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BONIN ISLANDS

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Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 208 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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BONIN ISLANDS , called by the See also:

JAPANESE

Japanese 'OGASAWARA-JIMA, a See also:

CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

chain of small islands belonging to See also:

JAPAN

Japan, stretching nearly due See also:

north and See also:

south, a little See also:

east of 142 E., and from 26° 35' to 27° 45' N., about 500 M. from the mainland of Japan. They number twenty, according to Japanese investigations, and have a See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast-See also:

LINE

line of 174.65 M. and a superficies of 28.82 sq. m. Only ten of them have any appreciable See also:

SIZE

size, and these are named—commencing from the north—Muko-shima (Bridegroom See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

Island), Nakadachi-shima (Go-between Islands), Yome-shima (See also:

BRIDE (a common Teutonic word, e.g..Goth. bruths, O. Eng. bryd, O. H. Ger. prs2t, Mod. Ger. Bract, Dut. bruid, possibly derived from the root bru-, cook, brew; from the med. latinized form bruta, in the sense of daughter-in-law, is derived the Fr. bru)

Bride Island), Ototo-jima (Younger-See also:

BROTHER

brother Island), See also:

ANI (anc. Abnicum)

Ani-shima (See also:

Elder-brother Island), Chichi-jima (See also:

FATHER

Father Island), Haha-jima (See also:

MOTHER

Mother Island), Mei-jima (Niece Island), Ani-jima (Elder-See also:

SISTER

sister Island) and Imoto-jima (Younger-sister Island). See also:

EUROPEAN

European geographers have been accustomed to See also:

DIVIDE

divide the islands into three See also:

groups for purposes of nomenclature, calling the See also:

NORTHERN

northern See also:

GROUP

group the See also:

Parry Islands, the central the See also:

Beechey Islands and the See also:

SOUTHERN

southern the See also:

COFFIN (from Lat. cophinus, Gr. K64wos, a coffer, chest or basket, but never meaning " coffin " in its present sense)

Coffin or See also:

Bailey Islands. The second largest of all, Chichi-jima, in Japanese cartography was called See also:

Peel Island in 1827 by See also:

CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

Captain Beechey, and the same officer gave the name of Stapleton Island to the Ototo-jima of the Japanese, and that of See also:

Buckland Island to their Ani-jima. To See also:

COMPLETE

complete this See also:

account of Captain Beechey's nomenclature, it may be added that he called a large See also:

bay on the south of Peel Island See also:

Fitton Bay, and a bay on the south-See also:

west of Buckland Island See also:

Walker Bay? See also:

PORT

Port See also:

Lloyd, the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief anchorage (situated on Peel Island), is considered by See also:

COMMODORE (a form of " commander"; in the 17th century the term " commandore " is used)

Commodore Perry—who visited the islands in 1853 and strongly urged the See also:

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of a See also:

UNITED

United States coaling station there —to have been formerly the See also:

CRATER

crater of a See also:

VOLCANO

volcano from which the surrounding hills were thrown up, the entrance to the See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour being a fissure through which See also:

LAVA

lava used to pour into the See also:

sea. The islands are, indeed, plainly volcanic in their nature. See also:

HISTORY

History.—The diversity of nomenclature indicated above Referring to the Japanese See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom of employing a go-between to arrange a See also:

MARRIAGE

marriage. 2 These details are taken from The Bonin Islands by See also:

Russell See also:

Robertson, formerly H.B.M. See also:

consul in See also:

YOKOHAMA

Yokohama, who visited the islands in 1875.suggests that the ownership of the islands was for some See also:

time doubtful. According to Japanese See also:

ANNALS (Annales, from annus, a year)

annals they were discovered towards the See also:

close of the 16th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, and added to the See also:

FIEF

fief of a Daimyo, Ogasawa Sadayori, whence the name Ogasawarajima. They were also called Bonin Jima (corrupted by foreigners into Bonin) because of their being without (bu) inhabitants (nin).

Effective occupation did not take See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place, however, and communications with the islands ceased altogether in 1635, as was a natural consequence of the Japanese See also:

government's See also:

VETO (Lat. for " I forbid ")

veto against the construction of sea-going vessels. In 1728 fitful communication was restored by the then representative of the Ogasawara See also:

FAMILY

family, only to be again interrupted until 1861, when an unsuccessful See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt was made to establish a Japanese See also:

COLONY (Lat. colonia, from colonus, a cultivator)

colony at Port Lloyd. Meanwhile, Captain Beechey visited the islands in the " Blossom," assigned names to some of them, and published a description of their features. Next a small party consisting of two See also:

BRITISH

British subjects, two See also:

AMERICAN

American citizens, and a Dane, sailed from the See also:

Sandwich Islands for Port Lloyd in 183o, taking with them some Hawaiian natives. These colonists hoisted the British See also:

FLAG (or " FLAGGE," a common Teutonic word in this sense, but apparently first recorded in English)

flag on Peel Island (Chichi-jima), and settled there. When Commodore See also:

Perry arrived in 1853, there were on Peel Island See also:

THIRTY

thirty-one inhabitants, four being See also:

ENGLISH

English, four American, one Portuguese and the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest natives of the Sandwich Islands, the Ladrones, &c.; and when Mr Russell Robertson visited the place in 1875, the colony had grown to sixty-nine, of whom only five were pure whites. Mr Robertson found them without See also:

EDUCATION

education, without See also:

religion, without See also:

LAWS

laws and without any See also:

SYSTEM

system of government, but living comfortably on clearings of cultivated See also:

LAND

land. English was the See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language of the settlers, and they regarded themselves as a British colony. But in 1861 the British government renounced all claim to the islands in recognition of Japan's right of See also:

possession. There is now See also:

REGULAR

regular See also:

steam communication; the affairs of the islands are duly administered, and the See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population has grown to about 4500. There are no mountains of any considerable height in the Ogasawara Islands, but the scenery is hilly with occasional bold crags. The vegetation is almost tropically luxuriant—palms, See also:

WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild pineapples, and ferns growing profusely, and the valleys being filled with wild beans and patches of taro.

Mr Robertson catalogues a number of valuable timbers that are obtained there, among them being Tremana, See also:

CEDAR (Lat. cedrus, Gr. iapos)

cedar, See also:

rose-See also:

wood, See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron-wood (red and See also:

white), See also:

box-wood, See also:

SANDAL (from the Latinized form of Gr. vavb4Atov or vav&aAov: this probably represents the Persian sandal, slipper; it is not to be referred to Gr. stasis, board)

sandal and white See also:

OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak. The kekop See also:

tree, the See also:

orange, the See also:

LAUREL

laurel, the See also:

JUNIPER

juniper, the wild See also:

CACTUS

cactus, the See also:

CURRY

curry plant, wild See also:

SAGE, RUSSELL (1816-1906)

sage and See also:

CELERY (Apium graveolens)

celery flourish. No minerals have been discovered. The shores are covered with See also:

CORAL

coral; earthquakes and tidal waves are frequent, the latter not taking the See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of bores, but of a sudden steady rise and equally sudden fall in the level of the sea; the See also:

CLIMATE

climate is rather tropical than temperate, but sickness is almost unknown among the residents. (F.

End of Article: BONIN ISLANDS

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