Satsunan Islands

The term "Satsuma-Nansho" refers to the 30 or so islands that stretch from about 30 degrees 50 minutes north latitude in the ocean south of the Osumi Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture, heading south-southwest for about 500 kilometers to Yoron Island at about 27 degrees north latitude. Together with the Ryukyu Islands that extend further southwest from here, they make up the northern half of the Nansei Islands. The Satsuma-Nansho Islands are further divided into three groups from the north: the Osumi Islands, the Tokara Islands, and the Amami Islands. The main islands of the Osumi Islands are Yakushima, Tanegashima, and Kuchinoerabujima, while the Amami Islands are Amami Oshima, Kikaijima, Kakeromajima, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima, and Yoronjima. These islands belong to 12 towns and 4 villages, including the two cities of Amami and Nishinoomote. The total area is approximately 2,352 square kilometers. The topography and vegetation of each island are extremely diverse, depending on the latitude at which they are located and the conditions of the surrounding sea areas. Known as "road islands," they were a route through which cultures from the south and the continent entered the area for a long time in the past, and as a result, the islands retain their own customs and languages ​​that are different from those of the mainland, as well as from the individual islands themselves. For a period after the Second World War, the islands south of the 30th parallel north were under American military administration (the Tokara Islands until 1952, and Amami Oshima until 1953). Large liner and airplane services run daily from Kagoshima to the main islands.

[Kimihiko Tsukada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鹿児島県大隅(おおすみ)半島の南海上、北緯30度50分付近から、南南西に向かい約500キロメートル、北緯27度付近の与論島(よろんじま)まで、大小約30の島嶼(とうしょ)群が並ぶが、これらを総称したもの。ここからさらに南西に延びる琉球諸島(りゅうきゅうしょとう)とあわせた南西諸島の北半部を占める。薩南諸島はまた北部より大隅諸島、吐噶喇(とから)列島、奄美諸島(あまみしょとう)とよばれる3グループに分けられる。大隅諸島のおもな島には屋久(やく)島、種子島(たねがしま)、口永良部(くちのえらぶ)島などがあり、奄美諸島には奄美大島、喜界(きかい)島、加計呂麻(かけろま)島、徳之島、沖永良部(おきのえらぶ)島、与論島などがある。これらの島々は奄美、西之表(にしのおもて)の2市をはじめ12町4村に属する。総面積は約2352平方キロメートル。各島の位置する緯度や周辺海域の状況により、地形や植生はたいへん多様である。「道の島」とよばれ、過去長い間南方や大陸からの文化の進入経路にもなっていたため、個々の島嶼にはもとより、本土とも異なった風習、言語などを残存させている。第二次世界大戦後の一時期、北緯30度以南の島々がアメリカの軍政下に置かれた（1952年（昭和27）まで吐噶喇列島、1953年まで奄美大島）。おもな島々へは鹿児島から毎日大型定期船や航空機の便がある。

［塚田公彦］

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