The Amami Islands belong to Kagoshima Prefecture and have a unique culture that is different from that of Okinawa Prefecture. The background of the culture is related to the history of the Amami Islands.

 

The Amami Islands are located between Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture. From the middle of the 15th century to the latter half of the 16th century, the Amami Islands were under the rule of the Ryukyu Kingdom and the period was called "Naha-yu" by the people. As a result, the beliefs and politics of the Ryukyu Kingdom became mainstream in the Amami Islands.

 

Later, the Satsuma-Han which became Kagoshima Prefecture afterwards, conquered the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Amami Islands became the territory of the Satsuma-Han. During this period, known as the "Yamato-yu", people who were living in the Amami Islands were forced to pay annual tribute in the form of brown sugar, which was very expensive at the time, instead of rice. They had to give priority to produce brown sugar even poor harvests caused by bad weather conditions. It is known as the "brown sugar hell" because they were forced to pay a fixed amount of annual tribute and could not keep up with the production of their own food. In those days, they used to eat sweet potatoes and cycads after removing the poison from the fruit.

 

After the abolition of Japan's feudal domain, the Amami Islands became part of Kagoshima Prefecture, but after World War II, the Islands were ruled by the U.S. for about eight years along with Okinawa. The Amami Islands, which were treated as "Northan Ryukyu," required passports to travel to even Kagoshima, and people began to complain about their freedom being taken away by the government. Therefore they united in a movement to return to Japan, and were among the first to do so.

 

In this way, the Amami Islands have been repeatedly dominated politically by outside forces. This complex historical background is the reason for the unique culture of the Amami Islands.

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