The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 ''Yaeyama-rettō'', also 八重山諸島 ''Yaeyama-shotō'', Yaeyama: ''Yaima'',

Yonaguni , one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, lying from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper. The island is administered as the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, O ...

: ''Daama'', Okinawan: ''Yeema'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Yapema'') are an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

in the southwest of

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest cit ...

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 ...

, and cover . The islands are located southwest of the

Miyako Islands The (also Miyako Jima group) are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, belonging to the Ryukyu Islands. They are situated between the Okinawa Island and Yaeyama Islands. In the early 1870s, the population of the islands was esti ...

, part of the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yon ...

archipelago. The Yaeyama Islands are the remotest part of Japan from the main islands and contain Japan's most southern (

Hateruma Hateruma (波照間島; ''Hateruma-jima''; Yaeyama: ''Patirooma'', Hateruma dialect: ''Besїma'' "our island", Okinawan: ''Hatiruma'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Patara'') is an island in the Yaeyama District of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is t ...

) and most western (

) inhabited islands. The city of Ishigaki serves as the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands.

Natural history

The Yaeyama Islands are home to numerous species of subtropical and tropical plants, and mangrove forests. The islands produce

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

and

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

s. Coral reefs around the islands are ideal habitats for

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the b ...

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...

s, and larger fish such as

manta ray Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-s ...

s and

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter feeder, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known Extant taxon, extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Bran ...

s. Before being wiped out by humans,

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

s and dugongs were common as well, and Yaeyama once had the largest population of dugongs in the Ryukyu Islands. On Aragusuku Island, there is a '' Utaki'' which specially enshrines hunted dugongs with their skulls, but non-residents are not permitted to enter unless they receive special permission from inhabitants, and it is said that any aliens without permission will be driven out by force. The islands have been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because they support populations of resident Japanese wood pigeons and

Ryukyu green pigeon The Ryukyu green pigeon (''Treron permagnus'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Taiwan green pigeon (''T. formosae''), but phylogenetic e ...

s, wintering ruddy turnstones, migrating

grey-tailed tattler The grey-tailed tattler (''Tringa brevipes'', formerly ''Heteroscelus brevipes''Banks, Richard C.; Cicero, Carla; Dunn, Jon L.; Kratter, Andrew W.; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Remsen, J. V. Jr.; Rising, James D. & Stotz, Douglas F. (2006):Forty-seventh ...

s, and breeding colonies of bridled, roseate and black-naped terns. '' Satakentia liukiuensis'', the only species in the genus '' Satakentia'', is a palm tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the two islands of Ishigaki and

Iriomote is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. The island has an area of and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors — ...

in the Yaeyama Islands.

Geography

The islands form the southern part of the volcanic

. The administrative division of Yaeyama District covers all of the Yaeyama Islands, except Ishigaki and the disputed Senkaku Islands.

Inhabited islands

Ishigaki City **

Ishigaki Island , also known as ''Ishigakijima'', is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group, behind Iriomote Island. It is located approximately south-west of Okinawa Hontō. It is within the ...

(''Ishigaki-jima'') * Flag of Taketomi, Okinawa

Taketomi Town ( Yaeyama District) ** Aragusuku Island (''Aragusuku-jima'') ** Hateruma Island (''Hateruma-jima'') ** Iriomote Island (''Iriomote-jima'') ** Kayama Island (''Kayama-jima'') ** Kohama Island (''Kohama-jima'') ** Kuroshima Island (''Kuroshima'') ** Sotobanari Island (''Sotobanari-jima'') (officially uninhabited) ** Taketomi Island (''Taketomi-jima'') **

Yubu Island ''Yubu'', translated as Pace(s) of Yu or Step(s) of Yu, is the basic mystic dance step of religious Daoism. This ancient walking or dancing technique typically involves dragging one foot after another, and is explained in reference to the leg ...

(''Yubu-jima'') ** Hatoma Island (''Hatoma-jima'') * Flag of Yonaguni, Okinawa

Yonaguni Town ( Yaeyama District) ** Yonaguni Island (''Yonaguni-jima'')

Culture

The Yonaguni language is the indigenous language of the island of

. The Yaeyama language is the indigenous language of the rest of the islands. Japanese is now the native language of most of the population. The Yaeyama Islands are home to the production of traditional Okinawan textiles.

Mushaama Festival

14 July: ''Mushaama'' Festival. On Hateruma Island, this harvest festival is celebrated during ''Obon''. It features a parade of the local fertility god '' Miruku'' and his children (the local children), ''shishi'' ("lion") dances, and staff dances.

References

External links

Photo gallery of Yaeyama Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaeyama Islands Archipelagoes of Japan Ryukyu Islands Sakishima Islands Islands of Okinawa Prefecture Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Important Bird Areas of the Nansei Islands