Amami’s Environmental Culture | Shaped by Nature and Everyday Life

When you think of Amami Oshima, the first thing that might come to mind is nature.

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A deep subtropical forest.

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The blue sea.

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mangrove.

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This region is home to unique creatures, including the Amami rabbit.

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However, when you walk around Amami, there are things you can't understand just by looking at nature.

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The settlement is located very close to the forest.

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The fact that people live near the sea.

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I've always felt the changing seasons through plants, birds, and the wind.

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They have continued to create things using local materials and hold festivals to express gratitude for nature's bounty.

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Nature and human life have not always existed separately.

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The term used in Amami to understand this relationship is "environmental culture."

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What is "environmental culture"?

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The term "environmental culture" is not a dialect or traditional term that has existed in Amami since ancient times.

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The current concept of environmental culture used in Amami can be traced back to the "Yakushima Environmental Culture Village Concept" formulated by Kagoshima Prefecture in 1992. The idea presented there, which views the lifestyle and culture that people have developed over a long period of time while living in harmony with nature and obtaining sustenance from it, as well as the relationship between people and nature as an integrated whole, has since spread to community development. The Amami Oshima Biodiversity Regional Strategy for 2025-2034 also explains "environmental culture" based on this concept.

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Environmental culture is not simply a term that means preserving the way of life of the past exactly as it was.

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In Amami Oshima's regional strategy, the relationship between nature and people is viewed in the context of the historical environment, and it is positioned as an approach that balances protecting nature with enriching local life for the future.

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In other words,

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Nature.

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people.

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living.

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work.

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culture.

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history.

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Don't consider these things separately.

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That is the starting point for understanding environmental culture.

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Amami cannot be described by nature alone.

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Amami Oshima is an island with globally significant biodiversity.

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In 2021, Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, the northern part of Okinawa Island, and parts of Iriomote Island were registered as World Natural Heritage sites. The central value that led to their designation as World Heritage sites is the importance of biodiversity, including endemic and rare species that have uniquely evolved against the backdrop of the islands' formation.

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However, the charm of Amami Oshima cannot be explained solely by the variety of living creatures it boasts.

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The Amami Islands National Park, designated by the Ministry of the Environment in 2017, is classified as an "environmental and cultural" national park that preserves and passes on the value of landscapes and local characteristics born from the relationship between people and nature. The national park includes not only subtropical forests, mangroves, and coral reefs, but also settlement landscapes and cultural landscapes that demonstrate the relationship between people and nature.

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If World Natural Heritage sites are meant to teach us "why this natural environment is globally important," then

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Environmental culture is,

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"How have people lived in relation to nature?"

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This can be described as a way of thinking that focuses on that aspect.

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Human life exists between the forest and the sea.

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On Amami Oshima, the distance between forests and inhabited areas is short, and beyond that lies the sea.

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mountain.

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river.

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A settlement.

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field.

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sea.

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Although they may look separate on a map, they are connected within the island.

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Regarding the Amami Islands National Park, Kagoshima Prefecture cites the fact that human living areas are in close proximity to forests and marine areas on the islands, and that people's lives have been closely intertwined with nature. They explain that traces of this remain in the cultural landscape both inside and outside the settlements.

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The Amami Oshima World Heritage Center also showcases Amami's way of life, where "environmental culture" is deeply rooted, including a lifestyle that has benefited from the blessings of the mountains, rivers, and sea, stone walls made of coral, fishing methods, and Oshima Tsumugi silk.

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There are no people beyond nature.

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Nature exists right next to people's lives.

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Observing these overlaps leads to an understanding of Amami's environment and culture.

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Living things have been telling us about the changing seasons.

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In times when calendars and weather forecasts were not as readily available as they are today, people interpreted the changing seasons by observing the natural environment around them.

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The Ministry of the Environment's "Amami Islands National Park Environmental and Cultural Atlas" records examples of how the movements of living creatures and human life have become intertwined in Amami.

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The northeasterly wind "Miinish" blows at the beginning of autumn.

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Around that time, the Grey-faced Buzzards begin to arrive.

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There are also traditions that connect the sounds and migrations of birds with the changing seasons and the movements of creatures in rivers and the sea.

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Flowers bloom.

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A bird is coming.

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The wind direction is changing.

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The movements of fish and crabs change.

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These natural changes were not merely objects of observation.

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When will you harvest them?

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When will we head out to sea?

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When will the work be done?

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When will the festival be held?

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These practices have also become a guide in determining how we spend our time. The Ministry of the Environment is introducing these wisdoms and traditions for utilizing nature as part of Amami's unique environmental culture.

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Nature becomes the raw material, and human skill becomes the foundation.

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Environmental culture is not only expressed in landscapes and festivals.

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In Amami Oshima Tsumugi, a representative textile of Amami, one can also see the relationship between nature and people.

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In traditional Oshima Tsumugi silk weaving, the threads are dyed with a liquid extracted from boiled Rhaphiolepis indica, and then mud-dyed in muddy fields. The manufacturing process also utilizes a paste made from boiled Igisu seaweed. Amami City presents the Oshima Tsumugi process as a product of natural materials and the skills of many artisans.

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Research data from Kagoshima Prefecture also confirms that Rhaphiolepis indica is an important tree species used as a dyeing material for Oshima Tsumugi, a traditional industry of Amami Oshima.

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Plants found in the forest.

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Mud from the land.

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Something from the sea.

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The dyeing and weaving techniques that people have cultivated over time.

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Oshima Tsumugi cannot be created with just one of those elements alone.

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They have come to understand natural materials, interpreted their properties, and transformed them into human craftsmanship.

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There is an environmental culture to manufacturing as well.

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Festivals and prayers also retain a connection with nature.

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Many of Amami's annual events are linked to changes in nature and milestones in agricultural work.

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The third month festival of the lunar calendar.

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May Festival.

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The Obon festival (traditional Japanese Buddhist festival).

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Arasetsu.

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Fifteenth night.

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September 9th.

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The Ministry of the Environment's Environmental Culture Atlas also organizes seasonal changes in living things, the timing of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, and these festivals within the same annual calendar.

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We receive blessings from nature.

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Celebrate the harvest.

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To avoid disaster.

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Welcoming our ancestors.

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We pray for a bountiful harvest next year.

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If we view festivals solely as "traditional performing arts," we sometimes overlook their relationship with nature that lies behind them.

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Island songs and August dances are not cultures created solely by humans.

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In what season, in what place, and with what wishes were these rituals performed?

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When you look at it that way, you can see that festivals, too, are born from the environment and way of life of that region.

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World Natural Heritage sites and environmental culture are not the same thing.

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This is an area where we need to clarify things a bit in order to understand Amami.

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The main reason Amami Oshima was designated a World Natural Heritage site is its biodiversity. The registered World Natural Heritage area is not the entire island of Amami Oshima, but rather a specific land area that includes important natural environments.

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On the other hand, the concept of environmental culture is broader,

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forest.

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sea.

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Farmland.

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A settlement.

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industry.

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festival.

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faith.

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Manufacturing.

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And up to our current life,

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We try to view the relationship between nature and people as an integrated whole.

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Therefore, you don't have to go to the forests of the World Natural Heritage site to experience Amami's environment and culture.

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Stone walls of the settlement.

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field.

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table.

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A workshop for Oshima Tsumugi silk fabric.

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Port.

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Festival day.

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Traces of it can be found in our everyday lives.

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Not just protecting, but using it to connect to the future.

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The important thing about the concept of environmental culture is not to think of nature solely as "something that humans should never touch."

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Humans have historically obtained food and materials from nature.

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We have lived by utilizing the forests and the sea.

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On the other hand, if the way we use things changes, the natural environment will also change.

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Therefore, in present-day Amami,

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To protect.

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To use.

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Continuing to live in the local community.

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The key is how to balance those three things.

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The Amami Oshima Regional Biodiversity Strategy for 2025-2034 aims not only to conserve biodiversity, but also to sustainably utilize environmental culture, connect the wisdom and skills that have been cultivated in coexistence with nature to tourism and local life, and nurture human resources.

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Kagoshima Prefecture's "Amami Islands Nature Coexistence Plan" also uses the coexistence of people and nature as a guideline for community development, and promotes nature conservation, ecotourism, and regional branding in an integrated manner.

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Environmental culture is not just a term for reminiscing about the past.

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These words also serve as a guide for considering how people and nature will coexist in Amami in the future.

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A way for travelers to view "environmental culture"

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When you visit Amami Oshima, try looking at it from a slightly different perspective.

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When you look at the sea, you also look at the village behind it.

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When I look at a forest, I think about where the water flowing from it ends up.

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When I eat local cuisine, I think about where the ingredients come from.

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When I look at Oshima Tsumugi silk, I imagine plants, mud, and the craftsmanship of artisans beyond the colors.

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When you see a festival, try to understand why it is held during that particular season.

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When walking with a guide, try asking not only about the names of the creatures, but also about their relationship to humans.

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"It was a spectacular view."

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"I saw a rare creature."

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This will be a journey that doesn't end there.

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This is why Amami Islands National Park positions the relationship between people and nature itself as an experiential value.

If you'd like to learn about nature and culture through actual experiences, please also see " Learning about Nature and Culture Through Actual Experiences ."

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The essence of Amami lies in the relationship between nature and its people.

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Amami boasts natural beauty that the world can be proud of.

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However, from the perspective of environmental culture, what's truly interesting isn't just one of "nature" or "people."

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It's something in between.

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People take materials from the forest and create things.

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We receive blessings from the sea, and that's how we make our meals.

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We feel the changing seasons and look forward to the festival day.

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They create settlements adapted to the characteristics of the land and continue to live there.

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While utilizing nature, they have also sometimes expressed awe and gratitude towards it.

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That accumulation of experiences has shaped Amami's culture.

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Kagoshima University's Amami Environmental Culture Education Program views Amami as a place where "unique nature" has fostered "unique culture," and where "unique ways of life" have been practiced.

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Perhaps truly understanding Amami isn't about separately collecting its unique natural features and traditional culture.

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Within a single landscape,

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Natural area,

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There are people living there,

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There is a long time.

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Recognizing that connection.

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From there, we can see Amami's "environmental culture."