Changes

*''Japanese'': 鬼界ヶ島 ''(Kikaigashima)''

*''Japanese'': 鬼界ヶ島 ''(Kikaigashima)''

Kikaigashima is one of the [[Amami Islands]], in the northern section of the [[Ryukyu Islands]] archipelago. The island was absorbed by the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma province]] in the 16th century, along with most of the rest of the Amamis, and remains part of [[Kagoshima prefecture]] today.

Kikaigashima is one of the [[Amami Islands]], in the northern section of the [[Ryukyu Islands]] archipelago. The island was absorbed by the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] in the late 1460s, but was then conquered in [[1609]], along with much of the rest of the Amamis, by the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma han|Kagoshima domain]], and remains part of [[Kagoshima prefecture]] today.

==Early History==

==Early History==

In the premodern period, Kikai was among the islands to which [[kuge|court nobles]], prominent samurai, or other elites were sometimes exiled by the shogunate or Imperial court. The monk [[Shunkan]], who was caught plotting a coup against [[Taira no Kiyomori]], was famously exiled to Kikai in [[1177]].

In the premodern period, Kikai was among the islands to which [[kuge|court nobles]], prominent samurai, or other elites were sometimes exiled by the shogunate or Imperial court. The monk [[Shunkan]], who was caught plotting a coup against [[Taira no Kiyomori]], was famously exiled to Kikai in [[1177]].

In the 15th-16th centuries, forces of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma province, and those of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], both sought to expand into the Amamis. For a time in the mid-15th century, the people of Kikaigashima raised significant resistance against such Ryukyuan forces, leading King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] to decide in [[1466]] to lead the invasion force himself.<ref>Gregory Smits, "[http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409 Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism]." ''The Asia-Pacific Journal'' 37-3-10 (September 13, 2010).</ref> It was during this invasion that Ryûkyû is said to have first adopted the ''[[mitsu-domoe]]'' crest of [[Hachiman]]

In the 15th-16th centuries, forces of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma province, and those of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]], both sought to expand into the Amamis. For a time in the mid-15th century, the people of Kikaigashima raised significant resistance against such Ryukyuan forces, leading King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] to decide in [[1466]] to lead the invasion force himself.<ref>Gregory Smits, "[http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409 Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism]." ''The Asia-Pacific Journal'' 37-3-10 (September 13, 2010).</ref> It was during this invasion that Ryûkyû is said to have first adopted the ''[[mitsu-domoe]]'' crest of [[Hachiman]] as the royal crest.

==Early Modern Period==

==Early Modern Period==

Around 1800, the population of the island is believed to have been around 10,000 people. It is said that "the five grains" (i.e. all the major staples: rice, wheat, beans, ''awa'' millet, and ''kibi'' millet) were all grown on the island, but that the chief product grown there was [[sugar]].<ref>Ono Masako, Tomita Chinatsu, Kanna Keiko, Taguchi Kei, "Shiryô shôkai Kishi Akimasa bunko Satsuyû kikô," ''Shiryôhenshûshitsu kiyô'' 31 (2006), 228.</ref> This was in part due to [[Satsuma han]] policies, which forced the people of the Amamis to focus their efforts on growing sugar, which was then very heavily taxed. These policies have been compared to sugar plantations elsewhere in the world, and have been described as quite akin to "a structure of colonial extraction."<ref>Robert Hellyer, Defining Engagement, Harvard University Press (2009), 95.</ref>

Kikaigashima was conquered by the Shimazu clan of Kagoshima domain in the early stages of the 1609 [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]], along with much of the rest of the Amami Islands. After that, the island came under Satsuma administration. While Satsuma assigned its own administrators to the island, they retained the political/geographic organization of the villages into ''[[magiri]]'', as put into place by the Ryûkyû Kingdom. Village heads were known as ''okite'' (掟) and ''yohito'' (与人), as they had been under the Kingdom.<ref name=satsuyu>Ono Masako, Tomita Chinatsu, Kanna Keiko, Taguchi Kei, "Shiryô shôkai Kishi Akimasa bunko Satsuyû kikô," ''Shiryôhenshûshitsu kiyô'' 31 (2006), 228.</ref> Satsuma policies in the Amamis forced the people of the islands to devote their energies almost exclusively to the cultivation and refining of sugar, which was then very heavily taxed. These policies have been compared to plantation practices in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world, and have been described as quite akin to "a structure of colonial extraction."<ref>Robert Hellyer, Defining Engagement, Harvard University Press (2009), 95.</ref>

 

 

Even as late as 1800, local customs remained strong on Kikai, without having given way to any significant degree of Japanization. A dialect of [[Amami language]] was spoken, and while Satsuma officials assigned to the island learned and used this local language, it is not mutually intelligible with [[Japanese language|Japanese]].<ref name=satsuyu/>

==Modern Period==

==Modern Period==