Yaeyama Islands

• Yaeyama: 八重山 (Yaima)
• Japanese: 八重山諸島 (Yaeyama shotô)

The Yaeyama Islands are a group of islands in Okinawa prefecture near the southern end of the Ryûkyû archipelago.

History

Due to a large span of ocean, or "gap," between Okinawa Island to the north and the Miyakos, the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands, especially in ancient times, were somewhat isolated from areas to the north, and developed a separate culture. For example, while the Yayoi culture dominant throughout much of the Japanese archipelago around the 11th century BCE to the 3rd century CE extended as far south as the Amami Islands, artifacts of that culture have not been found in the Miyakos or Yaeyamas.

Little is known of the early history of the Yaeyama Islands. Though we can presume there were local rulers or chieftains of some sort in earlier periods, even official histories produced by the Ryûkyû Kingdom and local legends in Yaeyama make no mention of specific notable, named, individuals prior to the 15th century.

The earliest leader indicated by name in local legends or official Ryûkyû Kingdom histories is Yonahasedo Tuyumya, an individual from Miyako Island who in the late 14th or early 15th century became nominal head of the Yaeyamas; however, there is little historical evidence for his existence and some consider him a purely legendary figure.

Official histories produced by the royal court at Shuri indicate that in the year 1500, a figure named Oyake Akahachi led the people of Ishigaki Island in rebellion against Shuri, refusing to pay taxes or tribute as they had done previously. In these accounts, which Gregory Smits has indicated "take on the qualities of a Chinese-style morality play," Oyake is presented as a villainous figure, taking advantage of chaos and disunity in the neighboring Miyako Islands as an opportunity to invade those islands. The virtuous Nakasone Tuyumya of Miyako then pushes Akahachi's forces back, not only defeating the invasion but going on to invade and conquer the Yaeyamas himself, even pushing as far as Yonaguni, the westernmost of the Ryûkyû Islands; meanwhile, King Shô Shin dispatches forces from Shuri to put an end to this violence. Nakasone then surrenders himself and all of the Miyakos and Yaeyamas to the forces from Shuri, willingly joining the Ryûkyû Kingdom and embracing peace, morality, and Confucian civilization.

Following Shuri's defeat of the islanders, the islands were then incorporated (albeit loosely) into the kingdom, and officials were dispatched from Shuri to oversee and administer the islands. Shuri appointed officials known as Ufu Sui uyaku and zaiban to oversee matters in the outer islands, on behalf of the royal government. These zaiban operated under the authority of a kuramutu (J: kuramoto) based on Ishigaki Island. Beginning as early as 1503, Shuri also appointed Ôamu tsukasa, priestess officials under the Makabe Ôamushirare (Makan Ufuanshitari) high priestess based in Shuri, to serve as the chief religious officials in the Miyakos.

One of the most oft-discussed and perhaps most oppressive aspects of life under the kingdom for residents of the Miyakos was a poll tax (or "head tax") implemented in 1637 and continued by the Empire of Japan through the abolition of the kingdom, into the early years of the 20th century. Each individual (i.e. each "head") in the islands owed a certain amount to Shuri (and, later, to the prefectural government in Naha). This was not only a heavy tax burden simply in terms of the amount to be paid, but also because islanders were often obliged to pay in X, thus requiring them to convert their grain, textiles, or other products into X. This heavy tax burden frequently led to uprisings, riots, and protests. One particularly notable set of protests, known as the Miyako Island Peasantry Movement, took place in 1893 to 1895, and not only involved local protests in the Miyakos, but also Miyako Islanders traveling to Tokyo to petition before the Imperial Diet for an end to the oppressive tax burden. The poll tax system was eventually abolished in 1903.

Despite all of this, however - the heavy tax burden, and the various officials dispatched to the islands - overall the kingdom's control over local affairs in the Miyakos and Yaeyamas was fairly loose. Local authorities such as Nakasone Tuyumya and his successors, referred to as kashira in Shuri records, were given considerable autonomy to manage local affairs.

Much as imperial and shogunal authorities in Japan frequently exiled criminals or political enemies to distant islands, Miyako became a common destination for the kingdom to send exiles; Sokei Chûgi (1686-1749), a court official known for his excellence at poetry, was among those exiled to Miyako. Some of the men accused of killing US Marine William Board in 1854 were also exiled to Miyako.

A tsunami in 1771 was particularly devastating for the people of the Miyakos and Yaeyamas, killing some 10,000 people in those two island groups combined. It took several decades for the islands' communities to recover.

Culture

The Yaeyama Gongendô on Ishigaki Island, built in the 1740s, is considered the only surviving example of traditional Ryukyuan shrine architecture belonging to the complex of indigenous Ryukyuan religions.