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Remains of ''[[gusuku]]'' sites on Kikaigashima, along with other archaeological finds, serve as evidence for Amami/Ryûkyû cultural activity on Kikaigashima in the pre-modern period, related but distinctive in character from Japanese culture.

Remains of ''[[gusuku]]'' sites on Kikaigashima, along with other archaeological finds, serve as evidence for Amami/Ryûkyû cultural activity on Kikaigashima in the pre-modern period, related but distinctive in character from Japanese culture.

In the premodern period, Kikai was regarded by Japanese authorities as being the center of authority for its neighboring islands. People representing Kikai, Amami, and Tokunoshima are recorded as presenting [[tribute]] to authorities on the Japanese "mainland" as early as the 7th century.<ref>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 51.</ref> When people from Amami launched raids on [[Osumi province|Ôsumi]], [[Dazaifu]], and elsewhere on the Kyushu mainland in the late 990s, it was to Kikai and not to Amami or Tokunoshima that Dazaifu dispatched orders to suppress the raiders, and it was Kikai which Japanese records credit with successfully doing so.<ref name=smits18>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu, 1050-1650'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 18-19.</ref>

In the premodern period, Kikai was regarded by Japanese authorities as being the center of authority for its neighboring islands. People representing Kikai, Amami, and Tokunoshima are recorded as presenting [[tribute]] to authorities on the Japanese "mainland" as early as the 7th century.<ref>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 51.</ref> When people from Amami launched raids on [[Osumi province|Ôsumi]], [[Dazaifu]], and elsewhere on the Kyushu mainland in the late 990s, it was to Kikai and not to Amami or Tokunoshima that Dazaifu dispatched orders to suppress the raiders, and it was Kikai which Japanese records credit with successfully doing so.<ref name=smits18>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu, 1050-1650'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 18-20.</ref>

Kikai seems to have come in and out of the sphere of territory that the Dazaifu (and by extension the [[Heian period|Heian court]]) claimed authority over. Some archaeological evidence as well as documentary evidence indicates that in the 10th century, Kikaijima (喜界島, written with a character meaning "happiness"), was at least nominally within the Dazaifu's jurisdiction, and also that it had notable cultural differences from the neighboring islands of Amami and Tokunoshima. By the 1110s, however, Kikaijima (鬼界島, now written with a character meaning "demon") was no longer considered to be within the boundaries of the Japanese political or cultural sphere; castaways who found themselves in Kikai were handled by the Heian/Dazaifu authorities in a manner similar to those who drifted even farther afield, i.e. to "foreign lands."<ref name=smits18/> Kikai was also 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]].

Kikai seems to have come in and out of the sphere of territory that the Dazaifu (and by extension the [[Heian period|Heian court]]) claimed authority over. Some archaeological evidence as well as documentary evidence indicates that in the 10th century, Kikaijima (喜界島, written with a character meaning "happiness"), was at least nominally within the Dazaifu's jurisdiction, and also that it had notable cultural differences from the neighboring islands of Amami and Tokunoshima. By the 1110s, however, Kikaijima (鬼界島, now written with a character meaning "demon") was no longer considered to be within the boundaries of the Japanese political or cultural sphere; castaways who found themselves in Kikai were handled by the Heian/Dazaifu authorities in a manner similar to those who drifted even farther afield, i.e. to "foreign lands."<ref name=smits18/> Kikai was also 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]]. Individuals seeking to flee from Imperial authorities also made their way to Kikai.<ref name=smits18/>

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.

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.