THE TOKARA ISLANDS - Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands - page 63

This is the third inhabited island in the middle of Tokara's first group of islands. It's quite
small, only about 0.75 by 1.25 miles (1 by 2 kilometers), with an area of 0.08 square miles
(2.08 square kilometers) and a circumference of 4.5 miles (7 kilometers).
At the most recent count, 84 persons were said to live on Tairajima ( 平島 ; Taira-jima; lit.
“Flat Island”). They live in the only village which is located towards the center of the island.
It's less than a mile (1 kilometer) north of the port where there is not much more than the
dock. here are three minshuku in town and there is a public bath at the village community
center, Akahigé Onsen ( あかひげ温泉 ). It's named after a popular local bird, the “red beard.”
The island's high point is Mt On ( 御岳 ; On-také), which rises to 797 feet (243 meters). It
is claimed that Tairajima has a rich historical background and that a number of monuments
and historic places exist. But for most Western tourists, these are extremely obscure, lost in
translation and the mists of time. There are several massive gajyumaru (banyan) trees on the
island claimed to be over 1,000 years old.
DESE ( 出瀨 ; Desé). As small as Taira is, it's got a little sidekick. It's that large rock on the right-
hand side of the photo of Tairajima on page 44 . Its dimensions are approximately 410 by 740
feet (125 by 225 meters) and it's separated from the bottom of Tairajima by only 80 feet (25
meters) of water. The rock's name translates as “out of a sandbank in a stretch of water that is
visible at low tide.” That's quite a mouthful from two little Kanji characters, but they can do
that. Its context also has the meaning of something at the end of a cape.
A sign at the dock welcomes visitors to Tairajima.
6 SUWANOSEJIMA 諏訪之瀬島
The second largest island in the Tokara group by area, but one of the least populated,
Suwanose Island is roughly an oval with dimensions a little larger than 3 by 5 miles (5 by 8
kilometers). It's not quite 10.7 square miles (28 square kilometers) in area and has a circum-
ference of a bit more than 17 miles (27 kilometers). The population is 67. The island's high