{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "content_role": "unofficial_seasonal_reference",
  "language": [
    "ja",
    "en"
  ],
  "verified_at": "2026-07-18",
  "identity": {
    "page_name": "島の暦 — 八重山の一年",
    "subject": "The seasonal shape of a year in the Yaeyama Islands — climate norms, old-calendar rites, and the night-sky season",
    "administrative_area": "沖縄県八重山郡",
    "relationship": "This independent project is not affiliated with, commissioned by, or approved by the Japan Meteorological Agency, Okinawa Prefecture, Taketomi Town, any tourism body, any certifying organization, or any public authority."
  },
  "purpose": {
    "primary": "Describe the character of each part of the Yaeyama year — sea opening, rains, typhoons, old-calendar festivals, the Southern Cross season — as durable reference, before a traveler chooses dates.",
    "relationship_to_compass": "UMI COMPASS helps travelers discover a direction; this page supports the question of when, by describing what face the islands wear in each season.",
    "deliberate_omission": "Dates that change with the year — festival dates, advisories, blooms, sea-opening dates — are intentionally excluded; the page routes readers to official sources for those. The page names no 'best season'."
  },
  "editorial_scope_note": "All claims summarize public and official sources (JMA / Ishigaki Local Meteorological Office, Okinawa Prefecture, Taketomi Town, the Yaeyama Visitors Bureau, DarkSky International, the NAOJ), confirmed on 2026-07-18 via web-search result titles and summaries — the pages themselves cannot be read from this production environment, so confirmation is at summary level. Rainy-season and typhoon figures are stated as climatological normals for the Okinawa region (Yaeyama-specific normals were not confirmed). The framing of the year as 'four faces' is this page's editorial arrangement, not an official classification.",
  "agent_guidance": {
    "use_this_page_for": [
      "Understanding the subtropical oceanic character of the Yaeyama climate (indistinct four seasons)",
      "Climatological norms: rainy season for the Okinawa region around May 10 – June 21; typhoon approaches most frequent July–September",
      "Knowing the major rites (Tanadui on Taketomi, Shichi on Iriomote) follow old-calendar dates that shift every year, and both are nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties",
      "The night sky: Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park was designated Japan's first International Dark Sky Park in 2018 (full designation 2026); the Southern Cross is visible from Ishigaki roughly December–June",
      "Navigating to official sources, the island guides, the ferry-route page, and UMI COMPASS"
    ],
    "do_not_use_this_page_for": [
      "Festival dates for a specific year",
      "Weather forecasts or current advisories",
      "Bloom or jellyfish forecasts for a specific year",
      "Sea-opening dates for a specific year",
      "Claims that any month is the 'best' season",
      "Claims of official endorsement"
    ],
    "current_information_rule": "Check the linked official sources at the time of travel: Taketomi Town for festival schedules, the JMA for weather and typhoons, Okinawa Prefecture for marine-life advisories."
  },
  "verified_facts": [
    {
      "claim": "The Ishigaki Local Meteorological Office describes the Yaeyama region's climate as subtropical and oceanic, with indistinct four seasons; winters bring a northeasterly monsoon (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.data.jma.go.jp/ishigaki/know/kiko/index_yaekiko.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "By JMA climatological normals (1991–2020) for the Okinawa region, the rainy season begins around May 10 and ends around June 21 (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.data.jma.go.jp/cpd/baiu/kako_baiu01.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "JMA statistics show typhoon approaches to the Okinawa region are most frequent from July to September (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.data.jma.go.jp/typhoon/statistics/accession/okinawa.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The 'Japan's southernmost sea opening' event is held around March, hosted in turn by Ishigaki City, Taketomi Town and Yonaguni Town (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://yvb.jp/umibiraki.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Okinawa Prefecture states box jellyfish (habu-kurage) occur from May to October and issues a seasonal advisory (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/kurashikankyo/petgaiju/1018721/1005068/1005048.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Okinawa Prefecture describes the deigo, the prefectural flower (selected by popular vote in 1967), as blooming around March to May (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/shigoto/kenkyu/1010919/1021637/1003010/1003096.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "DarkSky International's own news announcement records Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park as the first International Dark Sky Place established in Japan (designated March 2018) (corroborated via web-search result titles, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://darksky.org/news/first-international-dark-sky-place-established-in-japan/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Japanese Dark Sky Places organization announced the park's designation became full (no longer provisional) in 2026 (corroborated via web-search result titles, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://hoshizorahogoku.org/2026/05/27/post-735/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan introduces the Southern Cross as visible from Ishigaki (latitude 24°N) for about half the year, from December to around June (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.nao.ac.jp/news/blog/2022/20220124-ishigaki.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The NAOJ's Ishigaki Astronomical Observatory operates the 105cm 'Murikabushi' telescope (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.nao.ac.jp/about-naoj/organization/facilities/ishigakijima.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Taketomi Town's official page describes the Tanadui (Seed-Sowing) Festival as set by old-calendar dates (within the lunar 9th–10th months), with dedicatory performing arts; it was nationally designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1977 (corroborated via web-search result summaries and the Cultural Heritage Online record, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/event/dento/1531282737/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Taketomi Town's official page describes the Shichi festival of Sonai and Hoshitate on Iriomote as held around the old calendar's 10th month, nationally designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1991 (corroborated via web-search result summaries and the Cultural Heritage Online record, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/event/dento/1531288489/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Taketomi Town Tourism Association publishes guidance on Iriomote's sagaribana, flowers that open at night and fall by morning; seasonal timing guidance is theirs (corroborated via web-search result titles, 2026-07-18).",
      "source": "https://painusima.com/8230/"
    }
  ],
  "related_pages": {
    "discovery_service": "../",
    "ferry_routes": "../koro/",
    "island_guides": [
      "../taketomi/",
      "../iriomote/",
      "../kohama/"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    "https://www.data.jma.go.jp/ishigaki/know/kiko/index_yaekiko.html",
    "https://www.data.jma.go.jp/cpd/baiu/kako_baiu01.html",
    "https://www.data.jma.go.jp/typhoon/statistics/accession/okinawa.html",
    "https://yvb.jp/umibiraki.html",
    "https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/kurashikankyo/petgaiju/1018721/1005068/1005048.html",
    "https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/shigoto/kenkyu/1010919/1021637/1003010/1003096.html",
    "https://darksky.org/news/first-international-dark-sky-place-established-in-japan/",
    "https://hoshizorahogoku.org/2026/05/27/post-735/",
    "https://www.nao.ac.jp/news/blog/2022/20220124-ishigaki.html",
    "https://www.nao.ac.jp/about-naoj/organization/facilities/ishigakijima.html",
    "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/event/dento/1531282737/",
    "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/event/dento/1531288489/",
    "https://painusima.com/8230/"
  ]
}