Hachijō-jima

Hachijō-jima is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south of the Izu Peninsula[1]—or about 287 kilometres (178 mi) south of Tokyo[2]—in the Philippine Sea.[3] The smaller island of Hachijō-kojima is 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) northwest of Hachijō-jima,[4] and can be seen from the top of Nishiyama.[2] The Pacific Ocean is to the east of the island, with Mikura-jima about 79 kilometres (49 mi) to the north and Aogashima about 64 kilometres (40 mi) to the south. The island is within the boundaries of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.[5]

The only municipality on the island is the town of Hachijō,[4] which encompasses both Hachijō-jima and the neighbouring Hachijō-kojima, though no one lives on the latter.[4] The town is divided into five areas: Mitsune (三根), Nakanogo (中之郷), Kashitate (樫立), Sueyoshi (末吉), and Ōkago (大賀郷).[4]

The population of Hachijō-jima on 1 March 2018 was 7,522.[6]

Comparison of Population Distribution between Hachijō-jima and Japanese National Average	Population Distribution by Age and Sex in Hachijō-jima
■Hachijō-jima ■Japan (average)	■Male ■Female
1970 10,316 1975 10,318 1980 10,244 1985 10,024 1990 9,420 1995 9,476 2000 9,488 2005 8,837 2010 8,231 2015 7,613
2015 Census, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications - Statistics Department

The language spoken historically on Hachijō-jima is one of the most divergent forms of Japanese; it is the only surviving descendant of Eastern Old Japanese.[7] The number of speakers is not certain; it is on UNESCO's list of endangered languages,[8] and is likely to be extinct by 2050 if counter-measures are not taken.[9]

Bioluminescent M. chlorophos mushrooms in Hachijō-jima botanical park

The island is home to bioluminescent mushrooms, including Mycena lux-coeli—meaning "heavenly light mushrooms"—and Mycena chlorophos. M. lux-coeli are widely found and for decades were believed only to exist on the island.[10] The local name for the mushrooms is hato-no-hi, literally "pigeon fire".[10] Many different plants are native to the island, including the pygmy date palm, aloe, freesia, hydrangea, hibiscus, Oshima and Japanese cherry, and bird of paradise.[4][11]

Since November 2015, humpback whales have been observed gathering around the island, far north from their known breeding areas in the Bonin Islands. All breeding activities except for giving births have been confirmed, and research is underway by the town of Hachijō and the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology to determine whether Hachijō-jima may become the northernmost breeding ground in the world, and possible expectations for opening a future tourism attraction.[12] Whales can be viewed even from hot springs.[13] Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, likely (re)colonised from Mikura-jima, also live around the island,[14] among other cetaceans such as false killer whales,[15] sperm whales,[16] and orcas (being sighted during humpback whale research in 2017).[17]

The waters around the island are important for the nourishment of green sea turtles,[18] as well as Hamatobiuo (a type of flying fish).[4][19]

The Izu thrush makes its home on the island, as does the Japanese white-eye.[4][11] The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it also supports populations of Japanese wood pigeons, Japanese murrelets, Pleske's grasshopper warblers and Ijima's leaf-warblers.[20]

Hachijō-jima has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.[21]

See or edit raw graph data.

There is a small mystery regarding the history of Hachijō-jima, of potential significance to the history of women's rights. Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, a well known autobiographer from the early 20th Century states in A Daughter Of The Samurai that the island was commonly known in Japan during her childhood for being a place where standard gender roles were reversed; women did heavy field work and "made laws", and men tended the home and children. The mystery comes from the fact that no other current source mentions this today. A brief quote to illustrate the significance of the information:

" 'We have a whole island where women do men's work from planting rice to making laws.'

'What do the men do?'

'Cook, keep house, take care of the children, and do the family washing.'

'You don't mean it!' exclaimed Miss Helen, and she sat down again.

But I did mean it, and I told her of Hachijo, a little island about a hundred miles off the coast of Japan, where the women, tall, handsome, and straight, with their splendid hair coiled in an odd knot on the top of the head, and wearing long, loose gowns bound by a narrow sash tied in front, work in the rice fields, make oil from camellia seeds, spin and weave a peculiar yellow silk, which they carry in bundles on their heads over the mountains, at the same time driving tiny oxen, not much larger than dogs, also laden with rolls of silk to be sent to the mainland to be sold. And in addition to all this, they make some of the best laws we have, and see that they are properly carried out. In the meantime, the older men of the community, with babies strapped to their backs, go on errands or stand on the street gossiping and swaying to a sing-song lullaby; and the younger ones wash sweet potatoes, cut vegetables, and cook dinner; or, in big aprons, and with sleeves looped back, splash, rub, and wring out clothes at the edge of a stream."[39] LCC Card No 66-15849, pp 202–203

The island is home to the Hachijo Royal Resort, a now-abandoned French baroque-style luxury hotel that was built during the tourism boom of the 1960s. When the hotel was built in 1963 it was one of the largest in Japan, and attracted visitors from all over the country. The hotel was finally closed in 2006 due to declining tourism to the island. As of April 2016, the grounds were overgrown and the building severely dilapidated.[38][43]

The Hachijō-jima History and Folk Museum (八丈島歴史民俗資料館, Hachijō-jima Rekishi Minzoku Shiryōkan) contains displays covering the history of the island, local industries, as well as the animals and plants found on and around the island.[44][45] The Hachijō Botanical Park (八丈植物公園, Hachijō Shokubutsu Kōen) is a botanical and animal park next to the Hachijojima Visitors Center.[44][45]

In 2005, accommodation on Hachijō-jima was plentiful, with many Japanese-style inns, hot spring resorts, campsites, and several larger hotels.[46] Hachijō-jima is popular with surfers, with three reef breaks and consistently warmer water than mainland Japan because of the Kuroshio Current.[34] Because Hachijō-jima is a volcanic island, there are several black sandy beaches, including one next to the main harbour of Sokodo.

Hachijō-jima's scuba diving points were regarded in 2008 as many and varied, and as including one of the top five diving spots in Japan.[47]

Hachijō-jima is known for its hiking trails, waterfalls, and natural environment. Other activities for visitors include visiting the Botanical Park, exploring wartime tunnels, and hiking to the top of Hachijō-fuji.[45]

Kihachijō, a naturally yellow silk fabric, is woven on the island.[1] One of the workshops is open to tourists.[45] The Tokyo Electric Power Company operates a free museum at its geothermal power plant.[48]

Shimazushi, a local specialty

Hachijō-jima is famous both for its sushi—known locally as shimazushi—and for its kusaya (a dried and fermented version of hamatobiuo).[49][50] As well as being served with sake, the latter is used in many different recipes.[51]

Local cuisine also makes use of the ashitaba plant in dishes such as ashitaba soba and tempura.[2][51]