Hachijō-jima

Hachijō-jima is about {{cvt|200|km|mi}} south of the Izu Peninsula{{cite encyclopedia |last=Frédéric |first=Louis |author-link=Louis Frédéric |encyclopedia=Japan Encyclopedia |title=Hachijō-shima |year=2002 |place=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |series=Harvard University Press Reference Library |isbn=0-674-00770-0 |lccn=2001052570 |page=273}} Translated by Käthe Roth.—or about {{cvt|287|km|mi}} south of Tokyo—in the Pacific Ocean.{{cite book |title=Sovereign and Subject |first=Richard |last=Ponsonby-Fane |author-link=Richard Ponsonby-Fane |page=332 |publisher=Ponsonby Memorial Society |year=1962}} The smaller island of Hachijō-kojima is {{cvt|7.5|km|mi}} northwest of Hachijō-jima, and can be seen from the top of Nishiyama. Mikura-jima about {{cvt|79|km|mi}} to the north and Aogashima about {{cvt|64|km|mi}} to the south. The island is within the boundaries of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Japan |title=Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park |url=http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |access-date=2012-08-13 |year=2012 |publisher=Shogakukan |location=Tokyo |oclc=56431036 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |archive-date=2007-08-25}}

The only municipality on the island is the town of Hachijō, which encompasses both Hachijō-jima and the neighbouring Hachijō-kojima, though no one lives on the latter.{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/gaiyo/gaiyou.html |script-title=ja:八丈町の概要 |trans-title=Overview of Hachijō |language=ja |publisher=Hachijō |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=8 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508194202/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/gaiyo/gaiyou.html |url-status=dead}} The town is divided into five areas: Mitsune (三根), Nakanogo (中之郷), Kashitate (樫立), Sueyoshi (末吉), and Ōkago (大賀郷).

The population of Hachijō-jima on 1 March 2018 was 7,522.{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/toukei-siryou/pdf/01_jinko.pdf |script-title=ja:人口 八丈町 |trans-title=Population of Hachijō |language=ja |year=2018 |publisher=Hachijō |access-date=18 March 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708202250/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/toukei-siryou/pdf/01_jinko.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2017}}

{{Japan prefectures population|code=13401|name=Hachijō-jima}}

{{Main|Hachijō language}}

The language spoken historically on Hachijō-jima is one of the most divergent forms of Japanese; it is the only surviving descendant of Eastern Old Japanese.{{cite book |last=Shibatani |first=Masayoshi |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |title=The Languages of Japan |page=207 |isbn=978-0-521-36918-3}} The number of speakers is not certain; it is on UNESCO's list of endangered languages,{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-1980.html |title=UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger - Hachijō |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=9 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709192750/http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap/language-id-1980.html |url-status=dead}} and is likely to be extinct by 2050 if counter-measures are not taken.{{cite book |last=Heinrich |first=Patrick |place=Bristol |publisher=Multilingual Matters |year=2012 |title=The Making of Monolingual Japan: Language Ideology and Japanese Modernity |page=139 |isbn=978-1-84769-659-5}}

File:Mycena chlorophos.jpg

The island is home to bioluminescent mushrooms, including Mycena lux-coeli—meaning "heavenly light mushrooms"—and Mycena chlorophos. M. lux-coeli are widely found and for decades were believed only to exist on the island. The local name for the mushrooms is hato-no-hi, literally "pigeon fire".{{cite news |last=Bird |first=Winifred |date=11 June 2008 |title=Luminescent mushrooms cast light on Japan's forest crisis |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/06/11/environment/luminescent-mushrooms-cast-light-on-japans-forest-crisis/ |work=The Japan Times |access-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414002508/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/06/11/environment/luminescent-mushrooms-cast-light-on-japans-forest-crisis/ |archive-date=14 April 2017}} Many different plants are native to the island, including the pygmy date palm, aloe, freesia, hydrangea, hibiscus, Oshima and Japanese cherry, and bird of paradise.{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/syasin_kan/syashin_kan.html |script-title=ja:風景 |trans-title=Scenery |language=ja |publisher=Hachijō |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303192002/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/syasin_kan/syashin_kan.html |url-status=dead}}

Since November 2015, humpback whales have been observed gathering around the island, far north from their known breeding areas in the Bonin Islands. All breeding activities except for giving births have been confirmed, and research is underway by the town of Hachijō and the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology to determine whether Hachijō-jima may become the northernmost breeding ground in the world, and possible expectations for opening a future tourism attraction.{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/info/?p=3072 |script-title=ja:八丈島ザトウクジラ調査について |trans-title=Regarding the Hachijō-jima Humpback Whale Survey |date=6 March 2018 |publisher=Town of Hachijō |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=4 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504100451/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/info/?p=3072 |language=ja |url-status=dead}} Whales can be viewed even from hot springs.{{cite web |url=https://www.diver-online.com/news/detail/id/3144/ |script-title=ja:八丈島に今年もザトウクジラがやってきた！ |date=23 March 2005 |access-date=8 March 2018 |language=ja |trans-title=This year too the whales came to Hachijō-jima! |archive-date=17 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917123712/https://www.diver-online.com/news/detail/id/3144/ |url-status=dead}} Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, likely (re)colonised from Mikura-jima, also live around the island,{{cite web |url=http://www.hachijo-vc.com/creature/archives/2013/04/post_925.php |script-title=ja:ミナミハンドウイルカ |language=ja |publisher=Hachijō-jima |date=2 April 2001 |trans-title=Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=17 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917124620/http://www.hachijo-vc.com/creature/archives/2013/04/post_925.php |url-status=dead}} among other cetaceans such as false killer whales,{{cite web |url=http://shoden.ddo.jp/~boogen-event/?p=218 |script-title=ja:オキゴンドウと接近遭遇 |date=31 August 2005 |language=ja |publisher=八丈島情報サイト Boogen |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=9 July 2019 |trans-title=Close encounters with false killer whales |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709002727/http://shoden.ddo.jp/~boogen-event/?p=218 |url-status=dead}} sperm whales,{{cite web |url=https://www.naturingnews.jp/?p=3451 |script-title=ja:【ツアー報告】アホウドリに会いたい！東京～八丈島航路 2016年3月26日～27日 |date=26 March 2016 |trans-title=Tour Report: I want to meet an albatross! Cruise from Tokyo to Hachijō-jima 26–27 March 2016 |language=ja |publisher=ネイチャリングニュース (Naturing News) |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=19 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519084858/https://www.naturingnews.jp/?p=3451 |url-status=dead}} and orcas (being sighted during humpback whale research in 2017).{{cite AV media |people=八丈島観光協会 |date=28 May 2015 |script-title=ja:クジラ襲うシャチを撮影 知床・羅臼沖、観光船長も興奮 |trans-title=Recording of a killer whale attack in the open sea while sightseeing near Shiretoko: The ship's captain too is excited |language=ja |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHWOA_gfacE |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408050307/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DkMDLCNk8Q&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=8 April 2018 |publisher=YouTube |url-status=dead}}

The waters around the island are important for the nourishment of green sea turtles,島田貴裕. 「八丈島周辺に生息するアオウミガメ」、亀田和成編、『日本のアオウミガメ』 (日本ウミガメ協議会, 2013), pp. 93–98. As cited in [http://www.env.go.jp/nature/biodic/kaiyo-hozen/kaiiki/engan/12401.html Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas Identified by Japan: 沿岸域 12401 八丈島周辺] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221214757/http://www.env.go.jp/nature/biodic/kaiyo-hozen/kaiiki/engan/12401.html |date=2017-02-21 }}, Ministry of the Environment, Japan. Retrieved 16 March 2018. as well as Hamatobiuo (a type of flying fish).{{cite web |url=http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=293564 |title=Cheilopogon pinnatibarbatus japonicus (Franz, 1910) |editor-first=R. |editor-last=Froese |editor2-first=D. |editor2-last=Pauly |access-date=14 March 2018 |publisher=World Register of Marine Species at Flanders Marine Institute |archive-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315223828/http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=293564 |url-status=dead}}

The Izu thrush makes its home on the island, as does the Japanese white-eye. The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it also supports populations of Japanese wood pigeons, Japanese murrelets, Pleske's grasshopper warblers and Ijima's leaf-warblers.{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/hachijojima-island-iba-japan |title=Hachijojima island |author= |date=2021 |website=BirdLife Data Zone |publisher=BirdLife International |access-date=26 January 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030081950/http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/hachijojima-island-iba-japan |url-status=live }}

Hachijō-jima has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/JP/47678.TXT |title=Hachijojima Climate Normals 1961–1990 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=5 January 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20130106095749/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/JP/47678.TXT |archive-date=6 January 2013}}

{{Weather box

|location = Hachijō-jima (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1906−present)

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|Jan record high C = 21.5

|Feb record high C = 21.9

|Mar record high C = 22.7

|Apr record high C = 26.3

|May record high C = 27.4

|Jun record high C = 30.4

|Jul record high C = 34.2

|Aug record high C = 34.8

|Sep record high C = 33.2

|Oct record high C = 31.0

|Nov record high C = 26.3

|Dec record high C = 24.6

|year record high C = 34.8

|Jan high C = 12.9

|Feb high C = 13.5

|Mar high C = 15.8

|Apr high C = 18.9

|May high C = 21.8

|Jun high C = 24.1

|Jul high C = 27.7

|Aug high C = 29.6

|Sep high C = 27.6

|Oct high C = 23.8

|Nov high C = 20.0

|Dec high C = 15.6

|year high C = 20.9

|Jan mean C = 10.1

|Feb mean C = 10.4

|Mar mean C = 12.5

|Apr mean C = 15.8

|May mean C = 18.8

|Jun mean C = 21.3

|Jul mean C = 25.2

|Aug mean C = 26.5

|Sep mean C = 24.5

|Oct mean C = 21.0

|Nov mean C = 16.9

|Dec mean C = 12.7

|year mean C = 18.0

|Jan low C = 7.6

|Feb low C = 7.5

|Mar low C = 9.3

|Apr low C = 12.9

|May low C = 16.2

|Jun low C = 19.4

|Jul low C = 23.3

|Aug low C = 24.3

|Sep low C = 22.3

|Oct low C = 18.7

|Nov low C = 14.2

|Dec low C = 9.9

|year low C = 15.5

|Jan record low C = -1.8

|Feb record low C = -2.0

|Mar record low C = 0.0

|Apr record low C = 4.5

|May record low C = 8.3

|Jun record low C = 11.5

|Jul record low C = 15.6

|Aug record low C = 16.7

|Sep record low C = 14.7

|Oct record low C = 10.4

|Nov record low C = 5.9

|Dec record low C = 0.3

|year record low C = -2.0

|precipitation colour=green

|Jan precipitation mm = 201.7

|Feb precipitation mm = 205.5

|Mar precipitation mm = 296.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 215.2

|May precipitation mm = 256.7

|Jun precipitation mm = 390.3

|Jul precipitation mm = 254.1

|Aug precipitation mm = 169.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 360.5

|Oct precipitation mm = 479.1

|Nov precipitation mm = 277.4

|Dec precipitation mm = 200.2

|year precipitation mm =

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days=14.1

|Feb precipitation days=13.7

|Mar precipitation days=16.3

|Apr precipitation days=12.9

|May precipitation days=12.7

|Jun precipitation days=15.3

|Jul precipitation days=10.5

|Aug precipitation days=10.8

|Sep precipitation days=15.0

|Oct precipitation days=16.5

|Nov precipitation days=14.0

|Dec precipitation days=14.3

|Jan humidity = 68

|Feb humidity = 69

|Mar humidity = 71

|Apr humidity = 77

|May humidity = 84

|Jun humidity = 91

|Jul humidity = 92

|Aug humidity = 87

|Sep humidity = 86

|Oct humidity = 82

|Nov humidity = 74

|Dec humidity = 69

|year humidity = 79

|Jan sun = 84.9

|Feb sun = 87.8

|Mar sun = 124.5

|Apr sun = 139.4

|May sun = 148.5

|Jun sun = 87.1

|Jul sun = 137.3

|Aug sun = 185.9

|Sep sun = 139.6

|Oct sun = 107.1

|Nov sun = 102.6

|Dec sun = 100.4

|year sun =

|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency{{cite web |url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_s.php?prec_no=44&block_no=47678&year=&month=&day=&view= |script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値） |publisher=JMA |access-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217132429/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_s.php?prec_no=44&block_no=47678&year=&month=&day=&view= |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=44&block_no=47678&year=&month=&day=&view= |script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値） |publisher=JMA |access-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217132430/https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=44&block_no=47678&year=&month=&day=&view= |url-status=live }}}}

{{Graph:Weather monthly history

| table=Ncei.noaa.gov/weather/Hachijō-jima.tab

| title=Hachijō-jima temperature

}}

File:Landsat Hachijojima Island.jpg (left)]]

File:Hachijojima & Hachijokojima Relief Map, SRTM-1.jpg

Hachijō-jima is a compound volcanic island that is {{convert|14.5|km|abbr=off|0}} in length with a maximum width of {{convert|8|km|abbr=off|0}}. The island is formed from two stratovolcanoes.{{cite web |url=https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/hachijo-jima.html |title=Hachijo-jima volcano |publisher=VolcanoDiscovery.com |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819182905/https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/hachijo-jima.html |url-status=dead}} {{nihongo|Higashi-yama|東山||}}—also called {{nihongo| Mihara-yama|三原山||}}—has a height of {{cvt|701|m}} and was active from 100,000 BC to around 1700 BC. It has eroded flanks and retains a distinctive caldera.{{cite web |url=http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/321_Hachijojima/321_index.html |title=八丈島 Hachijojima |language=ja |publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=20 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020132152/http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/321_Hachijojima/321_index.html |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/kankou_spot/nakanogo.html#18 |script-title=ja:中之郷 - 18 三原山 |trans-title=Nakanogō: 18 Mihara-yama |language=ja |publisher=Hachijō |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133604/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/kankou_spot/nakanogo.html#18 |url-status=dead}}

File:Inside Nishi-yama caldera.jpg

{{nihongo|Nishi-yama|西山||}}—also called {{nihongo|Hachijō-fuji|八丈富士||}}—has a height of {{cvt|854.3|m}}. It is the highest point on the island and the tallest peak in the Izu island chain.{{cite book |last1=Ōtake |first1=Mioko |last2=Nakamura |first2=Mitsuo |title=Yama no Namaette Omoshiroi! |script-title=ja:山の名前っておもしろい！ |language=ja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FghADQAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Jitsugyō no Nihonsha |page=109 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327183312/https://books.google.com/books?id=FghADQAAQBAJ |archive-date=2018-03-27}}{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/kankou_spot/mitsune.html#01 |script-title=ja:三根 3 八丈富士 |trans-title=Mitsune: 3 Hachijō-fuji |language=ja |publisher=Hachijō |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133938/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/kankou_spot/mitsune.html#01 |url-status=dead}} The summit is occupied by a shallow caldera with a diameter of {{convert|400|m|abbr=off}} and a depth of around {{convert|50|m|abbr=off}}. It is rated as a Class-C active volcano{{cite web |url=http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/books/kenshin/vol71p043.pdf |page=51 |author1=林豊 |author2=宇平幸一 |script-title=ja:活火山カタログの改訂と火山活動度による活火山の分類（ランク分け）について |trans-title=The Revised List of Active Volcanoes in Japan and Classification (Ranking) of the Volcanoes Based on their Past 10,000 years of Activity |publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency |date=17 April 2007 |language=ja |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=10 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410045817/http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/books/kenshin/vol71p043.pdf |url-status=dead}} by the Japan Meteorological Agency with recent eruptions recorded in 1487, 1518–1523, and 1605, with seismic activity as recently as 2002.{{cite web |url=http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/321_Hachijojima/321_history.html |script-title=ja:八丈島 有史以降の火山活動 |trans-title=Hachijō-jima Historically Recorded Volcanic Activity |language=ja |publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315195915/http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/321_Hachijojima/321_history.html |url-status=dead}} Between these two peaks are over 20 flank volcanoes and pyroclastic cones.

Hachijō-jima has been inhabited since at least the Jōmon period, and archaeologists have found magatama and other remains.{{cite book |last=Naumann |first=Nelly |place=Wiesbaden |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=2000 |title=Japanese Prehistory: The Material and Spiritual Culture of the Jōmon Period |page=54 |isbn=978-3-447-04329-8}} Under the Ritsuryō system of the early Nara period, the island was part of Suruga Province. It was transferred to Izu Province when Izu separated from Suruga in 680. During the Heian period, Minamoto no Tametomo was banished to Izu Ōshima after a failed rebellion, but per a semi-legendary story, escaped to Hachijō-jima, where he attempted to establish an independent kingdom.{{cite book |last1=Onuma |first1=Hideharu |last2=DeProspero |first2=Dan |last3=DeProspero |first3=Jackie |place=Tokyo |publisher=Kodansha International |year=1993 |title=Kyudo: The Essence and Practice of Japanese Archery |page=[https://archive.org/details/kyudoessenceprac00onum_0/page/14 14] |isbn=978-4-7700-1734-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/kyudoessenceprac00onum_0/page/14}}

During the Edo period, the island became known as a place of exile for convicts, most notably Ukita Hideie,{{cite book |last1=Murdoch |last2=Yamagata |first1=James |first2=Isoh |title=A History of Japan |page=432 |place=London |publisher=Routledge |orig-year=first pub. 1903 |date=1996 |isbn=978-0-415-15076-7}} a daimyō who was defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara. Originally the island was a place of exile mainly for political figures, but beginning in 1704 the criteria for banishment were broadened. Crimes punishable by banishment included murder, theft, arson, brawling, gambling, fraud, jailbreak, rape, and membership of an outlawed religious group. Criminals exiled to the island were never told the length of their sentences, and the history of the island is filled with foiled escape attempts. Its use as a prison island ended during the Meiji Restoration: after a general amnesty in 1868 most of the island's residents chose to move to the mainland; however, the policy of banishment was not officially abolished until 1881.{{cite magazine |date=5 June 2007 |title=Getting to Know Hachijo |url=http://www.japanzine.jp/article/jz/1109/getting-to-know-hachijo |magazine=Japanzine |location=Japan |publisher=Carter Witt Media |access-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413235608/http://www.japanzine.jp/article/jz/1109/getting-to-know-hachijo |archive-date=13 April 2017}}

Former U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant visited the island during his 1877 world tour. The island's residents were aware of his exploits in the American Civil War and gave him a jubilant welcome. He was ceremonially adopted by the village chief, being given the name {{lang|ja|Yūtarotaishō}}; meaning "courageous general" in the local dialect, and was presented with prayer beads made with pearls and gemstones. He declared that the island's residents were the "friendliest people in the Pacific".{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Jean Edward |title=Grant |place=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |date=2001 |page=588 |isbn=0-684-84926-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/grant00smit/page/588 |url-access=registration}}{{Failed verification|date=November 2021}}

In 1900, pioneers from Hachijō became the first inhabitants of the Daitō Islands, where they established a sugarcane farming industry. The Hachijō language is still spoken on the islands to this day.{{cite journal |last1=Hayward |first1=Philip |last2=Long |first2=Daniel |date=2013 |url=https://www.academia.edu/12497909 |title=Language, music and cultural consolidation on Minami Daito |journal=Perfect Beat |volume=14 |pages=7–32 |doi=10.1558/prbt.v14i1.7 |issn=1836-0343 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327183314/http://www.academia.edu/12497909/Language_music_and_cultural_consolidation_on_Minami_Daito |archive-date=2018-03-27}}

File:Kaiten Type 1 on display at the Yūshūkan in October 2008.JPG]]

During World War II, the island was regarded as a strategic point in the defense of the ocean approaches to Tokyo; and in the final stages of the war, a base of operations for the Kaiten suicide submarines was founded on the southern coast.{{cite book |last=Hastings |first=Max |place=New York |publisher=Knopf |year=2008 |title=Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45 |url=https://archive.org/details/retributionbattl00hast |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/retributionbattl00hast/page/441 441] |isbn=978-0-307-27536-3}} From the end of the war through the 1960s, the government made attempts to promote Hachijō-jima as the "Hawaii of Japan" to encourage tourist development,"[http://ridgelineimages.com/haikyo/unravelling-of-the-hachijo-royal-hotel/ The Rise and Unravelling of the Hachijo Royal Hotel] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316152533/http://ridgelineimages.com/haikyo/unravelling-of-the-hachijo-royal-hotel/ |date=2018-03-16 }}", Ridgeline Images, 17 April 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2018. and tourism remains a large component of the island's economy.

There is a small mystery regarding the history of Hachijō-jima, of potential significance to the history of women's rights. Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, a well known autobiographer from the early 20th century, states in [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/395534.A_Daughter_of_the_Samurai A Daughter Of The Samurai] that the island was commonly known in Japan during her childhood for being a place where standard gender roles were reversed; women did heavy field work and "made laws", and men tended the home and children. The mystery is that no other source mentions this. A brief quote to illustrate the significance of the information:

:'We have a whole island where women do men's work from planting rice to making laws.'

:'What do the men do?'

:'Cook, keep house, take care of the children, and do the family washing.'

:'You don't mean it!' exclaimed Miss Helen, and she sat down again.

:But I did mean it, and I told her of Hachijo, a little island about a hundred miles off the coast of Japan, where the women, tall, handsome, and straight, with their splendid hair coiled in an odd knot on the top of the head, and wearing long, loose gowns bound by a narrow sash tied in front, work in the rice fields, make oil from camellia seeds, spin and weave a peculiar yellow silk, which they carry in bundles on their heads over the mountains, at the same time driving tiny oxen, not much larger than dogs, also laden with rolls of silk to be sent to the mainland to be sold. And in addition to all this, they make some of the best laws we have, and see that they are properly carried out. In the meantime, the older men of the community, with babies strapped to their backs, go on errands or stand on the street gossiping and swaying to a sing-song lullaby; and the younger ones wash sweet potatoes, cut vegetables, and cook dinner; or, in big aprons, and with sleeves looped back, splash, rub, and wring out clothes at the edge of a stream.{{Cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/385036-a-daughter-of-the-samurai |title=A Daughter of the Samurai |last=Inagaki Sugimoto |first=Etsu |website=www.goodreads.com |access-date=2019-03-09}} LCC Card No 66-15849, pp 202–203

Hachijō-jima is accessible both by aircraft and by ferry. In 2010 a pedestrian ferry would leave Tōkyō once every day at 10:30 pm, and arrive at Hachijō-jima at 8:50 am the following day. Air travel to Hachijojima Airport takes 45 minutes from Tōkyō International Airport (Haneda).{{cite magazine |date=Feb 2010 |title=Hachijo-jima – Floral Paradise |url=http://www.hiraganatimes.com/past-articles/travel/702/ |magazine=Hiragana Times |location=Japan |access-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414001346/http://www.hiraganatimes.com/past-articles/travel/702/ |archive-date=14 April 2017}} In 2000, there were three metropolitan roads on Hachijō-jima: 215 (formally, 東京都道215号八丈循環線),[http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/honkyoku/road/census/h17/PDF/KY_13000.pdf 平成17年度道路交通センサス 一般交通量調査 休日調査表] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124014211/http://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/honkyoku/road/census/h17/PDF/KY_13000.pdf |date=2013-01-24 }} (PDF), 2000; page 6. Retrieved 16 March 2018.[http://www1.gsi.go.jp/geowww/Volcano/download/vbm39/vbm39-02a-2018.pdf 八丈島 II] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316152318/http://www1.gsi.go.jp/geowww/Volcano/download/vbm39/vbm39-02a-2018.pdf |date=2018-03-16 }}, Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Retrieved 16 March 2018. 216 (都道216号神湊八重根港線, 8.3 km),[http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-hyouka/17sai/ht06k.pdf 再評価結果（平成18年度事業継続箇所 一般都道神湊八重根港線（大] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202143932/http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-hyouka/17sai/ht06k.pdf |date=2013-02-02 }} (PDF), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Retrieved 16 March 2018. and 217 (東京都道217号汐間洞輪沢港線).

The island is home to the Hachijo Royal Resort, a now-abandoned French baroque-style luxury hotel that was built during the tourism boom of the 1960s. When the hotel was built in 1963 it was one of the largest in Japan, and attracted visitors from all over the country. The hotel was finally closed in 2006 due to declining tourism to the island. As of April 2016, the grounds were overgrown and the building severely dilapidated.Anika Burgess, "[https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/abandoned-hotels-japan Japan's Abandoned Hotels Are Being Reclaimed by Nature] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128120240/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/abandoned-hotels-japan |date=2018-01-28 }}", Atlas Obscura, 6 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018.

The {{nihongo|Hachijō-jima History and Folk Museum|八丈島歴史民俗資料館|Hachijō-jima Rekishi Minzoku Shiryōkan}} contains displays covering the history of the island, local industries, as well as the animals and plants found on and around the island.{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/kankou_spot/okago.html#09 |script-title=ja:大賀郷 9 八丈島歴史民俗資料館 |trans-title=Okago: 9 Hachijō-jima History and Folk Museum |language=ja |publisher=Hachijō |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315134158/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/kankou_spot/okago.html#09 |url-status=dead}} The {{nihongo|Hachijō Botanical Park|八丈植物公園|Hachijō Shokubutsu Kōen}} is a botanical and animal park next to the Hachijojima Visitors Center.

In 2005, accommodation on Hachijō-jima was plentiful, with many Japanese-style inns, hot spring resorts, campsites, and several larger hotels.{{cite magazine |date=17 June 2005 |title=Hachijojima: Island bliss not far from home |url=http://www.tokyoweekender.com/2005/06/hachijojima-island-bliss-not-far-from-home/ |magazine=Tokyo Weekender |access-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413235122/http://www.tokyoweekender.com/2005/06/hachijojima-island-bliss-not-far-from-home/ |archive-date=13 April 2017}} Hachijō-jima is popular with surfers, with three reef breaks and consistently warmer water than mainland Japan because of the Kuroshio Current. Because Hachijō-jima is a volcanic island, there are several black sandy beaches, including one next to the main harbour of Sokodo.

Hachijō-jima's scuba diving points were regarded in 2008 as many and varied, and as including one of the top five diving spots in Japan.{{cite magazine |last=Noorbakhsh |first=Sarah |date=3 July 2008 |url=http://www.japaninc.com/mgz_july_2008_scuba-diving-hachijo-jima |title=Tokyo's Secret Scuba |magazine=Japan Inc. |access-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414083158/http://www.japaninc.com/mgz_july_2008_scuba-diving-hachijo-jima |archive-date=14 April 2017}}

Hachijō-jima is known for its hiking trails, waterfalls, and natural environment. Other activities for visitors include visiting the Botanical Park, exploring wartime tunnels, and hiking to the top of Hachijō-fuji.{{cite web |url=http://www.japanvisitor.com/tokyo/hachijo |title=Hachijo Island |publisher=JapanVisitor.com |access-date=8 March 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516155015/http://www.japanvisitor.com/tokyo/hachijo |archive-date=16 May 2017}}

Kihachijō, a naturally yellow silk fabric, is woven on the island. One of the workshops is open to tourists. The Tokyo Electric Power Company operates a free museum at its geothermal power plant.{{cite web |url=http://www.geothermal-hachijo.com/brochure_e.pdf |title=Hachijo-town |access-date=8 March 2018 |publisher=Hachijo Island Geothermal Energy Museum |date=30 July 2016 |archive-date=19 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119133406/http://geothermal-hachijo.com/brochure_e.pdf |url-status=dead}}

File:HachijyoCity ShimaZushi.JPG

Hachijō-jima is famous both for its sushi—known locally as shimazushi—and for its kusaya (a dried and fermented version of hamatobiuo).{{cite news |last=Kendall |first=Philip |date=17 September 2012 |title=Just 45 minutes from Haneda Airport: 6 things that make Hachijo-jima a hidden gem |url=https://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/just-45-minutes-from-haneda-airport-6-things-that-make-hachijo-jima-a-hidden-gem |work=Japan Today |access-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413235241/https://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/just-45-minutes-from-haneda-airport-6-things-that-make-hachijo-jima-a-hidden-gem |archive-date=13 April 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/toukei-siryou/pdf/hachijo2015.pdf |script-title=ja:はちじょう 2015 |trans-title=Hachijō 2015 |language=ja |date=2015 |page=4 |publisher=Hachijō |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-date=31 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231235646/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/toukei-siryou/pdf/hachijo2015.pdf |url-status=dead}} As well as being served with sake, the latter is used in many different recipes.{{cite web |url=http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/tokusyuu/kyoudo_ryouri/html/ashitaba1/ahitaba.html |script-title=ja:あしたば |trans-title=Ashitaba |access-date=14 March 2018 |language=ja |publisher=Hachijō |archive-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702053442/http://www.town.hachijo.tokyo.jp/tokusyuu/kyoudo_ryouri/html/ashitaba1/ahitaba.html |url-status=dead}}

Local cuisine also makes use of the ashitaba plant in dishes such as ashitaba soba and tempura.

File:Noboryou pass Hachijojima 2007-03-16.jpg|Mt Hachijō-Fuji and Hachijō-Kojima island seen from the Noboryō Pass

File:Hachijojima tamaishigaki 2007-03-20.jpg|Tamaishigaki: walls built by convicts exiled on Hachijō-jima in the Edo Period

File:Hachijojima karadaki 2007-03-16.jpg|The Karataki waterfall, in the hills around Mt. Mihara

File:Hachijo taiko 2007-03-21.jpg|Taiko drummers wearing kimono made from kihachijō cloth

File:Hachijojima freesia festival 2007-03-21.jpg|Freesia Festival

File:Hachijojima aloe 2007-03-20.jpg|Aloe growing on Mt. Hachijō-Fuji

File:Hachijojima.JPG|Hachijō-jima view

File:Hachijojima Kurosuna.JPG|View from the top of the rock at Kurosuna, Hachijō

{{Portal|Tokyo}}

• Runin: Banished, a 2004 film about convicts exiled to Hachijō-jima and their attempts to escape
• Battle Royale, a 2000 film filmed on the neighbouring, uninhabited, Hachijō Kojima, although not set on the island
• List of islands of Japan

{{Reflist|22em}}

• Tsune Sugimura; Shigeo Kasai. Hachijo: Isle of Exile. New York: Weatherhill, 1973. {{ISBN|978-0-8348-0081-6}}
• Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan. Tokyo: Teikoku-Shoin, 1990. {{ISBN|4-8071-0004-1}}

{{Commons category|Hachijojima}}

• [http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/321_Hachijojima/321_index.html Hachijojima] – Japan Meteorological Agency {{in lang|ja}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/STOCK/souran_eng/volcanoes/064_hachijojima.pdf |title=Hachijojima: National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan |publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency}}
• [https://gbank.gsj.jp/volcano/Quat_Vol/volcano_data/G11.html Hachijo Jima Volcano Group] – Geological Survey of Japan
• {{cite gvp |name=Hachijojima |vn=284050 |access-date=2021-06-25}}

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