UNESCO · Natural · 1993

Yakushima

屋久島やくしまYakushima

Ancient cedars on an island of mountains and rain

Yakushima is a round, mountainous island about 60 km south of Kyushu in Kagoshima Prefecture whose peaks rise to 1,936 m at Miyanoura-dake. Inscribed in 1993 as one of Japan's first natural World Heritage sites, it is known for its ancient Japanese cedars, the yakusugi, and for a compressed sequence of vegetation from subtropical coast to subalpine summit.

Inscribed 1993Criteria: vii, ixKagoshima

Overview

Yakushima is a granite island roughly 25 km across, pushed up from the sea floor, whose central mountains include the highest peaks in Kyushu. Warm, moist air from the Kuroshio current rises over them and falls as some of the heaviest rain in Japan — several thousand millimetres a year on the coast and far more in the mountains, giving rise to the saying that it rains thirty-five days a month.

Within a short distance the vegetation changes from subtropical banyan and coastal forest through warm-temperate evergreen broadleaf forest to cool-temperate conifer forest and, on the summits, dwarf bamboo and rhododendron. This vertical sequence, unmatched elsewhere in Japan, sits at the northern limit of many subtropical and the southern limit of many northern species.

The island's most famous inhabitants are the yakusugi, Japanese cedars more than 1,000 years old that grow slowly on nutrient-poor granite and are rich in resin. Many were felled from the 17th century onward for roof shingles; stumps and regrown forest record this history. The World Heritage property covers about a fifth of the island, mainly the central mountains and a corridor of forest down to the western coast, within Yakushima National Park.

Why it is World Heritage

Yakushima was inscribed under two natural criteria. Its forest of giant, ancient cedars, surrounded by moss-covered warm-temperate forest and backed by granite peaks, is a place of exceptional natural beauty (criterion vii).

The island is an outstanding example of ongoing ecological processes: its vertical sequence of vegetation, from the subtropical to the subalpine zone within less than 2,000 m of elevation, illustrates the plant geography of the region, and its forests are a remnant of the warm-temperate forest once widespread in East Asia (criterion ix).

Component sites

Jomon-sugi
縄文杉Jōmon-sugi
The largest known yakusugi, found in 1966 at about 1,300 m; its age is disputed, with estimates ranging from around 2,000 to over 7,000 years. A long day's walk from the Arakawa trailhead.
Wilson's Stump
ウィルソン株Uiruson-kabu
The hollow stump of a giant cedar felled in the late 16th century, named after the botanist Ernest Wilson, who surveyed it in 1914; from inside, the opening forms a heart shape.
Miyanoura-dake
宮之浦岳Miyanoura-dake
At 1,936 m the highest peak in Kyushu, crowned by granite tors and open dwarf-bamboo slopes; often climbed together with neighbouring Nagata-dake and Kuromi-dake.
Shiratani Unsuikyo
白谷雲水峡Shiratani Unsuikyō
A ravine of moss-covered forest, streams and old cedars on the north-east side of the island, adjacent to the property and within the national park; the most accessible place to see yakusugi forest.
Western forest corridor
西部林道Seibu Rindō
The only part of the property reaching the coast, where a narrow road passes through continuous forest from the shore to the mountains, home to Yakushima macaques and sika deer.

History

17th c.
The Satsuma domain begins large-scale felling of yakusugi, with shingles used to pay tax.
1914
Ernest Wilson surveys the great stump that now bears his name.
1924
The island's primeval forest is designated a Natural Monument.
1964
Yakushima becomes part of Kirishima-Yaku National Park.
1966
Discovery of the Jomon-sugi.
1993
Inscription on the World Heritage List together with Shirakami-Sanchi, Japan's first natural sites.
2012
Yakushima National Park is established as a separate park.

Visiting

Yakushima is reached by jetfoil or ferry from Kagoshima, or by air from Kagoshima and other cities; buses and rental cars circle the island on the coastal road.
The walk to the Jomon-sugi takes most of a day; during busy seasons access to the Arakawa trailhead is by shuttle bus only. Current arrangements are published by Yakushima town.
Rain can fall heavily at any time and rivers rise quickly; waterproof gear is essential, and mountain huts are unstaffed.
Trails in the mountains are protected: visitors keep to paths and boardwalks, carry out their waste and use designated toilets or portable toilet kits.

Frequently asked questions

How old is the Jomon-sugi?

Estimates vary widely, from about 2,000 years to more than 7,000. Because the core is hollow, the age cannot be counted directly.

What is a yakusugi?

A Japanese cedar growing on Yakushima that is over 1,000 years old; younger cedars on the island are called kosugi. Slow growth on granite makes the wood dense and resinous.

Is Yakushima the setting of Princess Mononoke?

The moss forests of Shiratani Unsuikyo are often cited as an inspiration for the forest in Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke.

When is the best time to visit Yakushima?

Spring and autumn offer milder weather. The rainy season in early summer brings the heaviest rain, typhoons can disrupt transport in late summer, and the peaks may be snow-covered in winter.

Sources

1.Yakushima (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
2.日本の世界自然遺産 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
3.屋久島国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省