Kerama Islands

Template:Short description Template:Infobox islands The Template:Nihongo are a subtropical island group Template:Convert southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan.

Geography

Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island.<ref>Template:Usurped. Open Coast Travel.</ref> The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Village within Shimajiri District.<ref>Special Feature #1 : Seas of Okinawa -The Kerama Islands- Template:Webarchive, Okinawa Prefecture</ref> The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The archipelago consists of the following islands (-jima/-shima) – inhabited ones are highlighted in blue – and rocks (other suffixes, unnamed entries) with an area of at least 0.01 km².<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Photo	Name	Japanese name	Size [km2]	Height [m]	Group	Coordinates
File:Tokashiki aerial.jpg	Tokashiki Island	lang}}	15,31	227,3	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
File:Zamami aerial.jpg	Zamami Island	lang}}	6,66	160,7	Zamami	Template:Coord
File:Aka Island gsi-20081121.jpg	Aka Island	lang}}	3,82	165,0	Zamami	Template:Coord
Maeshima (unterste Insel)	Mae Island	lang}}	1,60	132,8	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
File:Kubashima 20081121-gsi.jpg	Kuba-shima	lang}}	1,55	270,1	Zamami	Template:Coord
File:Yakabi Island.jpg	Yakabi-jima	lang}}	1,26	214,4	Zamami	Template:Coord
File:Geruma Island 20081121-gsi.jpg	Geruma Island	lang}}	1,15	157,3	Zamami	Template:Coord
File:Fukaji Island 20081121-gsi.jpg	Fukaji Island	lang}}	0,83	76Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
File:Amuro Island.jpg	Amuro-jima	lang}}	0,73	98,8	Zamami	Template:Coord
File:Gishippu Island.jpg	Gishippu-jima	lang}}	0,49	113,6	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
File:Kuro Island, Tokashiki.jpg	Kuroshima	lang}}	0,27	126,1	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
	Un-jima	lang}}	0,26	87Template:0	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
	Gahi-jima	lang}}	0,13	51Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Gusukushima	lang}}	0,11	105,9	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
	Hanari-jima	lang}}	0,10	59,2	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
	Agenashiku-jima	lang}}	0,10	41,6	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Sunashiru-jima	lang}}	0,05	28Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
Kuba-iwa, Ou-jima, Naka-iwa und Yubu-iwa (von oben nach unten)	Ou-jima (Ubu-iwa)	lang}}	0,05	45,6	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Kuba-iwa	lang}}	0,01	14Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Yubu-iwa	lang}}	0,01	34Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Naka-iwa	lang}}	0,01	17Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Achirāne-iwa	lang}}	0,05	–	Zamami
	Mokaraku-jima	lang}}	0,04	25Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Tsumishiro-shima	lang}}	0,02	–	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Ijakaja-jima	lang}}	0,02	56Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Jinojitsuru-jima	lang}}	0,01	54Template:0	Tokashiki	Template:Coord
	Sakuhara no Hana	lang}}	0,01	–	Zamami	Template:Coord
	Fukakane-se	lang}}	0,01	47Template:0	Zamami	Template:Coord
	lang}} ‚Insel (nördlich von Sunashiru-jima)‘ aufgeführt. Auf den amtlichen Karten ist an diesen Koordinaten eine unbenannte Insel mit der angegebenen Fläche.</ref>		0,01	–	Zamami	Template:Coord
	lang}} ‚Insel (nördlich von Mokaraku-jima)‘ aufgeführt. Auf den amtlichen Karten ist an diesen Koordinaten eine unbenannte Insel mit der angegebenen Fläche.</ref>		0,01	–	Zamami	Template:Coord

Beaches

These are notable beaches of the Kerama Islands:

Notable beaches

Name	Island	Japanese name
Aharen Beach	Tokashiki Island	阿波連ビーチ（渡嘉敷島）
Tokashiku Beach	Tokashiki Island	渡嘉志久ビーチ（渡嘉敷島）
Ama Beach	Zamami Island	阿真ビーチ（座間味島）
Furuzamami Beach	Zamami Island	古座間味ビーチ（座間味島）
Kitahama Beach	Aka Island	北浜ビーチ（阿嘉島）

• Ama beach in Zamami Island.jpg

  Ama beach in Zamami island

• Aharen Beach On Tokashiki Island 2009 (7373).JPG

  Aharen Beach on Tokashiki Island

• Tokashiku Beach On Tokashiki Island 2009 (7372).JPG

  Tokashiku beach on Tokashiki Island

• Tokashiku Beach on Tokashiki Island Okinawa 2018.png

  Tokashiku beach

Flora

The archipelago has several extensive coral reefs. Two of them were designated as Ramsar sites in November 2005: a 120-hectare area along the west coast of Tokashiki-jima and around Hanari-jima, and a 233-hectare area around Ijakaja-jima, Gahi-jima and Agenashiku-jima, i.e., between Aka Island and Zamami Island. These reefs are home to 248 different coral species, most notably of the Acropora genus.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On March 5, 2014, the waters and the islands were placed under protection as Kerama Shotō National Park.

• Coral reef life near Akajima 07.jpg

  Coral reef, Aka island

• Coral reef life near Akajima 16.jpg

  Coral reef, Aka island

• Coral reef life near Akajima 13.jpg

  Clownfish, Aka island

Fauna

The islands of Aka, Fukaji, Geruma and Yakabi provide the sole natural habitat of the endangered Kerama deer (Cervus nippon keramae), thought to be an introduced population of the Japanese sika deer in the early 17th century that has since adapted to their island environment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

The Kerama islands were historically part of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1879), when islanders were employed as navigators on the kingdom’s trading vessels to China.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During World War II and preliminary to the Battle of Okinawa, soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division landed in the Kerama Islands on March 26, 1945. Further landings followed, and the Kerama group was secured over the next five days. Kerama was used as a staging area for the assault on Okinawa. During the battle the first civilian mass suicides that later marked the Battle of Okinawa took place.Template:Citation needed The first US Navy ship to anchor in the harbor was Template:USS, a small "jeep" carrier.Template:Citation needed

Thereafter, the archipelago, like the rest of the Ryukyu Islands, was under US military administration before being returned to Japan in 1972.

The Kerama islands was the site of a true story about romance between two dogs who lived on neighboring islands that was made into the 1988 Japanese film I Want to See Marilyn (Marilyn ni Aitai).<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:

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| Q21191270 | Q21664088 | Q50062923 | Q50914552 | Q99079902 | Q123186929 | Q55422400 | Q61220733 =Template:Preview warning | Q3464665 =Template:Preview warning }}{{#ifeq: Template:Wikidata | Q21191270 |Template:Preview warning }}{{#if: | Template:WikidataCheck }}</ref> It is now a popular beach and diving destination for visitors to Okinawa.

• Landings in the Keramas.jpg

  The 77th Infantry Division on Zamami Island during World War II

Transportation

The Kerama Islands are served by the Kerama Airport, located on Fukaji Island.<ref>Map showing islands of Zamami Village Template:Webarchive</ref> Regular ferries are also available from Naha to the three largest islands, Aka, Zamami, and Tokashiki. Ferries between the islands are also available, as are boat tours.

External links

• IMDB entry for I Want to See Marilyn