Yaeyama Islands

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Map of the Yaeyama Islands

Okinawa Island heads up the Ryukyu islands chain, a part of Japan.

Location of Ryukyu Islands

The Yaeyama Islands (八重山諸島 Yaeyama-shotō Yaeyama: Yaima Okinawan: Ēma) are an archipelago in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.

The isles are the remotest part of Japan from the main islands and contains Japan's the most southern (Hateruma) and most western (Yonaguni) inhabited islands. The Yaeyamas are far closer to Taiwan (125 kilometers (78 mi)) than to Okinawa Island, much less the Japanese mainland.

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.

[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.