Yaeyama Islands
The Yaeyama Islands (八重山諸島 Yaeyama-shotō Yaeyama: Yaima Okinawan: Eema) are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
The isles are the remotest part of Japan from the main islands and contains Japan's most southern (Hateruma) and most western (Yonaguni) inhabited islands.
The islands form the southern part of the volcanic Ryukyu Islands. The administrative division of Yaeyama District covers all of the Yaeyama Islands except Ishigaki and the disputed Senkaku Islands.
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[edit] Culture
The Yonaguni language is the indigenous language of the island of Yonaguni, the location of the mysterious undersea Yonaguni monument. The Yaeyama language is the indigenous language of the rest of the islands.
Japanese is widely spoken as a second language.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Inhabited islands
- Yaeyama Islands (Yaeyama Subprefecture)
Ishigaki City
- Ishigaki Island (Ishigaki-jima)
Taketomi Town
- Aragusuku Island (Aragusuku-jima)
- Hateruma Island (Hateruma-jima)
- Iriomote Island (Iriomote-jima)
- Kohama Island (Kohama-jima)
- Kuroshima Island (Kuroshima)
- Taketomi Island (Taketomi-jima)
- Yubu Island (Yubu-jima)
- Hatoma Island (Hatoma-jima)
Yonaguni Town
- Yonaguni Island (Yonaguni-jima)
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yaeyama islands |
Coordinates: 24°21′47″N 123°44′47″E / 24.36306°N 123.74639°E
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