Amami ÅŒshima

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / height missing

Amami - Oshima (Japanese奄 美 大 岛) is an entity belonging to Amami island group in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Japanese Kagoshima Prefecture. Amami - Oshima has an area of ​​712.48 km ² and is thus ranked five of the "other " islands of Japan in addition to the four main islands.

Administratively, the island is divided into the city and the county Amami Oshima. The city of Amami was created on 20 March 2006 by the merger of the city Naze, the community and the Kasari village Sumiyo. The county Ōshima is further subdivided into the community Tatsugo and the villages Yamato and Uken and a part of the village Setouchi.

Economically, the island lives from agriculture, from traditional handicrafts and tourism. Crops are rice, sugar cane and sweet potatoes. The favorable climate allows for two rice crops a year. For traditional crafts include the production of high quality hand crafted silk, which, however, has suffered from the abandonment of traditional Japanese clothing and competition from Korea.

The music hit Shima - uta by The Boom ( 1992) is modeled after folk songs Amamis.

On Amami - Oshima, there is the Amami Airport.

History

For the first time, the island of Amami - written here海 见 岛- mentioned in 657 in the Nihon Shoki. In ancient times, the island served as a waypoint south of the Japanese ambassador to the court Tang China (618-907). Over time, the island was forgotten until the Middle Ages a Anji ( feudal lord ) reached the island. In the 15th century, the island became part of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. 1609 Ryukyu Kingdom was conquered by the Japanese Satsuma -han and 1611 also Amami.