Insularity and Geographic Diversity of the Peripheral Japanese Islands (International Perspectives in Geography, 18)

This book clarifies the geography of the peripheral Japanese islands from a variety of angles. The islands are distributed in the tropical and cool temperate zones, and the most distant inhabited islands are more than 1,000 km from the mainland. In the past, they were Japan's frontier, close to neighboring countries. However, during Japan's modernization process, the islands were positioned as backward regions, supplying food, resources, and labor. Today, the islands are considered to be on the periphery of Japan, with lifestyles different from those of the mainland. The islands are also getting attention as sightseeing locales and emigration regions attracting those who prefer country life―an image of the islands that has been created by the romanticized gaze from the Japanese mainland. The authors describe the various forms of the outlying Japanese islands and at the same time discover their common regional characteristics, as defined by the view from the mainland. Preface Contents Contributors List of Figures List of Tables Cultural and Social Overview of Japanese Islands 1 Islands in Island Nation 2 Two Coordinate Axes of Islands and the Mainland’s Relation 3 Mapping Islands on the Coordinates References Conventional Studies of Japanese Islands 1 Trends in Japanese Island Studies Since the Establishment of Modern Geography 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Creating a Database on Island Studies and the Number of Papers by Year 1.3 Number of Papers by Ocean Area and Research Field 1.4 Trends in the Research Characterizing Island Studies in Japanese Geography 1.5 Future Prospects 2 Quantitative Typology of Japanese Islands 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Data 2.3 Factors Characterizing Islands 2.4 Typology of Islands by Cluster Analysis 2.5 Distribution of Clustered Islands 2.6 Analysis in 2015 2.7 Island as an Origin of Diversity References Positioning of Islands in Modern Japan 1 Albatross and Expansion of Imperial Japan 1.1 In Pursuit of the Albatross: The Coming “Age of the Sea” 1.2 Export Expansion of Plumage from Japan 1.3 Race to Gain the Desert Islands 1.4 Summary 2 Island Policy: Promotion and Abandonment 2.1 Basic Policy on Remote Islands 2.2 Types of Abandoned Islands 2.3 Factors Behind the Abandonment of Islands Due to Depopulation 2.4 Summary: Abandoned Islands as Political Products 3 Improving Transport Infrastructure and Accessibility on Remote Islands in Japan 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Status of Cross-Linking and Its Geographical Features 3.3 Possible Staying Time in the Nearest Central City and Regulatory Factors 3.4 Improvement of Airports in Islands and Changes in the Air Network 3.5 Summary 4 Conclusion References Population Flow from/to the Islands 1 Residential Migration on Amami Oshima: Migration Factors and Spatial Changes 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Attributes of Odana Goyukai Members 1.3 Outward Migration from Odana and Inhabitation in Former Naze City 1.4 Detecting Residential Migration Patterns 1.5 Triggers of Migration and Spatial Changes 2 Regional Background of Emigrants from Omishima to Manila in the Nineteenth and the Early Twentieth Century 2.1 Domestic Migrant Workers and Emigrants in the Seto Inland Sea 2.2 Regional Characteristics and Domestic Migrant Workers in Omishima 2.3 Relationships Between Emigrants to Manila and Domestic Migrant Workers in Kuchisubo 2.4 Dynamism of Island Livelihoods as Seen Through Emigrants from Omishima to Manila 3 How to Maintain a Rural Settlement Through Screening and Accepting I(L)-Turn Migrants in Amami Oshima 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Study Area and I-Turn Migrants 3.3 Life Histories and Values of I-Turn Migrants 3.4 Screening and Accepting I(L)-Turn Migrants 3.5 Summary 4 Conclusion References Natural Hazards and Island Inhabitants 1 Malaria in the Modern Yaeyama Islands and Survival of Settlements 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Establishment and Desertion of Settlements in the Yaeyama Islands 1.3 Settlements and Malaria in the Modern Times 1.4 Preventive Measures Against Malaria in the Yaeyama Islands 1.5 Summary 2 Reconstruction Process After the Volcanic Eruptions of Mt. Oyama on Miyake-jima in 2000 2.1 Introduction 2.2 General Description of Miyake-jima 2.3 Impact of the Eruptions of Mt. Oyama on Miyake-jima in 2000 2.4 Industries of Miyake-jima After the Full Evacuation 2.5 Decrease in the Number of Tourists 2.6 Summary 3 Accommodation of People to Habu (Trimeresurus flavoviridis) in Amami Oshima: Focusing on Eradication and Segregation 3.1 Research Issues and Habu Ecology in Amami Oshima 3.2 Damage of Habu Bite Injury on Amami Oshima and Measures Taken by the National and Local Government for Habu Eradication 3.3 Countermeasures Against Habu by Local Residents in Uken Village from the Perspective of Segregation 3.4 The Utilization of Habu as Resources 3.5 The Accommodation of People to the Habu in Amami Oshima 4 Conclusion References Life Space on Islands 1 Formation and Change of the Port Town in Mitarai, Osaki Shimojima 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Formation of the Port Town in Mitarai 1.3 Structure of Urban Space in Mitarai 1.4 Decline of the Urban Function and Transformation into a Tourist Destination 1.5 Summary 2 Catholicism and Regional Community on Amami Oshima: Frequently Changing Interpretation 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Encounter Between Amami Oshima and Catholicism 2.3 Exclusion of Catholicism 2.4 The Community of Amami Oshima and Catholicism After World War II 3 Sustainability of Life and Food Supply on an Outlying Island: A Case Study on Suo Oshima 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Suo Oshima 3.3 Current Economic Base 3.4 Food Supply on the Island 3.5 Summary 4 Conclusion References Production Space on Islands 1 Life Spaces and Utilizing Environment on Kikai-Jima in the 1930s and 1940s 1.1 Kikai-Jima Overview 1.2 Content and Spaces of Various Subsistence Activities in Aden 1.3 Life Space and Utilizing the Environment in Aden 1.4 Summary 2 Development of Wagyu Cattle Operations in Chiburi-Jima in the Oki Islands 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Community on Chiburi-Jima and Wagyu Cow–Calf Operations 2.3 Household Strategies of Chiburi-Jima’s Wagyu Operations 2.4 Production System that Enabled the Expansion 2.5 Summary 3 Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries and the Sustainable Communities of Orono-Shima 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Study Area 3.3 Population Changes 3.4 Profiles of Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries 3.5 Development of Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries and Population Reproduction 3.6 Summary 4 Conclusion References Tourism Development in Islands 1 Transformation of Zamami-jima Into a Tourist Destination and the Management Style of Marine Leisure Shops 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Conversion to a Tourist Destination of Zamami-jima and Its Factors 1.3 The Development of Tourism in Zamami-jima 1.4 Management Style of Marine Leisure Shops 1.5 Distribution and Changes in Marine Leisure Shops and Guesthouses 1.6 Summary 2 World Cultural Heritage and Christian Tourism in the Goto Islands 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Goto Islands and Christian Tourism 2.3 Move to Promote Heritagization, and Its Major Actors 2.4 Problems Regarding the Heritagization and Commodification of Sacred Places 3 Development and Problems of Inbound Tourism in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture 3.1 Overview of Tsushima 3.2 Trends in Transport to Mainland Japan and Travelers in Japan 3.3 Development of Japan–South Korea Exchange and Rapid Increase in South Korean Tourists 3.4 Accepting South Korean Travelers and the Challenges 3.5 Exposed Inbound Vulnerabilities and Exploration of New Tourism Forms 4 Conclusion References Conclusion 1 Peripherization of Islands 2 Intersection of Gaze Between Islands and the Mainland 3 Sustainability of the Peripheralized Islands 4 Insularity of Japanese Islands References