Information relating to the history of the island is rather scarce but is nevertheless interesting. We will be overviewing a broad spectrum from the first human traces, the origin of silk weaving and other cultures to exiles and their hardships, the Second World War bunkers on the island and their relation to the kamikazes, the nickname of Hawaii of Japan, and more. Sounds like something you were looking for? Read on, and contact us if you have something to add!
Table of Content
The Dawn of History
Izu Islands' Folk Hero: Minamoto no Tametomo
The Middle Ages
The Edo Period
The Exiles and Their Journey
The Edo Period Population
Post-Edo
Hachijojima & WWII
The Hawaii of Japan
The Dawn of History
In the old days, archaelogical societies considered Hachijojima to be an uninhabited island. This stance changed in the summer of 1962 when a student of Mihara Junior High School discovered a polished stone axe which prompted the start of a survey of the Yubama ruins. As a result, in 1964 earthenware and stone tools from the Jōmon period (around 14500~300 B.C.) were found. In 1977 followed a survey of the Kurawa ruins, near the same site in a now-abandoned hotel’s garden, and more things were discovered such as human bones, boar and dog bones, and other stone ornaments.
It is now known that the oldest historical record of human existence in Hachijojima traces back to at least 6500 years ago, however, people did not live on the island continuously; they either came and left, or simply passed away. The houses were built in good locations near a water source and the main food was fruits, potatoes, fish, shellfish, and birds. Also, it is thought that wild boars flourished at some time and people hunted them as numerous boar and dog bones were found at the Kurawa ruins.
It is fascinating to even consider how people managed to cross the Kuroshio Current and live in such an isolated island at the time. The current used to sometimes pass south of Hachijojima and it is thought that the first humans to come to the island might have used wooden canoes to cross the ocean.
Izu Islands' folk hero: Minamoto no Tametomo
At first Tametomo was exiled to Oshima in the Heian period (794-1185). However, according to one legend, he took control of both Hachijojima and Hachijo-Kojima islands where he was attacked by the enemies, so he fled and later killed himself in Hachijo-Kojima by committing seppuku (the act of slicing one's abdomen). He is said to have been the first samurai to do it. After committing seppuku he became a deity called Hachiro-daimyoujin and was believed by many to have the power to heal smallpox.
A relief of Minamoto no Tametomo was made by the command of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1602. This relief was brought to Edo (former Tokyo) four times where people of the city and the Tokugawa family prayed for their health.
Another legend states that while being in Oshima he sunk shogunate's ship with his bow thus his portrayal holding a bow.
The Middle Ages
There is not much data about the medieval history of Hachijo Island but it is possible to create a rough image using the excavated findings such as hardware and pottery.
The island first came under the control of the mainland in 1186 and was originally classified as a part of the Sagami-no-Kuni (the present Kanagawa Prefecture). At the end of Kamakura period (1185-1333) in the early 14th century Hachijojima was under the influence of the Kamakura shogunate and throughout the Nanbokucho period (1336-1392) people who managed to escape from the Ashikaga clan sailed across the ocean to the island. The first permanent placement of government officials here is thought to have occurred in 1338 when two envoys, Okuyama Iga and Kikuchi Jigoro, were dispatched by Ashikaga's vassal Uesugi Noriaki. (Fun fact: Okuyama and Kikuchi are among the top five most common family names on the island. Could the first official envoys have been the reason?)
During the Muromachi period (1336-1573) a samurai clan called Okuyama, which was under Uesugi clan’s control, a servant of Ashikaga clan, came to Hachijo Island. In the meanwhile, The Late Hojo clan, also known as Odawara Hojo which had no relations to the earlier 14th century Hojo clan, gradually grew in strength. Okuyama, Miura, and Hojo clans were fighting each other for power but in the end Odawara Hojo clan won in 1515 and as a result its agent Nagatoro clan became the local administrator of the island.
It is said that the Odawara Hojo clan's power rivaled that of the Tokugawa clan. However, Odawara Hojo’s control continued only till 1590 when it was destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Siege of Odawara (1590).
The rivalry among the clans for the island is said to have originated due to kihachijo silk products. According to word of mouth, during these periods powerful people in the mainland demanded quality silk, so the islanders had to weave intensively in order to meet their demands. As a result, the weaving culture became one of the dominant industries on the island.
The Edo Period
During the Edo period (1603-1868) Hachijojima became under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. In beginning of this period, local administrators and their deputies often came directly to the island but as time moved on local officials and village leaders started doing politics for the islanders.
It was common at the time to pay the land tax in rice, however, rice cultivation was not possible due to poor soil therefore the annual tax had to be paid by weaving silk. A lot of silk fabrics were woven in order to sustain daily life. To actually pay the tax they had to cross the strong Kuroshio Current and go to Edo city, and ships sailed only twice a year: once in spring, and once in autumn.
In 1606, Ukita Hideie was exiled to Hachijojima which marked the beginning of exiles' banishment to this island. In around 260 years, over 1800 people were exiled for various crimes, leading to the island's title as the island of exiles. It was also during this time that islanders were subjected to a number of natural disasters, famines, and plagues; life on Hachijo was bitter and harsh.
The exiles and their journey
Japan had exiles since the Nara period (8th century). Back then, most of them were being sent to the islands of Kyushu and Sea of Japan, and Izu peninsula. During the Edo period exiles were most commonly being sent to Sadogashima and Izu islands.
Having lost the battle of Sekigahara (1600) Ukita Hideie was the first person to be exiled to Hachijojima, and during the following 100 years after him a lot of political prisoners, priests, thought-criminals, etc. got banished to this island. It did not take long before the common folk who gambled or brawled got exiled as well. Many of the exiles were actually culturally educated and/or had various skills which had a big influence on the islanders' life; they were the mirror of this era. In total, nearly 2000 people got exiled to Hachijojima.
The following is a breakdown of the exiles sent to the island (Hachijo Toshi, 2000, p. 167-168):
Bushi/samurai (of various ranks) - 186
Retainers - 25
Lower-ranking samurai - 163
Servants - 117
Lordless samurai (ronin) - 33
Monks - 237
Farmers - 254
Craftsmen - 7
Merchants - 54
Women - 69 (2 were government officials)
Common folk - 196
Homeless - 462
Other - 74
The above amounts to 1877 exiles while according to Hachijojima (2005, p. 45-46) 1898 people were exiled. How so? One should note that the judgement was issued in Edo city but not everyone actually made it to the island. According to the same source 194 exiles died midway and only 1704 exiles made it to the island. However, the official collection of such data began only in 1681 and up until then the data was rarely recorded, so the whole picture is vague.
As the number of exiles increased, Tokugawa Shogunate started chartering ships through Miyake and Niijima Islands. Once in spring, and again once in autumn the ship would depart Edo from the Eitai Bridge near the mouth of the Sumida river where the last goodbyes between the exiles and their families would happen. After getting off at Miyake Island only after a few months would they continue their travel to Hachijojima.
The size of the ships was 50~80 tons and the exiles were usually put in small prisons (6 m. long, 2 m. wide and 1,5 m. high) during the travels. There were no engines at the time therefore ships relied heavily on the wind and arrived at either Yaene or Kaminato (Sokodo) port. Upon arrival exiles' place of living was decided by a lottery after which they would be told to live just as they pleased.
There was a great variety of lifestyles on the island. For example, one exile depended on the support from the mainland; another one was contributing to islanders’ livelihood with his knowledge and technology; others were just doing unskilled labor. The exiles are attributed to have introduced sweet potatoes, studying, silk and shochu (distilled liquor) production, and much more. In principle, the exiles were forbidden from marrying, but in reality many exiles lived together with local women and made their families. Those women were known as the mizukumi onna [water drawing women]. And while the higher-ups did not officially aknowledge the said wives, they were tolerant to the situation and there was no discrimination or disdain from the locals either.
The period of exile was not set. During the successful and good years for Tokugawa Shogunate, letters of pardon were rather frequent, however, there had been cases where the letters of pardon were delivered several years after the exile’s death. It goes without saying that not everyone was happy with their situation and there were numerous attemps to flee from Hachijojima with reasons usually being that either life on the island with limited food is unbearable or that the received sentence is unfair. At the end of the day, over 80 exiles attempted to escape but most of them failed; out of 18 attempts only one is thought to had been successful. As for pardons, over 700 people were granted remission and were allowed to return home (Hachijojima, 2005, p. 45-46). By the way, those who felt rebellious and committed crime on the island were sent further away to live in Hachijo-Kojima or Aogashima.
Fun fact: up until the 1980s a festival commemorating exiles was held annually on the island. It was known as Runin Matsuri (runin - exile, matsuri - festival). Costume parades, dancing, watching of fireworks, and many more fun festivities took place. It is unknown why did it come to an end, but the annual firework festival held in August is a remnant of the old Runin Matsuri.
The Edo period population
The population in Hachijojima was not being officially recorded for a long time. But luckily for us, the government would send provisions for those living here thus they required some sort of number to send an appropriate amount to those in need. As such, we can use that data to get an idea of the situation, but there were those who did not need provisions or, on the other hand, died due to shortage, so it only serves as a baseline and by no means represents the average population. Also, the numbers include everyone on Hachijo-Kojima, Aogashima, and Hachijojima.
The following data is a rough reflection of those days' population (year - number of people):
1701 - 3664
1729 - 5770
1753 - 4863
1766 - 6714
1774 - 5690*
1792 - 7071
1816 - 8312
1829 - 8650
1840 - 7826*
1858 - 8921
1860 - 9633
1868 - 9111*
The trend, while somewhat fluctuated, shows a steady increase. As for the * marked ones, official data exists so we can further specify:
In 1774, out of the above-mentioned 5690, Hachijojima had a population of 4770 (2518 women & 2252 men); 157 exiles. This leaves a shared population of 920 between Hachijo-Kojima and Aogashima.
In 1840, out of the above-mentioned 7826, Hachijojima had a population of 6619 (3785 women & 2834 men); 235 exiles. This leaves a shared population of 1207 between Hachijo-Kojima and Aogashima.
In 1868, out of the above-mentioned 9111, Hachijojima had a population of 8127 (4403 women & 3724 men); 218 exiles. This leaves a shared population of 984 between Hachijo-Kojima and Aogashima.
In spite of being rough and inconsistent, the data found in Hachijo Toshi (1973, p. 177-178) helps us grasp the situation of those times.
Post-Edo
After the Edo period, another 68 people were sentenced (10 died midway) to exile in Hachijojima during 1869-1871, however, with the change of the regime came a wave of remissions. In 1868, a highest number of letters of pardon reached the island amnestifying 120 exiles which was followed by the second-highest 99 letters of pardon in the following year of 1869. By the year of 1881 all remaining exiles bar one had been granted amnesty, and the last one died in 1884 closing the books on the exiles. Some returned to the mainland, but for some - Hachijo had become the new home.
The first elementary school on the island, and one of the first ones in Japan as well (!), opened in 1871 in Sueyoshi. In 1872, it was officially named Sueyoshi Elementary School, and at the same year a change took place in the system allowing everyone to enroll in a school.
Soon after, elementary schools started opening in other villages showing that education for the islanders was important. In 1874, Aogashima Elementary School, in 1875, Mitsune and Nakanogo Elementary schools, and in 1877, Kashitate and Okago Elementary schools opened providing education for everyone (Watashitachi no Hachijojima, 2017, p. 64).
In 1869, Hachijojima was placed under the jurisdiction of Sagami Prefecture (now Kanagawa Prefecture), bringing into being the villages of Mitsune, Okago, Kashitate, Nakanogo, and Sueyoshi on Hachijojima, and those of Utsuki and Toriuchi on Hachijo-Kojima. Over the next ten years various prefectures held sway over the island: Nirayama 1870; Ashigara 1871; Shizuoka 1876; and Tokyo [Jan. 11, 1878] under which jurisdiction it has since remained.
In 1908, the five villages of Hachijojima adopted the Islands, Towns, and Villages Municipal System, but Hachijo-Kojima was not affected and the village-headman system of government continued until promulgation of the Local Government Act in October 1947.
On Oct. 1, 1954, under the provisions of the Towns and Villages Amalgamation Act, the villages of Mitsune, Kashitate, Nakanogo, Sueyoshi, and Toriuchi were combined into the Village of Hachijo, which on April 1, 1955 was combined with the villages of Okago and Utsuki to create the present Town of Hachijo. By 1969, all remaining residents of Toriuchi and Utsuki from Hachijo-Kojima were relocated and the small island became uninhabited.
Hachijojima & WWII
Hachijojima did not evade the effects of the Second World War (WWII). A lot of locals were taken as soldiers while others were employed in different but still military affairs. It is estimated that more than 500 died as a result. Also, as the war grew more and more ominous evacuations started happening. Some 6500 people (women, children, and the elder) were evacuated hitting the lowest point in population since records began with a total of only 2515 residents at one point (Watashitachi no Hachijojima, 2017, p. 18). However, soon after the war Hachijojima saw an influx of returning residents, families, etc. and hit a highest record of 12,887 in 1950 which has been steadily decreasing since [currently 7176 residents as of 2020 May] due to limited land, career perspectives, and other reasons.
Education also took a hit, as the underlining subject of all studying shifted to the nourishment of zealousness towards the emperor and the country. Furthermore, from 1943 physical training had become an important part of the curriculum, as well as there had been an increase in numerous school events mostly directly relating to military affairs such as visits to shrines to pray for victory, seeing off of soldiers and funerals for the fallen ones, etc (Watashitachi no Hachijojima, 2017, p. 67). The school buildings were also taken by the army, so pupils had to borrow space in the bigger houses or study at the temples, however, more often the young male teachers themselves would be mobilized disrupting education from the roots.
In 1944, Saipan was taken control of by the U.S. forces and it was feared that Hachijojima would be next, so the island saw a deployment of around 16 thousand soldiers and the start of underground bunkers' construction, some of which are now empty but nevertheless accessible. The most eye-striking was the deployment of the Kaiten (manned torpedo) and Shin'yo (suicide motorboat) units, a part of the Japanese Special Attack Unit. It is probably best to mention the well-known kamikaze which was a different part of the same unit, but at the base level they all refer to the same thing - military pilots initiating suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan.
Nowadays, the original bunkers remain hidden throughout the island, but most have been subjected to looting and look like ordinary caves instead. The most apparent bunkers are probably the one near the Sokodo beach right by the river (google maps), or the one near the Osaka tunnel obversatory on the left before entering the tunnel/beside the newly built public toilet (google maps). Others remain hidden throughout the island and can still be accessed but due to the lack of landmarks, safety, and difficulty of pinpointing the entrances we will leave them be for now. As for the history, the war ended before the need to actually utilize the manned torpedoes and motorboats.
The Hawaii of Japan
Although Japan's economy after the war was in turmoil, it did not take long before the economy grew exponentially and the so-called Japanese economic miracle happened. As a result, many Japanese started looking for a holiday get-away but unlike now it was not easy to go abroad so the eyes fell on Hachijojima as the go-to-resort destination; it had become the Hawaii of Japan during the 70s and 80s. That, also with the introduction of a new aircraft and a ferry, the number of tourists skyrocketed from just around 10,000 in 1960 to around 50,000 in 1965, and reaching its peak in 1973 with 213932 visitors (Watashitachi no Hachijojima, 2017, p. 41). It was during these times that the now-abandoned hotels like Hachijo Royal Hotel, Hachijo Kokusai [international] Hotel, and Hachijo Onsen [hot spring] Hotel stood tall and flourished. Interestingly, though, the hot spring hotel closed not due to the decline of tourists that followed, as what happened with the other two, but because the hot spring's source had dried up and it was forced to close consequentelly.
As for the royal hotel, it was the biggest and one of the most luxurious ones in Japan at the time, but ever since the final closure in 2006, it has been abandoned with no access to the public. The movie Torikku Gekijoban 2 [Trick: The Movie 2] is one of the few ways how one can explore and see how the hotel had looked like before.
Safe travels!
Hachijojima101
Reference list:
Hachijo Toshi [The Records of Hachijo Island]. (2000). (4ᵗʰ ed.). Hachijo, Tokyo: Hachijo Town Board of Education.
Hachijojima Tansaku Gakushu Gaidobukku: Chosei Shiko 50 Shunen Kinenshi [Guidebook for Learning and Discovering Hachijojima: 50th Anniversary of the Hachijo Town Municipal Organization Enforcement]. (2005). Hachijo, Tokyo: Hachijo Town.
Watashitachi no Hachijojima [Our Hachijojima]. (2017). (10ᵗʰ ed.) Hachijo, Tokyo: Hachijo Town Board of Education.