The Amami Islands (奄美群島, Amami-guntō?) are a group of islands that is part of the Satsunan Islands, a group of islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago. They are part of Kagoshima Prefecture, in the Kyūshū region of Japan. They consist of:
- Amami Ōshima (奄美大島)
- Kikai-jima (喜界島)
- Kakeromajima (加計呂麻島)
- Yoroshima (与路島)
- Ukeshima (請島)
- Tokunoshima (徳之島)
- Okinoerabu-jima (沖永良島)
- Yoronjima (AKA Yorontō unofficially) (与論島)
The name of Amami is probably cognate with Amamikiyo (アマミキヨ?) or Amamiko (アマミコ?), a goddess often featured in Okinawan legends.
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan and the Japan Coast Guard agreed on February 15, 2010, to use the name of Amami-guntō (奄美群島?) for the Amami Islands. Prior to that, Amami-shotō (奄美諸島?) was also used.
Famous quotes containing the word islands:
“we are so many
and many within themselves
travel to far islands but no one
asks for their story....”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)