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*''Japanese'': 沖永良部島 ''(Oki no erabu jima)''
*''Japanese'': 沖永良部島 ''(Oki no erabu jima)''
Okinoerabu Island is one of the [[Amami Islands]], located south of [[Tokunoshima]] and north of [[Yoronjima]] in the broader [[Ryukyu Islands]] chain.
Okinoerabu Island is one of the [[Amami Islands]], located south of [[Tokunoshima]] and north of [[Yoronjima]] in the broader [[Ryukyu Islands]] chain. One of the island's many claims to fame is a [[banyan]] tree said to be the largest in all of Japan.<ref name=amaminosato>Gallery labels, Amami no Sato, Amami Park.</ref>
According to divine songs such as ''shima watari nu umui'', Okinoerabu was the first of the Ryûkyû Islands, forming out of a floating mass in the sea and then multiplying in some fashion to spread islands out to the north, and then to the south. A number of legends, songs, and the like from [[Okinawa Island]] and elsewhere suggest an ancestral or legendary origin on Okinoerabu.<ref>Smits, 109.</ref>
Consisting primarily of flatland atop a raised coral reef, Okinoerabu was historically one of the chief islands for pasturing [[Ryukyuan horses|horses]]. The "lord of Okinoerabu" is strongly associated with horses in the ''[[Omoro soshi|Omoro sôshi]]'', which indicates that he has "a herd of horses ... at his disposal," and that "this remote lord attaches a golden saddle and rides down to Yowa harbor." The [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] as well as various ''[[wako|wakô]]'' groups sourced their horses from Okinoerabu, among other locations.
Consisting primarily of flatland atop a raised coral reef, Okinoerabu was historically one of the chief islands for pasturing [[Ryukyuan horses|horses]]. The "lord of Okinoerabu" is strongly associated with horses in the ''[[Omoro soshi|Omoro sôshi]]'', which indicates that he has "a herd of horses ... at his disposal," and that "this remote lord attaches a golden saddle and rides down to Yowa harbor." The [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] as well as various ''[[wako|wakô]]'' groups sourced their horses from Okinoerabu, among other locations.
Okinoerabu was also one of four places where the Tsukishiro form of the deity [[Hachiman]] was historically worshipped.
Okinoerabu was also one of four places where the Tsukishiro form of the deity [[Hachiman]] was historically worshipped.
In the early 15th century, the island was home to the ''wakô'' chieftain [[Guraru Magohachi]] (aka Goran Magohatsu), who is also mentioned in the ''omoro''.
In the early 15th century, the island was home to the ''wakô'' chieftain [[Guraru Magohachi]] (aka Goran Magohatsu), who is also mentioned in the ''omoro''. Another prominent 15th century leader on the island is known only as [[Yononushi]], a term which literally means "lord of the world" or "lord of the realm"; some sources suggest he was a second son of the king of the Okinawan kingdom of [[Hokuzan]].<ref>Amami Tatsugô Shima Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/49491207132/sizes/h/]</ref> A shrine dedicated to him and a site said to be his grave can both be found on the island.<ref name=amaminosato/>
Okinoerabu first came under the authority of the ''[[daikan]]'' appointed by [[Satsuma han|Satsuma domain]] to oversee [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] in [[1690]].<ref>Ono Masako, Tomita Chinatsu, Kanna Keiko, Taguchi Megumi, "Shiryô shôkai Kishi Akimasa bunko Satsuyû kikô," ''Shiryôhenshûshitsu kiyô'' 31 (2006), 244.</ref>
[[Saigo Takamori|Saigô Takamori]] was exiled to Okinoerabu for a brief period, beginning in [[1862]]/8.<ref>Plaque at site of Saigô's death, Shiroyama, Kagoshima.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/19641624728/sizes/k/]</ref>
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==References==
==References==
*Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 71.
*Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 71.
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[[Category:Geographic Locations]]
[[Category:Geographic Locations]]
