Kikaijima
one of the Satsunan Islands
Kikaijima (Japanese: 喜界島; Amami: Kyaa; Okinawan: Cikai-zima) is one of the Satsunan Islands, classed with the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa.
The island, 56.93 square kilometres (21.98 sq mi) in area, has a population of approximately 7,657 people. Administratively the island forms the town of Kikai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Much of the island is within the borders of the Amami Guntō Quasi-National Park.
Name
The name Kikai is attested in Old and Middle Okinawan with the various phonemic kana spellings ききや, きゝや, きちゃ, きちや, ちちや, and ちちやァ, which may have been the antecedent of the Kikai name.
Geography
Kikaijima is isolated from the other Amami islands, and is located approximately 25 kilometres (13 nmi; 16 mi) east of Amami Ōshima and approximately 380 kilometres (210 nmi; 240 mi) south of the southern tip of Kyūshū. It is the easternmost island in the Amami chain. Compared with Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima, Kikaijima is a relatively flat island, with its highest point at 214 metres (702 ft) above sea level. It is a raised coral island with limestone cliffs, and draws the attention of geologists as it is one of the fastest rising coral islands in the world.
Climate
The climate of Kikaijima is classified as a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and mild winters.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q711507. VIAF identifies the subject as 255146886. Authority coordinates are 28.332, 129.983. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Kikaijima” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.