The southernmost inhabited island in the archipelago, Takarajima, has a mountain, Megamiyama (lit. Goddess Mountain) with such a shape.

History

Mention is made in the Shoku Nihongi under an entry for the year 699 of an island called “Tokan”, which is usually identified with Tokara, together with the islands of Tane, Yaku and Amami, although “Tokan” is also sometimes identified with Tokunoshima, an island approximately 150 kilometres (93 miles) away. (While an entry in the earlier Nihon Shoki for the year 654 mentions a "Tokara Country", Tokara no kuni, it is a reference to the Tokhara region of Central Asia, rather than the Tokara Islands.) During the 15th and 16th centuries, the islands came under the control of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Domain and the Ryukyu Kingdom. Ryukyu ceded its territory in the Tokara Islands to Satsuma in 1611, which was confirmed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1624.

In 1908, the islands were administratively organized into Jitto Village, literally “Ten islands”, of which seven were inhabited. After World War II, from 2 February 1946 all of the Satsunan islands south of 30th Latitude, including the Tokara Islands, were placed under United States military administration as part of the Provisional Government of Northern Ryukyu Islands. However, the three northern inhabited islands in the archipelago, Iōjima, Kuroshima and Takeshima, remained under the control of Japan, and were placed under the administration of the village of Mishima. The remaining Tokara Islands reverted to Japan on 10 February 1952 and are now administered as the village of Toshima.

Important Bird Area

The islands have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support populations of Japanese wood pigeons, Ryukyu green pigeons, Ijima's leaf-warblers, Izu thrushes and Ryukyu robins.^[1]

Islands

Photo	Name	Kanji	Area (km²)	Population 2004^[2]	highest point (m)	Peak	Coordinates
	Hirase ^[3]			-			30°2′32.26″N130°3′0.29″E / 30.0422944°N 130.0500806°E / 30.0422944; 130.0500806 (Kuchinoshima) (Toudai-Se)
	Kuchinoshima	口之島	13.33	140	628.5	Maedake	29°58′15″N129°55′20″E / 29.97083°N 129.92222°E / 29.97083; 129.92222 (Kuchinoshima)
	Nakanoshima	中之島	34.47	167	979.0	Otake	29°50′30″N129°52′30″E / 29.84167°N 129.87500°E / 29.84167; 129.87500 (Nakanoshima)
	Gajajima	臥蛇島	4.07	–	497.2		29°54′11″N129°32′30″E / 29.90306°N 129.54167°E / 29.90306; 129.54167 (Gajajima)
	Kogajajima	小臥蛇島	0.50	–	301,0		29°52′48″N129°37′15″E / 29.88000°N 129.62083°E / 29.88000; 129.62083 (Kogajajima)
	Tairajima	平島	2.08	88	245	Ontake	29°41′15″N129°31′57″E / 29.68750°N 129.53250°E / 29.68750; 129.53250 (Tairajima)
	Suwanosejima	諏訪之瀬島	27.66	48	796,0	Ontake	29°38′19″N129°42′50″E / 29.63861°N 129.71389°E / 29.63861; 129.71389 (Suwanosejima)
	Akusekijima	悪石島	7.49	72	584	Mitake	29°27′36″N129°36′06″E / 29.46000°N 129.60167°E / 29.46000; 129.60167 (Akusekijima)
	Kojima	小島	0.36	–	56,0		29°13′40″N129°20′45″E / 29.22778°N 129.34583°E / 29.22778; 129.34583 (Kojima)
	Kodakarajima	小宝島	1.00	43	102.7		29°13′26″N129°19′34″E / 29.22389°N 129.32611°E / 29.22389; 129.32611 (Kodakarajima)
	Takarajima	宝島	7.14	114	291.9	Imakira-dake	29°08′40″N129°12′29″E / 29.14444°N 129.20806°E / 29.14444; 129.20806 (Takarajima)
	Kaminonejima	上ノ根島	0.54	–	280,0		28°49′56″N129°0′03″E / 28.83222°N 129.00083°E / 28.83222; 129.00083 (Kaminonejima)
	Yokoate-jima	横当島	2.76	–	494.8	Higashimine	28°47′57″N128°59′20″E / 28.79917°N 128.98889°E / 28.79917; 128.98889 (Yokoate-jima)
Map all coordinatesin "Tokara Islands" using OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as: KML GPX (all coordinates) GPX (primary coordinates) GPX (secondary coordinates)

Related Research Articles

Mishima is a village consisting of the inhabited islands of Iōjima, Kuroshima and Takeshima and the uninhabited islands of Shōwa Iōjima and Denshima located in Kagoshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The village office is located in the city of Kagoshima, outside the village.

Toshima is a village consisting of the islands of the Tokara Islands located in the Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The village office is located in the city of Kagoshima, outside the village.

The Amami Islands is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of Kyushu. Administratively, the group belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan and the Japan Coast Guard agreed on February 15, 2010, to use the name of Amami-guntō (奄美群島) for the Amami Islands. Prior to that, Amami-shotō (奄美諸島) was also used. The name of Amami is probably cognate with Amamikyu (阿摩美久), the goddess of creation in the Ryukyuan creation myth.

The Ryukyu Islands, also known as the Nansei Islands or the Ryukyu Arc, are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands and Okinawa Prefecture. The larger ones are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island.

Takarajima (宝島), literally "treasure island", is one of the Tokara Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture. The island, 7.14 km² in area, has a population of 116 persons. The island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport; there is regular ferry service to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland of Kyushu. Travel time is about 13 hours. The islanders are dependent mainly on fishing and seasonal tourism.

Iōjima (硫黄島), also known as Satsuma Iōjima (薩摩硫黄島), Satsuma-Iwo Jima or Tokara Iōjima (吐噶喇硫黄島), is one of the Satsunan Islands, usually classed with the Ōsumi Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Along with Takeshima and Kuroshima, it makes up the three-island village of Mishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 11.65 km² in area, has a population of 142.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suwanosejima</span> Island within the Ryukyu Islands

Suwa-no-se Jima (諏訪之瀬島) is one of the Tokara Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture. The island covers 27.66 km² in area and has a population of 48 people. Although the island has an airport, there are no regularly scheduled services, and access is normally by ferry to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland. The island is about nine hours by boat from the mainland. The islanders are dependent mainly on agriculture, fishing and seasonal tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akusekijima</span> Island within the Ryukyu Islands

Akusekijima (悪石島), is one of the Tokara Islands, a subgroup of the Satsunan Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 7.42 km² in area, has a population of 59 persons. The island can only be reached by boat, as it has no airport; there is a ferry service twice per week to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland. Travel time is about 11 hours. The islanders are dependent mainly on fishing and seasonal tourism.

Yokoate-jima (横当島) is an uninhabited volcanic island located in the Tokara Islands, part of the Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kikaijima</span> Island within Ryukyu Islands

Kikaijima is one of the Satsunan Islands, classed with the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa.

Nakanoshima (中之島), is a volcanic island located in the Tokara Islands, part of the Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest and most populous island of the islands in Toshima village. The island, 34.47 km² in area, had 167 inhabitants as of 2005. The island has no airport, and access is normally by ferry to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland, seven hours away. The islanders are dependent mainly on agriculture, fishing and seasonal tourism. The island's attractions include hot springs, a lighthouse, an observatory and a museum of local history and folklore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satsunan Islands</span> Northern part of the Ryukyu Islands

The Satsunan Islands is a geopolitical name for a group of islands that forms the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands. The whole island group belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuchinoshima</span> Island within the Ryukyu Islands

Kuchinoshima (口之島), literally "mouth island", is one of the Tokara Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture. The island, 13.33 km² (5.15 sq mi) in area, and has a population of 140 persons. The island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport; there is regular ferry service to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland. Travel time is about 6 hours. The islanders are dependent mainly on agriculture, fishing and seasonal tourism. The island is home to the rare Kuchinoshima breed of Japanese native cattle.

Kodakarajima (小宝島), literally "small treasure island", is one of the Tokara Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture. The island, 1.0 km² in area, is the smallest inhabited island in the archipelago, and has a population of 49 people. The island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport; there is regular ferry service to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland. Travel time is about 13 hours. The islanders are dependent mainly on fishing and seasonal tourism.

Kogajajima (小臥蛇島) is an uninhabited volcanic island located in the Tokara Islands, part of the Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

Tairajima (平島), is one of the Tokara Islands, a sub-group of the Satsunan Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 2.08 km² in area, has a population of 89 persons. The island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport; there is a ferry service twice per week to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland and Naze in Amami Oshima. Travel time is about 9 hours to Kagoshima and 6 to Amami Oshima. The islanders are dependent mainly on fishing, seasonal tourism, and agriculture.

Gajajima (臥蛇島), is an abandoned island in the Tokara Islands, a sub-group of the Satsunan Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island has an area of 4.07 km² in area and was inhabited to 1970.

Kuroshima (黒島), is one of the Satsunan Islands, usually classed with the Ōsumi Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 15.37 km² in area, has a population of 199 people. The island can only be reached by ferry service to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland, as there is no airport. Travel time is about 6 hours. The islanders are dependent mainly on fishing, agriculture and seasonal tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uke Island</span>

Uke Island, or Ukejima (請島), is one of the Satsunan Islands of Japan, classed within the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa.

References

National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGIA). Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 Japan Enroute. Prostar Publications (2005). ISBN 1577856511

↑ "Tokara Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
↑ "Toshima" (PDF). 2004. Archived from the original (PDF; 19 kB) on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
↑ 平瀬 – トカラ列島 [Hirase – Tokara Islands]. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 January 2013.

External links

Tokara Islands travel guide from Wikivoyage
Official website in Japanese
Topographic Map 1:250.000

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[bli-1] "Tokara Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

[2] "Toshima" (PDF). 2004. Archived from the original (PDF; 19 kB) on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013.

[3] 平瀬 – トカラ列島 [Hirase – Tokara Islands]. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 January 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Japan Czech Republic