Kunigami (国頭郡, Kunigami-gun; Kunigami: Kunzan, Okinawan: Kunjan) is a district located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Roughly translated, kunigami means "head of the country", referring to its northern location on the island of Okinawa. Compare this to Shimajiri District, Okinawa.
As of 2020, the district has an estimated population of 62,257 and the density of 107.84 persons per km. The total area is 577.3 km.
Kunigami or Northern Okinawan (山原言葉, ヤンバルクトゥーバ, Yanbaru Kutūba) is a Ryukyuan language of Northern Okinawa Island in Kunigami District and city of Nago, otherwise known as the Yanbaru region, historically the territory of the kingdom of Hokuzan.
The Nakijin dialect is often considered representative of Kunigami, analogous to the Shuri-Naha dialect of Central Okinawan. The number of fluent native speakers of Kunigami is not known. As a result of Japanese language policy, the younger generation mostly speaks Japanese as their first language.
Kin (Japanese: 金武町, Hepburn: Kin-chō; Kunigami and Okinawan: Chin) is a town located in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
In 1 October 2020, the town had an estimated population of 10,806 and a density of 290 persons per km. The total area of Kin is 37.57 square kilometres (14.51 sq mi). 59% of the land area of Kin remains under control of the United States military, the highest percentage of any municipality in Okinawa Prefecture. The population of the town is concentrated on a strip of land on the coast of Kin Bay. Kin is home to Camp Hansen, a military base of the United States Marines, as well as other smaller military installations.
Yambaru (山原) is the Okinawan and Kunigami name given to the forested northern part of Okinawa Island in Japan. Spanning the northern villages of Higashi, Kunigami, and Ōgimi, Yambaru contains some of the last large surviving tracts of subtropical rainforest in Asia, with many endemic species of flora and fauna. Many southerners fled to the area for refuge during the Battle of Okinawa. In 2016, Yambaru National Park was established and the area was included in a submission for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Yambaru currently contains the 7,500 ha US Jungle Warfare Training Centre at Camp Gonsalves. As of 2010 there were twenty-two helipads in the training area with a further seven planned within two of the best preserved areas. Issues relating to the location of helipads delayed the designation as a National Park. Threatened by clearcutting and the removal of undergrowth, various endemic species are facing an imminent extinction crisis. The US Marine Corps has noted that 'to continue to perform realistic military training activities, these habitats must be maintained.'
Nakijin (今帰仁村, Nakijin-son; Kunigami: Nachizin, Okinawan: Nachijin, Northern Ryukyuan: いまきじり Imakijiri) is a village located in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 9,529 and a population density of 239.00 persons per km. The total area is 39.87 km.