Kunigami, Okinawa


Kunigami is a village in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It occupies the north tip of Okinawa Island, with the East China Sea to the west, Pacific Ocean to the east, and villages of Higashi and Ōgimi to the south.
As of 2015, the village has a population of 4,908 and a population density of 25.20 persons per km2. The total area is 194.80 km2.

History

According to Chūzan Seikan, the goddess Amamikyu consecrated the first utaki in Asa Forest at Hedo, in what is now Kunigami; the forest is also mentioned in Omoro Sōshi. Ceramics from the Jōmon-period Uzahama Site resemble those found in the Amami Islands. Chūzan Seikan records the prayers of the Kunigami council for the recovery of Shō Sei after an abortive attempt to occupy Amami Ōshima in 1537, while Kyūyō recounts the appointment of the son of the Kunigami Oyakata as aji after the successful takeover of the Amami Islands by Shō Gen in 1571.
Kunigami District was established in 1896 and, upon the abolition of Kunigami magiri, Kunigami Village was founded in 1908. During the Battle of Okinawa, the area saw an influx of refugees fleeing the heavy fighting in the south. In September 1945, the occupying government merged the three villages of Kunigami, Higashi, and Ōgimi into the new city of Hentona; the merger was reversed the following year.

Geography

Kunigami is mountainous, with over 80% of the land area covered by subtropical evergreen forest. Endemic species include the Okinawa woodpecker and Okinawa rail.
The village includes twenty-one wards.
  • Ada
  • Aha
  • Benoki
  • Gaji
  • Ginama
  • Hama
  • Hanji
  • Hedo
  • Hentona
  • Hiji
  • Iji
  • Jashiki
  • Kaganji
  • Oku
  • Okuma
  • Sate
  • Sosu
  • Tōbaru
  • Uka
  • Ura
  • Yona

    Neighbouring municipalities

  • Higashi
  • Ōgimi

    Climate

Demographics

Education

There is one municipal junior high school, Kunigami Junior High School.
Kunigami has the following municipal elementary schools:
  • Ada
  • Aha
  • Hentona
  • Oku
  • Okuma
The following municipal elementary schools are permanently closed:
There is one municipal kindergarten, Kunigami Nursery School.

Cultural Properties

  • Name

    Cultural Properties">Cultural Property (Japan)">Cultural Properties

  • King Gihon's Tomb
  • Uzahama Site

    Natural Monuments">Monuments of Japan#Designated monuments of Japan">Natural Monuments

  • Ada northern yellow boxwood forest reserve
  • Aha looking-glass mangrove trees Heritiera littoralis
  • Aha Tanagā-gumui plant community
  • Hiji Kodama-mui plant community
  • Mount Yonaha Natural Protected Area

    Sister cities

  • ― Yoron, Japan, since November 21, 2022
  • ― Iwami, Japan, since July 16, 2023