Kunigami [village] - Kunigami

Japanese: 国頭[村] - くにがみ

A village in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture. Located at the northernmost tip of Okinawa Island (main island). Population 6,015 (1995). Yonahadake (498m), the highest peak on Okinawa Island, and other mountains of various sizes form a mountainous backbone that stretches to the Pacific coast in the east and the East China coast in the west. The village is located near the mouth of a river that cuts through the mountains. As it is an isolated area with poor transportation, there is a strong sense of community based on local ties, and in 1906, the first cooperative store in Okinawa (a store in which all village residents contribute as members and operate) was established in Okumura. It was successively opened in other villages and is still in operation today.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

沖縄県国頭郡の村。沖縄島(本島)最北端に位置する。人口6015(1995)。沖縄島最高峰の与那覇岳(498m)をはじめ大小の山が脊梁山地を形成し，これらの山が東は太平洋岸，西は東シナ海岸に迫る。山地を開析した川の河口付近に村落が立地する。交通不便な隔絶地域であったため，地縁的共同体意識が強く，1906年に奥村落に沖縄で最初の共同店(村落住民すべてが構成員として出資，運営する商店)が設立され，順次他の村落にも開設されて現在も機能している。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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