Yonaguni

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For the breed of horse, see Yonaguni (horse).

Yonaguni

Yonaguni (与那国島, Yonaguni-shima^?), or ドゥナンチマ Dunan-chima in the local language, is the name of the westernmost island of Japan, as well as the language spoken there (see Yonaguni language). The native name for the island, Dunan, is cognate with the element Yona- in the Japanese name.

This island is best known for massive sunken rock and stone structures which surround the island. Divers also congregate on the island in winter due to the large population of hammerhead sharks found nearby.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Seabed structures
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Yonaguni lies 125 km from the east coast of Taiwan. The island has an area of 28.88 km², a population of 1723, an annual mean air temperature of 23.9° C;, and annual precipitation of 3000 mm. All islands are under jurisdiction of the town of Yonaguni, Yaeyama Gun, Okinawa and has three towns: Sonai, Kubura and Higawa. It was incorporated under the control of the Ryūkyū royal court in 1610.

[edit] History

Yonaguni was part of the continent until the last ice age. In the 12th century, it was incorporated to the Ryūkyū Kingdom until the 17th century and then incorporated into the Japanese han of Satsuma. By 1879, the island was formally incorporated into Japan. Until the early 20th century, Yonaguni was part of the larger Yaeyama village, which included the neighboring Yaeyama islands, but then became an independent village in 1948. From 1945 to 1972, it was occupied by the United States and was then returned to Japan to form a part of Okinawa Prefecture.

[edit] Seabed structures

Sunken structures

The seabed contains what appear to be ruins of a previous glacial age and traces of terrestrial flora, fauna and stalactites that form only on the surface. These seem to be ruins to some people. Were they to be man-made they would be among the oldest man made structures at some 3,000 to 10,000 years old.

The fame of Yonaguni island began in 1987, when a Japanese marine explorer, Kihachiro Aratake, by chance discovered a set of very singular seemingly architectonic structures allegedly belonging to an ancient civilization and previously unknown in archaeology and history. Shortly thereafter, a group of scientists directed by Masaaki Kimura (木村政昭), of the University of the Ryūkyūs, confirmed the existence of the vestiges. They appear, at least superficially, to be comparable to the pyramids of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Mexico, and Peru.

On May 4, 1998, a part of the island was destroyed by a submarine earthquake.

Several analyses indicated that a certain structure, which measured 120 m in length, 40 m wide and 20–25 m high, was 8000 years old. Were this to be man-made it would be much older than the first constructions of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China. This antiquity has created disagreement among historians and archaeologists since it goes against the accepted chronological history of humanity. Several noted writers, including John Anthony West and geologist Robert Schoch argue that under inspection, the "ruins" turn out to be largely explicable by ocean erosion and coral reef settlements. Professor Kimura still maintains that the structure is manmade however.

Most geologists familiar with the area also maintain that the structures are mere geologic processes of natural origin and consistent with other known geological formations. They point to the fact that local rocks above the surface have right angle cleavages, and that aquatic flora and fauna have simply smoothed out much of the surface of the rocks. Furthermore, no tools have been found at the site, which could positively identify human settlement.

At the time that it would have been constructed, the affected area of Yonaguni composed a land bridge between the islands of Taiwan, Ryūkyū, and Japan with Asia in the days of the ice age. The level of the sea was lower than at present because of the ice accumulated in the temperate zones. Geologist Teruaki Oshii suggests they have been constructed before the end of the glacial era.

In addition to scientific explanations, other esoteric theories are that Yonaguni was part of the legendary ancient civilizations of Mu (Lemuria), whose fate it shared with Atlantis or Thule, as an ancient advanced civilization which sank into the sea. Another theory is that the Yonaguni structures fit in with the claims made by some biblical creationists regarding the presence of advanced civilizations prior to a global catastrophe, resulting in the destruction of many such civilizations.