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Ed Johnson | profile | all galleries >> Miyako Jima tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Miyako Jima

Miyako Jima - 1958-1959

Miyako Jima is an island in the East China Sea at the southern end of the Ryukyu group. It is a generally flat roughly triangular island about 9 by 15 miles (14X24 kilometeres) across. It is a tropical island with beautiful beaches, lush vegitation, and a warm tropical climate. The main subsistance for the people was fishing and raising sugar cane and sweet potatos. The population of the island was at that time about 40,000, of which over half lived in the city of Hirara. The culture of the people was similar to that of rural Japan about 100 years eariler.

At the oppisite side of the island from the city of Hirara was the village of Bora, population about 700. I lived about a half mile from Bora.

This gallery contains photographs that I took during my year and a half on the island, from 1958 to 1959.
Sunset1.jpg
Sunset1.jpg
Bora house
Bora house
Workers.jpg
Workers.jpg
Cliff - tunnel
Cliff - tunnel
Inter Island Ferry
Inter Island Ferry
Children in Bora
Children in Bora
Typhoon Damaged Building - Hirara
Typhoon Damaged Building - Hirara
Hirara Boatyard
Hirara Boatyard
Hirara Dock
Hirara Dock
Kite Flying
Kite Flying
Hirara Street
Hirara Street
Huey and me
Huey and me
Leper Colony
Leper Colony
Leper Colony
Leper Colony
Little girls - lillies
Little girls - lillies
Kids
Kids
Horse plowing
Horse plowing
Boats in lagoon
Boats in lagoon
Island Sentinel
Island Sentinel
 Long point
Long point
Northeast Bay
Northeast Bay
Going to Work
Going to Work
Boat
Boat
Rice paddies - Kume-Shima
Rice paddies - Kume-Shima
Rice Paddies - Kume Shima
Rice Paddies - Kume Shima
Lagoon  Bridge
Lagoon Bridge
My Beach
My Beach
More Boats
More Boats
Miyako Boy
Miyako Boy
Cliff
Cliff
Tori
Tori
Long Point.jpg
Long Point.jpg
Quiet Lagoon1
Quiet Lagoon1
Rocks.jpg
Rocks.jpg
Village on Southwest Side.jpg
Village on Southwest Side.jpg
Huey and the Goats
Huey and the Goats
Huey
Huey
Goat
Goat