Yonaguni (与那国町, Yonaguni-chō, Yonaguni: ドゥナン, Dunan, older ジュニ, Juni,[1] Yaeyama: ユノーン, Yunōn, Okinawan: ユナグニ, Yunaguni) is a town located entirely on Yonaguni Island in Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the westernmost municipality in Japan, and is known for billfish fishing and as a diving spot. In 1987, divers discovered the Yonaguni Monument, a rock formation that some believe may be man-made.

Yonaguni
与那国町
Dunan
Town
Yonaguni Montage
Flag of Yonaguni
Official seal of Yonaguni
Location of Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture
Location of Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture
Yonaguni is located in Japan
Yonaguni
Yonaguni
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 24°28′5″N 123°0′17″E / 24.46806°N 123.00472°E / 24.46806; 123.00472
CountryJapan
RegionKyushu (Okinawa)
PrefectureOkinawa Prefecture
DistrictYaeyama
Government
 • MayorShukichi Hokama
Area
 • Total
28.95 km2 (11.18 sq mi)
Population
 (October 1, 2016)
 • Total
2,048
 • Density58.2/km2 (151/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address129 Aza-Yonaguni, Yonaguni-chō, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa-ken
907-1801
ClimateAf
Websitewww.town.yonaguni.okinawa.jp
Symbols
BirdJapanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus)
ButterflyAtlas moth (Attacus atlas)
FlowerLily (Lilium)
TreeChinese fan palm (Livistona chinensis)
Japan's Westernmost Point Monument
Reverse side of Japan's Westernmost Point Monument

It is also home to two Ryūkyūan writing systems, pictographic "kaida-di" (also used on Ishigaki and Taketomi islands where it is called "kaida-ji") and the symbols used to indicate family names, "dāhan" (also used on Ishigaki Island where they are called "yāban").

History

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Presently, the oldest confirmed ruins are the ruins in Tuguru Beach. Due to the southern style stone tools found, it is thought that a culture influenced by Southeast Asia existed here at one time.

After this point, the history of the island of Yonaguni is unclear, but in the Gusuku Era, settlements were formed on the top of the plateau. The Shima Nakamura Ruins are one example, and it is known for being the birth village of the famous woman chief, San’ai Isoba.

From the time of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, Yonaguni prospered as a commerce center with Taiwan. Due to World War II, until it was placed under control of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, the number of people involved in smuggling surged in the area. The population in 1947 had reached 12,000, but although Yonaguni became incorporated as a town, a crackdown on smuggling led to a sharp decrease in the population.[2]

Ishigaki and the surrounding towns and cities are discussing a merger, with the exception of Yonaguni which abstained, cutting the members of parliament from 12 in half, down to 6.

  • 1522: Yonaguni was Invaded by the Ryūkyū army and became a territory of the Ryūkyū Kingdom.
  • 1872: The Ryūkyū Kingdom is abolished; in its place, the Ryūkyū Domain is established and the island becomes a territory of the Ryūkyū Domain.
  • 1879: The Ryūkyū Domain is abolished and becomes Okinawa-ken.
  • 1908: The island municipal system abolishes the magiri system, and the Ishigaki-magiri, Ōhama-magiri, and Miyara-magiri join the island of Yonaguni to become Yaeyama-son.
  • 1914: Through a division of Yaeyama-son, the village of Yonaguni-son is formed.
  • 1948: Yonaguni-chō is incorporated as a town.

Geography

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  • Yonaguni is the westernmost part of Japan and is a midpoint between the island of Ishigaki and Taiwan. At Cape Irizaki (Yonagunian language: Irinzati) on the western edge of the island, there is a monument inscribed with the words: "The westernmost point in Japan."
  • The western third of the island is not part of Japan's air defense identification zone or flight information region; instead, it sits in Taiwan's air defense identification zone and flight information region. (Please refer to the article on Yonaguni Airport for more details.)
  • The distance between the shoreline of Cape Irizaki on Yonaguni and that of Wushihbi Coastal Nature Reserve in Su'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan is 108 km (67 mi) and therefore closer than Ishigaki, which is 118 km (73 mi) away. For further comparison, Yonaguni is much closer to Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) at approximately 160 km (99 mi) than its own capital (Tokyo), which is about 2,000 km (1,243 mi) away. Due to this, it is attempting to establish closer relations with Taiwan, including attempting to set up easier access to and from cities in Taiwan, with irregular service to Hualien already established. Further cooperation has been opposed by the central government, thus the lack of further progress.[citation needed]

Rivers

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Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
19802,119—    
19852,054−3.1%
19901,833−10.8%
19951,801−1.7%
20001,852+2.8%
20051,796−3.0%
2005 Census, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications - Statistics Department
 
Comparison of Population Distribution between Yonaguni and Japanese National Average Population Distribution by Age and Sex in Yonaguni
Yonaguni
Japan (average)
Male
Female
1970 2,913
1975 2,155
1980 2,119
1985 2,054
1990 1,833
1995 1,801
2000 1,852
2005 1,796
2010 1,657
2015 Census, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications - Statistics Department

Climate

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Climate data for Yonaguni, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1956–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.5
(81.5)
27.7
(81.9)
29.0
(84.2)
30.4
(86.7)
33.1
(91.6)
34.2
(93.6)
35.5
(95.9)
34.6
(94.3)
34.4
(93.9)
33.9
(93.0)
30.2
(86.4)
28.0
(82.4)
35.5
(95.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 20.7
(69.3)
21.3
(70.3)
23.0
(73.4)
25.5
(77.9)
28.0
(82.4)
30.3
(86.5)
31.7
(89.1)
31.4
(88.5)
30.0
(86.0)
27.8
(82.0)
25.3
(77.5)
22.2
(72.0)
26.4
(79.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 18.5
(65.3)
19.0
(66.2)
20.5
(68.9)
23.0
(73.4)
25.4
(77.7)
27.9
(82.2)
28.9
(84.0)
28.7
(83.7)
27.5
(81.5)
25.4
(77.7)
23.1
(73.6)
20.1
(68.2)
24.0
(75.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 16.6
(61.9)
17.0
(62.6)
18.3
(64.9)
20.9
(69.6)
23.4
(74.1)
26.0
(78.8)
26.8
(80.2)
26.4
(79.5)
25.3
(77.5)
23.6
(74.5)
21.3
(70.3)
18.2
(64.8)
22.0
(71.6)
Record low °C (°F) 7.7
(45.9)
8.4
(47.1)
9.0
(48.2)
12.1
(53.8)
15.0
(59.0)
17.6
(63.7)
21.9
(71.4)
21.7
(71.1)
18.2
(64.8)
16.2
(61.2)
11.4
(52.5)
9.1
(48.4)
7.7
(45.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 187.2
(7.37)
163.6
(6.44)
163.7
(6.44)
153.0
(6.02)
207.3
(8.16)
162.3
(6.39)
125.3
(4.93)
213.0
(8.39)
285.7
(11.25)
238.5
(9.39)
222.6
(8.76)
200.8
(7.91)
2,323
(91.45)
Average rainy days 15.8 13.6 13.4 11.1 11.3 9.3 8.4 10.4 11.7 10.8 13.6 15.7 145.1
Average relative humidity (%) 75 76 77 79 81 83 80 81 79 75 76 74 78
Mean monthly sunshine hours 52.8 60.3 88.1 104.7 142.3 182.3 257.9 227.4 180.9 132.2 86.0 59.0 1,573.9
Source: JMA (1981-2010) [3] JMA (extremes) [4]


Administration

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Transportation

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Ferry Yonakuni

Airport

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Yonaguni Airport

Harbours

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Kubura Harbour

Sonai Harbour

Roads

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(Rental cars are available)

Region

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Education

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Because there are no high schools on the island, students entering high school must attend on the Okinawa mainland or on the island of Ishigaki, and 100% of junior-high schoolers continue on to high school.[5]

Famous places and historic sites

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Cultural and natural assets

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Yonaguni Town hosts eighteen designated or registered tangible cultural properties and monuments, at the national, prefectural or municipal level.[6][7]

  • Name (Japanese) (Type of registration)
  • Irifukuhama Family Residence (main house) (入福浜家住宅 主屋) (National)
  • Kubura Family Residence (main house, stone wall) (久部良家住宅 主屋、石垣) (National)
  • Tōgei Family Residence (main house, stone wall, well, stone water tank, water tank) (東迎家住宅 主屋、石垣、井戸、イチタライ、水タンク) (National)
  • Kubura-bari and Kubura-furishi Sceneries (久部良バリ及び久部良フリシ) (National)
  • Kubura-barii area (久部良バリ一帯) (Prefectural)
  • Sanninudai Scenery (サンニヌ台) (National) (Prefectural)
  • Tindabana Scenery (ティンダバナ) (National)
  • Atlas moth habitat in Mount Urabu on Yonaguni Island (Attacus atlas ryukyuensis) (与那国島宇良部岳ヨナグニサン生息地) (Prefectural)
  • Large deigo tree of Irimaka (西真嘉大デイゴ) (Municipal)
  • Mitto Wetland of Kubura (久部良ミット湿地帯) (Municipal)
  • Mount Kubura Natural Protected Area on Yonaguni Island (与那国島久部良岳天然保護区域) (Prefectural)

Yonaguni Monument

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Animals of special significance

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  • Atlas moth – Called ayami habiru locally, this is the world's largest moth. In Japan, it is found only in Yonaguni.
  • Yonaguni horse – One of eight traditional Japanese horses, the smallest horse in Japan. Unable to be seen anywhere other than the island of Yonaguni.

Broadcasting

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Television broadcasts consist of translator stations in Yonaguni and Uchimichi and radio broadcasts are established from the Yonaguni television translator station. It is also the only place in Japan where all three NHK Radio stations are on the FM band. In addition, Yonaguni receives Taiwanese television broadcasts (Taiwan Television (TTV), China Television (CTV), and Chinese Television System (CTS) by using the European DVB-T system), along with Taiwanese radio broadcasts.

List of broadcast station frequencies

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TV translator frequencies

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Location NHK General TV NHK Educational TV Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) Okinawa Television (OTV)
Yonaguni 37 39 41 43
Uchimichi 49 51 53 55

Radio translator frequencies (MHz)

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Location NHK1 NHK2 NHK3 Ryukyu Broadcasting Corporation (RBCi) Radio Okinawa (ROK)
Yonaguni 83.5 80.3 85.8 84.7 79.5

Other information

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Through the cell towers on the east side of Taiwan that are geographically close to Yonaguni, it is possible depending on the weather to receive GSM phone service on Taiwanese phones from Irizaki (and it is possible that GSM phones from international carriers could use the service while roaming).

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References

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  1. ^ Vovin 2010, pp. 43–44.
  2. ^ 「与那国「国境交流特区」がめざすもの」 Archived October 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine (Yonaguni), page 1 (in Japanese)
  3. ^ "Yonagunijima Climate Normals 1981-2010" (in Japanese). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  4. ^ "観測史上1~10位の値(年間を通じての値)" (in Japanese). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  5. ^ 『日本の島ガイド SHIMADAS(シマダス)』Foundation of Japanese Outlying Islands, Inc., 2004 (in Japanese)
  6. ^ "表1-6 八重山諸島における文化財の状況(6)<与那国町>". www.pref.okinawa.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  7. ^ "地域から見る 文化遺産オンライン". bunka.nii.ac.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-16.

Bibliography

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