Culture
As a part of Ryukyu cultural sphere, Amami culture is closer to that of Okinawa Prefecture than to that of Mainland Kagoshima. However, the islands' history is different from Okinawa as well. Okinawa, including Sakishima, had strong cultural influences from China, whereas Amami was affected more by Mainland Japan. Because of this, the Amami people themselves believe their culture is distinct from that of Okinawa. The mainland Amami people treat the area between Kikai, Amami Ōshima, and Tokunoshima as the part of their own cultural sphere.
On the other hand, Yoron Islanders, just 22 km away from Mainland Okinawa, have much closer culture ties to Okinawa.
Read more about this topic: Amami Islands
Famous quotes containing the word culture:
“There is something terribly wrong with a culture inebriated by noise and gregariousness.”
—George Steiner (b. 1929)
“Both cultures encourage innovation and experimentation, but are likely to reject the innovator if his innovation is not accepted by audiences. High culture experiments that are rejected by audiences in the creator’s lifetime may, however, become classics in another era, whereas popular culture experiments are forgotten if not immediately successful. Even so, in both cultures innovation is rare, although in high culture it is celebrated and in popular culture it is taken for granted.”
—Herbert J. Gans (b. 1927)