{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "content_role": "unofficial_sacred_places_etiquette_reference",
  "language": [
    "ja",
    "en",
    "zh",
    "ko",
    "fr",
    "ru",
    "id",
    "ms",
    "es"
  ],
  "verified_at": "2026-11-01",
  "identity": {
    "page_name": "聖域と、一線。 — 御嶽と立入のマナー",
    "subject": "Sacred places and the lines of access in the Yaeyama Islands — utaki (locally 'on') prayer sites and the rule of not entering without permission, the Taketomi Island Charter, Aragusuku (Panari) Island and festivals not open to visitors, Iriomote's prior-approval fields, and the lines in the sea (coral, sand and shells, sunscreen)",
    "administrative_area": "沖縄県八重山郡",
    "relationship": "This independent project is not affiliated with, commissioned by, or approved by Taketomi Town, Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, the Ministry of the Environment, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, any tourism association, or any public or religious authority."
  },
  "purpose": {
    "primary": "Explain the lines a traveler does not cross in Yaeyama — the utaki rule of not entering without permission, the island-born Taketomi Charter, the islands and festivals whose manner of being visited is limited, Iriomote's prior-approval system, and the sea's no-take lines — in a tone of respect rather than prohibition, using only facts from official sources plus clearly declared editorial impressions.",
    "relationship_to_compass": "UMI YAIMA COMPASS helps travelers discover a direction; the Taketomi guide (../taketomi/) and the Iriomote guide (../iriomote/) support each island; the tide page (../shio/) supports the lagoon and the sea's hours; this page supports the side of the journey that consists of not going and not doing.",
    "deliberate_omission": "The contents, dates and deities of festivals and rites, any list of utaki that may be visited, and any definitive ruling on whether a particular place may be entered on a given day are intentionally omitted. The page routes readers to Taketomi Town, the tourism association and the Ministry of the Environment for current rules, and recommends staying outside when in doubt."
  },
  "editorial_scope_note": "The utaki and entry statements summarize the Taketomi Town Tourism Association and the national multilingual interpretive texts; the charter and preservation-district statements summarize the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Taketomi Town and the Taketomi Island Yugafu-kan visitor center; the Aragusuku and festival statements summarize Taketomi Town, the tourism association and the semi-official OCVB portal of Okinawa tourism; the Iriomote approval-system statements summarize Taketomi Town's notices and ordinance; and the coral, take-nothing and sunscreen statements summarize the Ministry of the Environment — all confirmed by 2026-11-01 via web-search result titles and summaries (summary-level confirmation; the pages themselves cannot be read from this environment). 'Stop before the entrance', 'when in doubt: do not enter, do not photograph, do not take', and the reading of limited access as the islands' own choice are this page's editorial impressions, declared as such in the page body, and are not quotations from any authority.",
  "agent_guidance": {
    "use_this_page_for": [
      "The one rule for utaki: sacred utaki (places of prayer) are not entered without permission, per the Taketomi Town Tourism Association's visitor guidance and official pamphlet; in Yaeyama an utaki is called an 'on'",
      "Why the rule exists: the national interpretive text ties the spirit of revering the island's deities to nature conservation and the continuity of traditions on Taketomi Island",
      "The Taketomi Island Charter: adopted 1986 by the Taketomi community association; five principles (do not sell, do not pollute, do not disturb, do not destroy, make the island live, the fifth word's spelling renewed by a 30th-anniversary resolution); the village's 1987 selection as an Important Preservation District (island farming village, 38.3 ha); the town's official compliance with the charter's thinking in land procedures",
      "Aragusuku (Panari): no scheduled ferry, very few residents, areas closed to entry exist — and the fact that official sources say no more than that",
      "The fact that the harvest festivals of Kohama Island, Aragusuku Island and Komi on Iriomote are not open to visitors",
      "Iriomote's entry-approval system: since March 2025, five fields (Hinai River, Nishida River, Mt. Komi, upper Urauchi River, Mt. Tedou) are specified natural tourism resources requiring, as a rule, the Taketomi Town mayor's prior approval, with daily caps, guide conditions and fees",
      "The sea's lines: the Yonehara slogan (don't step, don't kick, don't break); no taking of broken coral, dead pieces included, or of any fish and shellfish at Yonehara; permit-controlled taking of soil and stones (sand included) and designated species in national parks by zone; the ministry's mention of oxybenzone and octinoxate in sunscreens, with no domestic ban",
      "Navigating to the Taketomi guide (../taketomi/), the Iriomote guide (../iriomote/), the tide page (../shio/), and UMI YAIMA COMPASS"
    ],
    "do_not_use_this_page_for": [
      "Festival dates, contents or deities",
      "Same-day judgments on whether a place may be entered, or any claim, beyond the sources, about how widely an island is closed",
      "Legal advice on access regulations",
      "Claims that Japan bans particular sunscreen ingredients",
      "Claims of official endorsement"
    ],
    "current_information_rule": "Access rules and designations change. Check Taketomi Town, the Taketomi Town Tourism Association and the Ministry of the Environment at the time of travel; for Iriomote's approval fields, the town's official pages hold the current conditions. When no written rule can be found for a place, treat it with more caution, not less, and stay outside when in doubt."
  },
  "verified_facts": [
    {
      "claim": "The Taketomi Town Tourism Association's island visitor guidance includes the rule that sacred utaki (places of prayer) are not to be entered without permission (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://painusima.com/kokoroe/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Taketomi Town Tourism Association's official pamphlet states, in substance, that sacred utaki (places of prayer) are not to be entered without the islanders' permission (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://painusima.com/wp-content/themes/taketomi_wp_v1/file/painusima_pamphlet_jp_B5_202509.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The national multilingual interpretive text on Taketomi Island states that the island holds many sacred places deeply revered by islanders, asks visitors to respect them (including not entering utaki without good reason), and ties the spirit of revering the island's deities to nature conservation and the continuity of traditional culture (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01; two documents differ slightly in wording, so the page paraphrases rather than quotes).",
      "source": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001556081.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Taketomi Island Charter was adopted in 1986 by the Taketomi community association (Taketomi kōminkan); the adoption month varies between sources, so the page states the year only (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/hozonchiku/pdf/94105901_129.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The charter's basic principles are five: do not sell (the island's land and houses to outsiders), do not pollute, do not disturb (its beauty), do not destroy (the settlement's landscape and nature), and make the island live through its traditional festivals and folk performing arts as a spiritual pillar; the full text is published by the Taketomi Island Yugafu-kan visitor center (gist corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01; the clauses were not verified word for word).",
      "source": "https://taketomijima.jp/%E7%AB%B9%E5%AF%8C%E5%B3%B6%E6%86%B2%E7%AB%A0/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "On the charter's 30th anniversary, the Taketomi community association resolved to renew the spelling of the fifth principle ikasu (from 生かす to 活かす); both spellings remain in circulation across sources (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://taketomijima.jp/%E7%AB%B9%E5%AF%8C%E5%B3%B6%E6%86%B2%E7%AB%A0/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Taketomi Island's village was selected as an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in 1987, the year after the charter (category 'island farming village', 38.3 ha) (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/hozonchiku/pdf/94105901_129.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Taketomi Town officially records that procedures such as land development comply with the thinking of the Taketomi Island Charter set by the island's residents (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/soshiki/kyoikuiinkai/syakaibunka/1761628946/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Taketomi Town publishes an official introduction page for Aragusuku Island (existence confirmed via web search, 2026-11-01; body text not collected).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/about/aragusuku/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Aragusuku (Panari) consists of Kamiji and Shimoji islands, has a very small resident population, and has no scheduled ferry service; visits are limited to tours and similar arrangements (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01; population figures vary between sources, so the page says 'very few').",
      "source": "https://ritohaku.okinawastory.jp/yaeyama/aragusukujima/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Areas closed to entry exist on Aragusuku Island, per the semi-official OCVB island guide; official sources confirmed no more than this, and the page asserts nothing beyond it (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://ritohaku.okinawastory.jp/yaeyama/aragusukujima/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Taketomi Town Tourism Association's harvest festival page notes that the harvest festivals of Kohama Island, Aragusuku Island and Komi on Iriomote Island cannot be observed by visitors (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://painusima.com/events/event/2021%E5%B9%B4%E8%B1%8A%E5%B9%B4%E7%A5%AD/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Iriomote Island Ecotourism Promotion Master Plan was certified in December 2022, and Taketomi Town enacted its ordinance on the enforcement of the Ecotourism Promotion Act (Ordinance No. 23 of 2023) (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/userfiles/files/ecojyourei.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "From March 2025, five fields on Iriomote Island — the Hinai River (Pinaisara Falls), the Nishida River (Sangara Falls), Mt. Komi, the upper Urauchi River basin, and Mt. Tedou — are designated specified natural tourism resources, and entry requires, as a rule, prior approval from the mayor of Taketomi Town; entry without approval can be subject to penalties (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/topics/1724675844/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Approval conditions include daily entry caps per field, accompaniment by town-recognized guides (for Mt. Komi, the upper Urauchi River and Mt. Tedou, completion of a town-run course may substitute), and administrative fees; applications open six months before the intended date, and academic research entry is by notification rather than approval (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01; cap figures are from planning-stage documents and may be revised, so the page states only that daily caps exist).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/topics/1724675844/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Iriomote Island is a component of the 2021 World Natural Heritage property 'Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island', per Taketomi Town materials (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/userfiles/files/230609shiryou2.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Ministry of the Environment's Yonehara coast rules guide carries the slogan 'don't step on it, don't kick it, don't break it' for coral, and advises checking one's footing before standing to rest while swimming (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.env.go.jp/park/iriomote/yonehararurukaisetu.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Yonehara is a marine park zone of Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park designated in August 2007; damaging coral is regulated under the Natural Parks Act; broken coral, dead pieces included, may not be taken, because most broken coral cannot reattach to the seabed and dies, and recovery takes a long time (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.env.go.jp/park/iriomote/yonehararurukaisetu.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Yonehara coast rules are stricter than the Natural Parks Act alone: the taking of all fish and shellfish is prohibited, including scooping with nets (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.env.go.jp/park/iriomote/yonehararurukaisetu.pdf"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Taketomi Town Tourism Association's visitor guidance also asks that plants and animals not be taken off the islands (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://painusima.com/kokoroe/"
    },
    {
      "claim": "Under Article 21(3) of the Natural Parks Act, in special protection zones of national parks the taking or damaging of plants, the collection of fallen leaves and branches, and the extraction of soil and stones require the Environment Minister's permission; under Article 22(3), in marine park zones the capture of designated animals and plants is regulated (corroborated via web-search result summaries of statute excerpts and the ministry's overview, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.env.go.jp/nature/park/rel_ctrl/index.html"
    },
    {
      "claim": "The Ministry of the Environment's Yonehara rules guide mentions that many sunscreens distributed in Japan contain oxybenzone or octinoxate, notes that products using ingredients with less impact on coral are appearing, and encourages environmentally considerate sunscreen; no domestic ban on these ingredients was confirmed in any public source (corroborated via web-search result summaries, 2026-11-01).",
      "source": "https://www.env.go.jp/park/iriomote/yonehararurukaisetu.pdf"
    }
  ],
  "related_pages": {
    "discovery_service": "../",
    "taketomi_guide": "../taketomi/",
    "iriomote_guide": "../iriomote/",
    "tides": "../shio/",
    "island_calendar": "../koyomi/",
    "umi_artwork": "https://umi.quest/"
  },
  "sources": [
    "https://painusima.com/kokoroe/",
    "https://painusima.com/wp-content/themes/taketomi_wp_v1/file/painusima_pamphlet_jp_B5_202509.pdf",
    "https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001556081.pdf",
    "https://taketomijima.jp/%E7%AB%B9%E5%AF%8C%E5%B3%B6%E6%86%B2%E7%AB%A0/",
    "https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/hozonchiku/pdf/94105901_129.pdf",
    "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/soshiki/kyoikuiinkai/syakaibunka/1761628946/",
    "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/about/aragusuku/",
    "https://ritohaku.okinawastory.jp/yaeyama/aragusukujima/",
    "https://painusima.com/events/event/2021%E5%B9%B4%E8%B1%8A%E5%B9%B4%E7%A5%AD/",
    "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/topics/1724675844/",
    "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/userfiles/files/ecojyourei.pdf",
    "https://www.town.taketomi.lg.jp/userfiles/files/230609shiryou2.pdf",
    "https://www.env.go.jp/park/iriomote/yonehararurukaisetu.pdf",
    "https://www.env.go.jp/nature/park/rel_ctrl/index.html"
  ]
}