Wikipedia
Amakusa (天草), which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima, which is 26.5 miles long and 13.5 miles in extreme width . It is situated at 32°20'N, 130°E, separated from the rest of Kumamoto Prefecture by the Yatsushiro Sea.
It has no high mountains, but its surface is very hilly—four of the peaks rise to a height of over . The population resorts to the terrace system of cultivation to cope with the lack of flat arable land.
Amakusa, along with the neighboring Shimabara Peninsula, became the site of a Christian rebellion in the 17th century. Following the rebellion, those Christians who survived continued to practice their faith in secret, despite persecution.
Amakusa produces a little coal and pottery stone, both being used by the potters of Hirado and Satsuma Province. Many kilns remain on the islands today, and pottery and pottery stone are still exported. Hidenoshin Koyama, who built Thomas Blake Glover's House in Glover Garden, came from this island.
At present, the islands are organized as Amakusa District, Amakusa City, and Kami-amakusa City, all of which are under the administration of Kumamoto Prefecture.
Amakusa is a series of islands belonging to Japan.
Amakusa may also refer to:
- Amakusa, Kumamoto, Japan
- Amakusa, Kumamoto (town), Japan
- Amakusa Airfield, a Japanese airport
- Amakusa Airlines, a Japanese airline based at the airport of the same name
- Amakusa District, Kumamoto, Japan
- Amakusa Shirō (circa 1621 – 1638), Japanese Roman Catholic martyr
- Japanese escort ship Amakusa, an Etorofu class escort ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy
- JDS Amakusa, a ship in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force fleet