1. World Heritage designation

2. Geography

3. History

4. Demographics and economics

5. Flora and fauna

6. Climate
    Pollution 

7. In popular culture

8. See also

9. References

10. External links

11. Notes

Administratively, the whole island is the town of Yakushima. The town also serves neighbouring Kuchinoerabujima. The majority of the island is within the borders of the Kirishima-Yaku National Park.^[2]

Yakushima's electricity is more than 50% hydroelectric, and surplus power has been used to produce hydrogen gas in an experiment by Kagoshima University. The island has been a test site for Honda's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle research. (There are no hydrogen cars stationed on the island but electric cars are run by the municipality.)

World Heritage designation

In 1980 an area of {{Convert|18,958|ha|lk=in|abbr=on}} was designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve.^[2] In 1993, {{Convert|10|ha}} of wetland at Nagata-hama was designated a Ramsar Site.^[3] It is the largest nesting ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle in the North Pacific.^[4][5] Yakushima's unique remnant of warm/temperate ancient forest has been a natural World Heritage Site since 1993. In the Wilderness core area ({{convert|12.19|km2|acre}}) of the World Heritage Site, no record of past tree cutting can be traced.^[6]

The island is visited by 300,000 tourists every year.

Geography

Yakushima is located approximately {{convert|61.3|km|mi}} south of the southern tip of Ōsumi Peninsula in southern Kyushu, or {{convert|135|km|nmi}} south of Kagoshima. The Vincennes Strait (Yakushima Kaikyō) separates it from the nearby island of Tanegashima, which is home to the Japanese Space Centre. Periodic rocket launches from Tanegashima can clearly be seen from Yakushima.

The bedrock of the island is granite, and as such it hosts no active volcanoes.^[7] It has an area of approximately {{convert|504.5|sqkm|sqmi}}. The island is roughly circular in shape, with a circumference of {{convert|89|km|mi}} and a diameter of {{convert|28|km|mi}}. The highest elevations on the island are {{nihongo|Miyanouradake|宮之浦岳|}}, with a height of {{convert|1935|m|ft}}, and {{nihongo|Nagatadake|永田岳| }}, with a height of {{convert|1886|m|ft}} above sea level; however, Yakushima has another 30 peaks of over {{convert|1000|m|ft}} in height. There are numerous hot springs on the island.

History

Yakushima has been settled since at least the Jōmon period. It is first mentioned in written documents of the Chinese Sui Dynasty of the 6th century, and in the Japanese Shoku Nihongi in an entry dated 702. It formed part of ancient Tane Province. It was often mentioned in the diaries of travellers between Tang Dynasty China and Nara period Japan.

During the Edo period, Yakushima was ruled by the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain and was considered part of Ōsumi Province. Following the Meiji restoration, the island has been administered as part of Kagoshima Prefecture.

In 2017, Yakushima was struck by Typhoon Noru causing one death.

Demographics and economics

The population of Yakushima reached a peak in 1960 with 24,010 inhabitants. It thereafter declined until about 1995, but has subsequently stabilized at just over 13,000 inhabitants.

Traditionally, the economic mainstays of the population were forestry and the export of wood products (principally cedar roof shingles), and commercial fishing. Cultivation of oranges and tea, the distilling of shōchū, and tourism are now the main sources of income.

Flora and fauna

Yakushima contains one of the largest tracts of existing Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests, and endangered habitat ecoregion.^[8] The only large animals indigenous to the island are red-bottomed macaques (Yakushima macaque) and a variety of sika deer (yakushika). The tanuki is also a common animal, but is not native to the island. Japanese weasels (Mustela itatsi) may also be seen from time to time. The island is a spawning ground for migratory loggerhead turtles, and dolphins are to be found offshore. The coastal areas have coral reefs in places, although to a much lesser extent than are found farther south in the islands of Okinawa.

Yakushima is famous for its lush vegetation. Most of the island has at one time or another been logged (dating back at least to the early Edo period), but has been extensively replanted and reseeded since logging ended in the late 1960s, at which time a conservation regime was established. In addition to this secondary forest, there are some remaining areas of primary forest, composed mainly of a variety of Cryptomeria japonica, or Japanese cedar, known as {{nihongo| yakusugi |屋久杉|}}, the best known single example of which is named the {{nihongo| Jōmon Sugi |縄文杉|}}, as its age is estimated to date to at least the Jōmon period of Japanese history, 2300 years ago. In addition, the island lists over 50 varieties of endemic flower, notably rhododendrons, and hundreds of rare endemic Bryophyta, as well as a number of endemic trees.

Climate

Yakushima has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and mild winters. Precipitation is extremely heavy, with at least {{convert|250|mm|in}} in each month and as much as {{convert|773|mm|in}} in June alone. Yakushima is Japan's wettest place,^[9] and annual precipitation in Yakushima is one of the world's highest at {{Convert|4000|to|10000|mm|abbr=on}}. It is said by the locals to rain "35 days a month". There are drier periods in autumn and winter, while the heaviest downpours occur in spring and summer, often accompanied by landslides. It is the southernmost place in Japan where there is snow in the mountains, often for months, while the ocean temperature is never below {{Convert|19|C}}

Pollution

The island is downwind of heavily polluted areas in the People's Republic of China. Yakushima white pine in the forest on the island may have been affected by combustion products from coal burning and automobile exhaust.^[10]

In popular culture

The forests of Yakushima inspired the forest setting in Hayao Miyazaki's film Princess Mononoke.^[11]

Yakushima is the inspiration behind the forest of Dremuchij in Snake Eater.^[12]

Fictional character Jin Kazama of Tekken was born in Yakushima.{{cn|date=August 2018}}

Eiji Miyake, the protagonist of David Mitchell’s novel Number9 Dream, is from Yakushima. Parts of the novel take place in the narrator’s childhood on the island.

The island also featured prominently in the 1996 film Rebirth of Mothra. In the movie The Young Mothra swims to the island to transform into the new and more powerful Mothra taking its life essence and new powers from the eternal forest.

See also

• Ernest Henry Wilson - Wilson stump
• List of Special Places of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites and Special Natural Monuments
• List of World Heritage Sites in Japan
• List of national parks of Japan
• Ramsar sites in Japan

References

• Witham, Clive. Yakushima: A Yakumonkey Guide. Siesta Press. (2009) {{ISBN|0956150705}}

External links

• UNESCO World Heritage Site Entry
• Forest and tree photos from Yakushima old-growth forests

Notes

• Pulp City
• Pulp (disambiguation)
• Pulp discography
• Pulpers
• Pulpety
• Pulp fiction (disambiguation)
• Pulp Fiction (disambiguation)
• Pulp Fiction (film)
• Pulp fiction film
• Pulp Fiction movie
• Pulp (Filipino music magazine)
• Pulphouse
• Pulphouse Publishing
• Pulpi
• Pulpi, Almeria
• Pulpify
• Pulpi, Spain
• Pulpit fall
• Pulpit Law
• Pulpit Mountain
• Pulpit of Sant' Andrea, Pistoia (Giovanni Pisano)
• Pulpit of St. Andrew
• Pulpit of St Andrew
• Pulpito River
• Pulpit Rock (disambiguation)