This report reconstructs the practice of amami rabbit（Pentalagus furnessi）breeding at Yamato Elementary and Junior High School （Yamato School） in Yamato Village, Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, based on breeding records, other written records and interviews. The background to the continuation of the Amami rabbit breeding at Yamato School over a period of 29 years was the support of the administration and the local community, in addition to the school’s efforts. The school organised teachers and students for the breeding and built a system to facilitate the daily care by the students. Furthermore, the observation of the amami rabbit was not confined to the breeding facilities, but developed into field observations. Along with daily breeding and observation, public announcements, media coverage and public exhibitions are the return of the breeding activities to the public, and have provided opportunities for students living in isolated areas to come into contact with the mainland and the city. Breeding activities were supported first and foremost by the administration. The biggest support from the administration was the construction and renovation of breeding facilities and other breeding environments. Hunters in Yamato Village cooperated in the capture of the amami rabbit, and the residents of the Yamato School district cooperated in securing fodder. Not only the students’ families but also the village residents cooperated in the collection of fodder. Any shortfalls in voluntary cooperation were secured by the residents, who were commissioned by the school to do the work. Educational activities at schools are not completed only within the school. The amami rabbit breeding at Yamato School was a practical activity open to the local community, even though it was supported by the government. A system of cooperation between schools and local communities is common in the Amami Islands. The establishment of cooperation between the school, administration and local community was the basis for the long-term breeding of the amami rabbit. Amami rabbit breeding has led to the discovery of new regional values and identity formation in the Amami Archipelago.

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