Daito Islands
From World travel guide
The Daitō Islands (大東諸島 Daitō-rettō) are a tiny archipelago 360 km east of Okinawa Island, Japan.
Contents |
Islands
- Minamidaito — the southern main island, larger and slightly more populous
- Kitadaito — the northern main island, smaller in size and population
- Okidaito — also known as Rasa, once the most populated and most central of the islands, it was commandeered as a WW2 military base, it was recently deserted and is now practically uninhabited
Understand
Discrimination. Nowadays, the majority of people in the Daito Islands are the descendants of immigrants from Hachijo Island (in Tokyo Prefecture) from between about 1870 and 1930. However, there is a minority of indigenous inhabitants, and also more recent migrants from the Okinawan mainland. These people often claim that they are actively discriminated against by people of Hachijo heritage. Generally, the way that people can tell each others' heritage is that people of Hachijo heritage are of the "Seamen's race" and speak the Hachijo dialect, while people of Okinawan or indigenous heritage are of the "Austronesian race" and speak Okinawan, standard Japanese, or the peculiar near-extinct indigenous language.
Okidaito ("Open-sea Daito") was, prior to the expulsion of all civilian inhabitants for the construction of a military base, of a majority of indigenous Daito people and was the last stronghold of their language.
Talk
Most people understand standard Japanese. However, in casual conversation people will use their heritage dialect. For the majority this is the language of Hachijo, the only variety of Japanese descended from the "Eastern Dialect" of the Nara period (see the short phraselist at Kitadaito). For the minorities, namely Okinawan migrants and indigenous people, the native languages are Okinawan and Daitoic respectively, though due to the tri-heritage nature of the population Standard Japanese is gaining more currency, especially among the minorities. Some Okinawans and indigenes also speak the Hachijo speech.
Get in
Get around
See
Do
Eat
Drink
Stay safe
Get out
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