Ogasawara islands

The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic reading of ''mujin''), meaning "no people" or "uninhabited". The only inhabited islands of the group are Chichijima (), the seat of the municipal government, and Hahajima (). Archeological evidence has revealed that some of the islands may have been prehistorically inhabited by members of an unknown Micronesian ethnicity.小笠原・火山(硫黄)列島の歴史
/ref>

Ogasawara Municipality (''mura'') and Ogasawara Subprefecture take their names from the Ogasawara Group. The is also used as a wider collective term that includes other islands in Ogasawara Municipality, such as the Volcano Islands, along with three other remote islands ( Nishinoshima, Minamitorishima, and Okinotorishima). Geographically speaking, all of these islands are parts of the Nanpō Islands.

A total population of 2,560 (2021), 2,120 on Chichijima and 440 on Hahajima, lives in the Ogasawara Group, which has a total area of .

Because the Ogasawara Islands have never been connected to a continent, many of their animals and plants have undergone unique evolutionary processes. This has led to the islands' nickname of "The Galápagos of the Orient", and their nomination as a natural World Heritage Site on June 24, 2011. The giant squid (genus ''Architeuthis'') was photographed off the Ogasawara Islands for the first time in the wild on 30 September 2004, and was filmed alive there in December 2006.

A radio telescope is located in Chichijima, one of the stations of the very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) project, and is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

History

Prehistoric tools and carved stones, discovered on North Iwo Jima at the end of the 20th century, as well as stone tools discovered on Chichi-jima, indicate the islands might have been populated in ancient times.

Early claims

The first recorded visit by Europeans to the islands happened on 2 October 1543, when the Spanish explorer Bernardo de la Torre on the ''San Juan'' sighted Haha-jima, which he charted as ''Forfana''. At that time, the islands were uninhabited. Japanese discovery of the islands occurred in ''Kanbun'' 10 (1670) and was followed by a shogunate expedition in ''Enpō'' 3 (1675). The islands were then referred to as , literally "the uninhabited islands". Shimaya Ichizaemon, the explorer at the order of the shogunate, inventoried several species of trees and birds, but after his expedition, the shogunate abandoned any plans to develop the remote islands.

In 1727, , a rōnin, claimed that the islands were discovered by his ancestor , in 1593, ( Tensho 20), and the territory was granted as a fief by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, investigation of the claim found that it was a fraud and the very existence of Sadayori was doubtful; as a punishment Sadato was exiled by the shogunate (1735).

The first published description of the islands in the West was brought to Europe by Isaac Titsingh in 1796. His small library of Japanese books included by Hayashi Shihei. This book, which was published in Japan in 1785, briefly described the Ogasawara Islands.

These groups were collectively called ''Islas del Arzobispo'' (Archbishop Islands) in Spanish sources of the 18th–19th century. This name is most likely due to an expedition organized by the Arzobispo (Archbishop) Pedro Moya de Contreras, Viceroy of New Spain, to explore the northern Pacific and the islands of Japan. Its main objective was to find the long sought and legendary islands of ''Rica de Oro'' (Rich in Gold), ''Rica de Plata'' (Rich in Silver) and the ''Islas del Armenio'' (Islands of the Armenian). After several years of planning and frustrated attempts the expedition finally set sail on 12 July 1587 commanded by Pedro de Unamuno. Even if it did revisit the Daitō Islands, already charted by Bernardo de la Torre in 1543, the expedition could not find the wanted islands after searching the positions where they were charted in contemporary references. Japanese maps at the time seem to have been rather inaccurate and therefore considered by some to be deliberately misleading. It is thought that this was an attempt to discourage colonization attempts by foreign nations. Frederick William Beechey used the Spanish name as late as 1831 and believed that the Japanese ''Boninsima'' referred to entirely different islands.

On 12 September 1824 American Captain James Coffin in the whaler first visited the southern group of islands (''Coffin Islands''). He visited the archipelago again in 1825 but this time he arrived at the middle group of islands (''Beechey Group'').

In September 1825, the British whaling ship ''Supply'' landed in the southern Bailey Group of islands. In 1826, another British whaler, ''William'', arrived at Beechey Island. Whaling ships called on a regular basis, for water and turtles, before continuing their voyages.

British possession

In 1827 Captain F. W. Beechey of reached the island chain and claimed them as a British possession. A copper plate was removed from ''Blossom''s hull and left on a beach as a marker of the claim:

He also named the island of Chichijima "Peel" after then British Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel. Beechey was also surprised to find two men living on the islands. They remained on the islands after the ''William'' left the year before in 1826. The men were Wittrein and Petersen.

In 1830, with the help of British Consul to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) Richard Charlton, Richard Millichamp, and Matteo Mazzaro sailed to the islands. The first permanent colony was made up of Nathaniel Savory of Bradford, Massachusetts, America, Richard Millichamp of Devon, England; Matteo Mazzaro of Ragusa/Dubrovnik, Austrian Empire (now in Croatia); Alden B. Chapin and Nathaniel Savory of Boston; Carl Johnsen of Copenhagen; as well as seven unnamed men and 13 women from the Kingdom of Hawaii. They found the climate suitable for farming and the raising of livestock. Rum was made from cane sugar, and bordellos were opened, somtimes staffed by women kidnapped from other island chains. Whalers and other ships that could not find another friendly port in Japan often visited the Bonins for provision and recreation.

Two years later the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland published a posthumous, abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation of ''Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu''.

Further settlers arrived in 1846, aboard the whaling ship ''Howard''. They established themselves initially in South Island. (One of them, a woman from the Caroline Islands named Hypa, died in 1897 age about 112, after being baptized on her deathbed.)

Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the United States Navy visited the islands in 1853 and bought property at Port Lloyd from Savory for $50. The US "Colony of Peel Island" (Chichijima) was created and Savory was appointed governor.

Japanese possession

In January 1862 (Bunkyū 1), the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan claimed the islands in a short-lived colonial enterprise. The shogunal steamboat ''Kanrin Maru'' was dispatched to the islands with a crew of cartographers, physicians and prominent bureaucrats. The islands were now officially named Ogasawara, referring to the legendary Japanese discoverer from the late 16th century. This tentative colonization, however, did not last for long. In summer 1863, under foreign pressure, the shogunate ordered the evacuation of the islands.

In 1875 the Japanese Meiji government reclaimed the islands. The Japanese names of each island were resolved and 38 settlers from Hachijojima were sent the following year. In 1876 the islands were put under the direct control of the Home Ministry. Further foreign settlement was banned, and the government assisted settlers who wished to relocate there from mainland Japan. The islands' forests were also cut down for sugar cane production. Colonists largely segregated themselves in two different villages, one for the Americans and the other for the Japanese. Islanders of European and US ancestry were eventually granted Japanese nationality in 1882. Jack London visited the islands in 1893 and published an account of his sojourn.

Lionel Cholmondeley compiled a history of the islands over the course of several years. His work was published in London in 1915.

In 1917, 60–70 island people claimed ancestry among the 19th-century English-speaking settlers; however, in 1941, no Bonin people would acknowledge descent from these early colonists. The current residents include some who claim to be related to Nathaniel Savory. In the winter of 1920–1921, Russian Futurist painter David Burliuk lived in the Bonin Islands and painted several landscapes of the islands.

The islanders were relegated to an insignificant status up through the early Shōwa period. After Japan's attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, English was banned on the Bonins, and Americans had to take on Japanese names. As fighting creeped closer to Japan during the later stage of the war, most inhabitants were forcibly evacuated to the mainland. There was a Japanese military base on Chichijima run by a Major , who was known for engaging in cannibalism and other acts on prisoners of war.Welch, Jeanie M
"Without a Hangman, Without a Rope: Navy War Crimes Trials After World War II,"
''International Journal of Naval History.'' Vol. 1, No. 1 (April 2002). The torpedo bomber of later American President George H. W. Bush crashed in the ocean near Chichijima. He ended up getting rescued by USS Finback and becoming the only one to ultimately survive. Eight other airmen downed near the islands were later executed and cannibalized by the Japanese soldiers. Matoba Sueo was eventually hanged for his crimes after the war. The Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, one of the fiercest battles of World War II, was fought on a garrison island in this region of the Pacific.

Navy Time

Following Japan's surrender, the islands were controlled by the United States Navy for the next 23 years, which the Westerners referred to as "Navy Time." All residents except those descended from the original settlers and/or related to them by marriage were expelled, while pre-war inhabitants of White American or European, Micronesian or Polynesian ancestry were allowed to return. Vacant properties of exiled Japanese were bulldozed as part of the Navy's management of nuclear weapons on Chichijima. In 1956, the residents petitioned for American annexation of the islands but received no response. In 1968, without consulting them, the United States government returned the Bonins to Japanese control. The Americans could choose to either become Japanese nationals or to receive American citizenship and repatriate to the United States. Initially some 600 Japanese relocated to the islands, growing to about 2,000 by the end of the 20th century.

Economy

Ogasawara has a reputation as a tourist destination, but they also produce their own unique fruits and vegetables. More recently, they have also had success in producing coffee.

Geography and administration

The Bonin Islands consist of three subgroups, which are listed below along with their main islands:
* Muko-jima Group ( ) – formerly Parry Group:
**Muko-jima (, );
**Yome-jima (嫁島, ) – formerly Kater ;
**Nakōdo-jima or Nakadachi-jima (媒島, );
**Kita-no-jima (北の島 or 北島, );
**Mae-jima – formerly the Ears;
* Chichi-jima Group (父島列島 ) – formerly Beechey Group:
**Chichi-jima (父島, ) – formerly Main I./Peel I.;
**Ani-jima (兄島, ) – formerly Hog I./Buckland I.;
**Otōto-jima (弟島, ) – formerly North I./Stapleton I.;
**Mago-jima (孫島 );
**Higashi-jima (東島 )
**Nishi-jima (西島 ) – formerly Goat I.;
**Minami-jima (南島 ) – formerly Knorr I.;
* Haha-jima Group (母島列島 ) – formerly Baily Group or Coffin Islands:
**Haha-jima (母島, ) – formerly Hillsborough I.;
**Mukō-jima (向島, ) – formerly Plymouth I.;
**Hira-jima or Taira-jima (平島, )
**Ane-jima (姉島, ) – formerly Perry I.;
**Imōto-jima (妹島, ) – formerly Kelly I.;
**Mei-jima (姪島, )

Administratively, the Volcano Islands, Nishinoshima (Rosario Island), Okinotorishima (Parece Vela), and Minamitorishima (Marcus Island), are today part of Ogasawara municipality. It is a Subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tōkyō" in ; in Geographically, they are not traditionally considered part of the Bonin Islands, which are the Mukojima, Chichijima, and Hahajima island clusters. In other words, the historical range of the Bonin Islands (''Ogasawara Guntō'') is not the precise equivalent of the Japanese governmental unit. The Bonin Islands is a geographical term excluding the other islands which are today associated within the boundaries of a collective term, ''Ogasawara Shotō.''

Geology

The Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands were formed around 48 million years ago. They are a part of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc known geologically as a ''fore arc''. They lie above a subduction zone between the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The Pacific Plate is subducting under the Philippine Sea Plate, which creates an oceanic trench to the east of the islands: the Bonin Trench. The crust of the Ogasawara Islands was formed by volcanic activity when subduction began 45–50 million years ago, and is composed mostly of an andesitic volcanic rock called boninite, which is rich in magnesium oxide, chromium, and silicon dioxide. The Ogasawara Islands may represent the exposed parts of an ophiolite that has not yet been emplaced on oceanic crust. The rocks of the Volcano Islands are much younger; Iwo Jima is a dormant volcano characterized by rapid uplift and several hot springs. In November 2013, a new volcanic island formed offshore from Nishinoshima and eventually merged with Nishinoshima, enlarging it.

Most of the islands have steep shorelines, often with sea cliffs ranging from in height, but the islands are also fringed with coral reefs and have many beaches. The highest point lies on South Iwo Jima, at .

Climate

The climate of the Ogasawara Islands ranges from a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') to tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification ''Am'').

The climate of Chichi-jima in is on the boundary between the humid subtropical climate (Köppen classification ''Cfa'') and the tropical monsoon climate (Köppen classification ''Am'').
Temperatures are warm to hot all year round owing to the warm currents from the North Pacific gyre that surround the island. Rainfall is less heavy than in most parts of mainland Japan since the island is too far south to be influenced by the Aleutian Low and too far from Asia to receive monsoonal rainfall or orographic precipitation on the equatorward side of the Siberian High. The wettest months are May and September, while the driest months are January and February.

The Ogasawara Islands' easternmost island, Minamitorishima (Marcus Island), has the tropical savanna climate (Köppen classification ''Aw'') with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. The wettest months are July and August, while the driest months are February and March.

Ecology

Flora

Flora has evolved differently on each of the islands. The Ogasawara Islands are sometimes referred to as the Galápagos of the Orient.

These islands are home to the northernmost outliers of the palm genus ''Clinostigma''. ''C. savoryianum'' is endemic and has been planted in mediterranean climates often with success. Other unique species include ''Metrosideros boninensis'', a plant related to similar species growing in Fiji and New Caledonia.

The Ogasawara Archipelago forms a distinct subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, the Ogasawara subtropical moist forests. The ecoregion has a high degree of biodiversity and endemism. The islands are home to about 500 plant species, of which 43% are endemic. The forests are of three main types:"Ogasawara subtropical moist forests". ''Encyclopedia of Earth''. Acccessed 28 July 2020

/ref>

*Type I: ''Elaeocarpus–Ardisia'' mesic forest is found in the moist lowland areas with deep soils. The forests have a closed canopy with a height of about , dominated by ''Ardisia sieboldii''. ''Elaeocarpus photiniaefolius'', ''Pisonia umbellifera'', and ''Pouteria obovata'' are other important canopy species. These forests were almost completely destroyed by clearing for agriculture before 1945.
*Type II: ''Distylium–Raphiolepis–Schima'' dry forest is found in drier lowland and upland sites with shallower soils. It is also a closed-canopy forest, with a canopy composed mostly of '' Distylium lepidotum'', ''Rhaphiolepis integerrima'', '' Schima mertensiana'', ''Pouteria obovata'', and ''Syzygium buxifolium''. The Type II forests can be further subdivided into:
**Type IIa: ''Distylium-Schima'' dry forest occurs in cloudy upland areas with fine-textured soils. These forests contain many rare and endemic species, with ''Pandanus boninensis'' and ''Syzygium buxifolium'' as the predominant trees.
**Type IIb: ''Raphiolepis-Livistona'' dry forest is found in upland areas with few clouds and rocky soils. ''Rhaphiolepis integerrima'' is the dominant tree species, along with the fan palm '' Livistona boninensis'', ''Pandanus boninensis'' and ''Ochrosia nakaiana''.
*Type III: ''Distylium-Pouteria'' scrub forest is found on windy and dry mountain ridges and exposed sea cliffs. These forests have the highest species diversity on the islands. ''Distylium lepidotum'' and ''Pouteria obovata'' are the dominant species, growing from tall. Other common shrubs are '' Myrsine okabeana'', ''Symplocos kawakamii'', and ''Pittosporum parvifolium''.

Fauna

The range of the Bonin petrel extends beyond the Ogasawaras to include other islands in the northern Pacific region.

There are two restricted-range species of birds on the islands; the Japanese woodpigeon (''Columba janthina'') and the Near Threatened Bonin white-eye (''Apalopteron familiare''), formerly known as "Bonin honeyeater". The Japanese woodpigeon was extirpated in the Iwo Island groups in the 1980s. The formerly endemic Bonin pigeon (''Columba versicolor''), Bonin thrush (''Zoothera terrestris'') and Bonin grosbeak (''Carpodacus ferreorostris'') are now extinct."Bonin Islands" ''Avibase – Bird Checklists of the World''. BirdLife International. Accessed 27 July 2020

/ref>

A small bat, Sturdee's pipistrelle, is only known in one record and has not been seen since 1915. The Bonin flying fox (''Pteropus pselaphon''), also called the Bonin fruit bat, is endemic to the islands. It is currently listed as Endangered, and a survey published by the Ogasawara Office of Education in 1999 estimated their number to be around 100.

The islands are also renowned for the many species of snail that are found across the islands, especially the ''Mandarina

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases