is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in Kunigami District,

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. It occupies the north tip of

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has a ...

, with the East China Sea to the west,

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

to the east, and

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Higashi and

Ōgimi is a village located in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of October 2016, the village has an estimated population of 3,024 and a population density of 51 persons per km². The total area is . Several censuses have established ...

to the south. As of 2015, the village has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

of 4,908 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 25.20 persons per km². The total area is 194.80 km².

History

According to '' Chūzan Seikan'', the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

Amamikyu consecrated the first utaki in Asa Forest at Hedo, in what is now Kunigami; the forest is also mentioned in '' Omoro Sōshi''. Ceramics from the Jōmon-period resemble those found in the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

. ''Chūzan Seikan'' records the prayers of the Kunigami council for the recovery of Shō Sei after an abortive attempt to occupy

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...

in 1537, while '' Kyūyō'' recounts the appointment of the son of the Kunigami Oyakata as ''

aji Aji or AJI may refer to: Location * Aji (town), Tieling County, Liaoning, China * Aji Island, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan *Aji, Kagawa, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan * Aji River (disambiguation), rivers with the same name Other * Aji (Go), a latent t ...

'' after the successful takeover of the Amami Islands by

Shō Gen was king of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1556 to 1572. He was called "Gen, the mute."Kerr, George H. (2000). The king required considerable support from the ''Sanshikan'' (Council of Three), the chief council of royal advisors. His reign marked the b ...

in 1571. Kunigami District was established in 1896 and, upon the abolition of Kunigami magiri, Kunigami Village was founded in 1908. During the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

, the area saw an influx of refugees fleeing the heavy fighting in the south. In September 1945, the occupying government merged the three villages of Kunigami, Higashi, and

into the new city of ; the merger was reversed the following year.

Geography

Kunigami is mountainous, with over 80% of the land area covered by subtropical evergreen forest. Endemic species include the Okinawa woodpecker and

Okinawa rail The Okinawa rail (''Hypotaenidia okinawae'') is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the . Its existence was only confirmed in 1978 and it was formally described in 1981 a ...

. *

Mount Yonaha , also known as in Okinawan language, Okinawan, is a mountain in Kunigami, Okinawa, Kunigami on the main island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa in Okinawa Prefecture. It has an Topographical summit, elevation of , but Yonaha-dake triangulation statio ...

(503 m), the highest mountain on Okinawa Island * (420 m) * (395 m) * * * *

Cape Hedo , also known as Hedo Point, is the northernmost point on Okinawa Island, located within Kunigami Village. A cape jutting out north from the island, it faces the South China Sea on the west, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. On a particularly c ...

* *

Camp Gonsalves Camp Gonsalves is a United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps jungle warfare training area located in northern Okinawa, Japan, across the villages of Kunigami, Okinawa, Kunigami and Higashi, Okinawa, Higashi. Established in 1958, it is the l ...

* Yanbaru National Park

Neighbouring municipalities

* Higashi *

Climate

Demographics

Education

There is one municipal junior high school, Kunigami Junior High School ( 国頭中学校). Kunigami has the following municipal elementary schools: * Ada (安田小学校) * Aha (安波小学校) * Hentona (辺土名小学校) * Oku (奥小学校) * Okuma (奥間小学校) The following municipal elementary schools are permanently closed: *Kitaguni Elementary School (北国小学校) *Sate Elementary School (佐手小学校) There is one municipal kindergarten, Kunigami Nursery School (くにがみこども園).

References

External links

Kunigami official website
{{Authority control Villages in Okinawa Prefecture