Changes

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

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

Kikaigashima, or Kikai Island, is one of the [[Amami Islands]], in the northern section of the [[Ryukyu Islands]] archipelago. A notable center of political authority in the 10th-11th centuries, the island was absorbed by the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] in the late 1460s. It 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.

Kikaigashima, or Kikai Island, is one of the [[Amami Islands]], in the northern section of the [[Ryukyu Islands]] archipelago. A notable center of political authority in the 10th-11th centuries, the island was absorbed by the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] in the late 1450s or 1460s. It 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==

Remains of [[Gusuku period]] sites on Kikaigashima, along with other archaeological finds, serve as evidence for complex and diverse cultural activity on Kikaigashima in the pre-modern period, suggesting a mixture of peoples or influences from further north (Kyushu) and south (Okinawa). Excavations at 9th-14th century sites have uncovered an active center of some 150 raised buildings, numerous burial pits, and thirty iron-working hearths; while [[iron]] sands from Kikai were traded to the south as a vital raw material for iron goods produced or used on Okinawa, some 70% of the goods found at the Kikai sites came from outside of Kikai. This archaeological evidence suggests that in the 9th-10th centuries, when Dazaifu exercised jurisdiction over Kikai, [[turbo shell|turbo or turban shells]] (used to produce [[mother-of-pearl]] inlay) were the chief trade good in the area. As Kikai became distanced from Japanese control in the 11th-12th centuries, trade diversified and the island saw some increased prosperity; Kikai became an important transshipment point for not only seashells and [[tortoise shell]], but also for ''[[kamuiyaki]]'' pottery produced on [[Tokunoshima]], ''ishinabe'' talc stoneware from Kyushu, [[sulfur]], and other products. By the 13th-14th centuries, however, Kikai declined as a major center of trade or economic activity, and Okinawa Island began to take its place.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 21.</ref>

Remains of [[Gusuku period]] sites on Kikaigashima, along with other archaeological finds, serve as evidence for complex and diverse cultural activity on Kikaigashima in the pre-modern period, suggesting a mixture of peoples or influences from further north (Kyushu) and south (Okinawa). Excavations at 9th-14th century sites have uncovered an active center of some 150 raised buildings, numerous burial pits, and thirty iron-working hearths; while [[iron]] sands from Kikai were traded to the south as a vital raw material for iron goods produced or used on Okinawa, some 70% of the goods found at the Kikai sites came from outside of Kikai. This archaeological evidence suggests that in the 9th-10th centuries, when Dazaifu exercised jurisdiction over Kikai, [[turbo shell|turbo or turban shells]] (used to produce [[mother-of-pearl]] inlay) were the chief trade good in the area. As Kikai became distanced from Japanese control in the 11th-12th centuries, trade diversified and the island saw some increased prosperity; Kikai became an important transshipment point for not only seashells and [[tortoise shell]], but also for ''[[kamuiyaki]]'' pottery produced on [[Tokunoshima]], ''ishinabe'' talc stoneware from Kyushu, [[sulfur]], and other products. By the 13th-14th centuries, however, Kikai declined as a major center of trade or economic activity, and Okinawa Island began to take its place.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 21.</ref>

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.<ref>The [[1605]] ''[[Ryukyu Shinto ki|Ryûkyû Shintô ki]]'' indicates that this invasion took place not under Shô Toku, but under his predecessor, King [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]] (r. [[1454]]-[[1460]]). [[Gregory Smits]] suggests this may have been the case, and that official histories written centuries later, in their efforts to portray Shô Toku (the last king of the First Shô Dynasty) as violent and immoral, and thus losing the [[Mandate of Heaven]] to his successor, [[Sho En|Shô En]] of the Second Shô Dynasty, may have attributed to Toku invasions undertaken by Taikyû. Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 120.</ref>

==Early Modern Period==

==Early Modern Period==