, native_name_link=, image_caption=Kuchinoerabu-jima from Nagatadake on Yakushima, image_size=, map_image=OsumiIslands.png, map_caption=, location=

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated ...

, coordinates=, archipelago=

Ōsumi Islands The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are the northernmost group of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain extends from the southern tip of Kyushu to Yakushima. Administratively, the group bel ...

, total_islands=, major_islands=, area_km2=38.04, length_km=12, width_km=5, coastline_km=49.67, highest_mount=Furudake, elevation_m=657, country=, country_admin_divisions_title=, country_admin_divisions=

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

, population=147, population_as_of=2010, density_km2=, ethnic_groups= Japanese, additional_info=Last eruption date 2020 , is one of the

Satsunan Islands The 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. Major islands * Satsunan Islands ** Ōsumi Islands with: *** Tanegashima, Ya ...

, usually classed with the

belonging to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. The island, 38.04 km² in area, has a population of 147. The island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport. There is regular ferry service with

Yakushima is one of the Ōsumi Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, in area, has a population of 13,178. Access to the island is by hydrofoil ferry (7 or 8 times a day from Kagoshima, depending on the season), slow car ferry (once or twic ...

, which is about 15 km to the east. Travel time is approximately 1 hour. The islanders are dependent mainly on fishing, agriculture and seasonal tourism. The entire island is within the borders of the Kirishima-Yaku National Park.

Geography

Kuchinoerabu-jima is located south of

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

. The island is of volcanic origin, and has an area of approximately with a length of and width of . The highest elevations on the island are , with a height of and , with a height of above sea level. There are numerous hot springs on the island. Kuchinoerabujima Relief Map, SRTM-1

The island is an active volcano which has erupted several times during the modern period, including 24 December 1933, when several people were killed when lava masses buried several villages. In 1980, multiple explosion craters appeared along an north-south fissure on the slope east of Shindake. Shindake erupted again on 4 August 2014, generating a

pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...

, but with no injuries or fatalities. The main crater erupted on the morning of 29 May 2015, prompting a level 5 alert level and the evacuation of the island. The island’s climate is classified as subtropical, with a rainy season from May through September.

History

During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, Kuchinoerabu-jima was ruled by the

Shimazu clan The were the '' daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in cont ...

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, l ...

and was considered part of

Ōsumi Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga and Satsuma Provinces. Osumi's ancient capital was near modern Kokubu. During the Sengoku ...

. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, it was administered as Kuchinoerabujima Village, which encompassed part of Yakushima. It is now part of the city of Yakushima, Kagoshima. Kuchinoerabu-jima is the last known location of missing American poet Craig Arnold, who was visiting the island in April 2009, doing research for a book on volcanos.

Volcanic eruptions of Mount Shindake

On May 18, 2015 Japanese scientists detected increased seismic activity and steam rising from the Shindake's crater, and on May 29, 2015 an eruption sent an ash cloud an estimated 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) into the sky. No deaths and only one minor injury were reported by the Japanese government. The island’s 140 residents were evacuated by Japan’s coast guard. Previous eruptions occurred in August, 2014 and in 1980. Shindake crater erupted on December 18, 2018, ejecting an ash cloud 2 kilometers into above cloud coverage. Thirty days later on January 17, 2019, Shindake erupted again, sending pyroclastic flows 1.5 kilometers to the southwest and northwest of the crater as well as an ash cloud 6 kilometers into the atmosphere.

References

External links

*
Kuchinoerabujima
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{Authority control Ōsumi Islands Stratovolcanoes of Japan Active volcanoes VEI-4 volcanoes Volcanoes of Kagoshima Prefecture 20th-century volcanic events Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture Holocene stratovolcanoes

Geography

History

Volcanic eruptions of Mount Shindake

See also

References

Further reading

External links