Life History of Migrants, Life Story of a Community

A Case Study of the Osumi-shoto Islands

Abstract

This paper analyzes the processes and effects of migration in a community based on an interview survey using a life-history methodology of persons who migrated to the Osumi-shoto Islands. The Osumi-shoto Islands were selected as a study area and include: Yakushima, which has seen a rise in the number of tourists after it was registered as a World Natural Heritage Site in 1993; Tanegashima, which has received nationwide attention as mecca for surfing in recent years; and Mishima-mura, which has seen a remarkable decrease in population and substantial efforts to reverse that trend in three small isolated islands (Take-shima/Iwo-jima/Kuro-shima).
The islands are near each other, but differ greatly, so I focus on the differences among migrants to each island. Though each migrant has his or her own history to tell, I was able to find some common characteristics.
(1) There are many people selecting these remote islands as a place to live after retirement. For example, in Yakushima, retirement migrants are attracted to the island because they are longing for nature and because of residential development by real estate agents. However, the retirement generation requires medical care and other facilities, and this problem has influenced migration patterns. In addition, local reception differs greatly in terms of how people enter the local community.
(2) Tanegashima is long and narrow from north to south, and it is a suitable environment for surfing because people can go to a beach in a short time and the wind blows from the east or west. "Surfer migrants", who came to live as a part of a life of surfing, are scattered throughout the island, and the migration processes are various. Because the local inhabitants have a negative image of the surfers, the latter have tried to overcome this negative image and to contribute to the community. There is a local non-profit organization which connects migrant surfers with local surfers and which helps strengthen relations with the local inhabitants.
(3) The number of tourists increased after Yakushima Island was registered as a World Natural Heritage Site. Among the managers of eco-tour guide businesses, more than two-thirds are migrants. In addition, most of the employees are migrants. They do migrate easily because they can find work and it becomes clear that there is a low possibility of migration if there is no employment.
(4) I found that each migration often triggers a chain movement of migration in families. How-ever, in the case of island migrants, it may be said that the freedom of migration is high. This paper is only a beginning since it is based on a limited sample. However, the method of analyzing migration though life-story interviews can elucidate the migration process and influence on the area. Life-story interviews provide a deeper insight into the motivations for and processes of migration than is possible through an analysis based on general statistics and questionnaire surveys. In attempting to analyze migration from a micro-viewpoint, life-story interviews that focus on the effects of migration on a small local community provide a broader view of migration as a social phenomenon. However, in analyzing such data, researchers need to pay attention to the problem of privacy.