Kumejima is a town located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The town consists of the islands of Kume, Ōjima, Ōhajima, Torishima, and Iōtorishima. Among the islands, only Kumejima and Ōjima are populated. Kumejima is located approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Naha. The town can be accessed by the New Kumejima Ferry, Japan Transocean Air, or Ryukyu Air Commuter. Kumejima Airport serves the island. As of 1 October 2020, the town had an estimated population of 7,192 and a population density of 110 inhabitants per square kilometre (280/sq mi). The total area is 63.50 km2 (24.52 sq mi).
Aerial view
Tatami ishi
The Okinawan language or Central Okinawan is a Northern Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima, Tonaki, Aguni and a number of smaller peripheral islands. Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language. Both languages are listed by UNESCO as endangered.
Sign in Okinawa Uno (a colonia in Bolivia), in Spanish and Okinawan: the text reads めんそ〜れ オキナワへ, Menso~re Okinawa-e.
The Tamaoton no Hinomon (玉陵の碑文), referred to as the Tamaudun no Hinomon in modern Japanese, is the oldest known inscription of Okinawan using both hiragana and kanji.
