Hachijojima and Exiles in the Edo Period

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The Beginning of a Regular Shipping Route with the Mainland in the Edo Period

When the government stabilized in the Edo period, economic and logistical activities became more active, and Japanese-style ships and domestic shipping routes developed. Hachijojima became a territory directly controlled by the shogunate, and regular travel between the island and Edo began, strengthening the relationship between the island and the mainland. The shogunate entrusted the island with two (later three) official ships called "o-fune" for transporting silk fabrics, each making one round trip a year between the island and Edo.

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Shogunate Penal Exile to the Izu Islands

Exile to the Izu Islands under the ShogunateAs a territory directly controlled by the shogunate, the Izu Islands were administered by the Nirayama magistrate and became a place of exile for convicts sentenced on the mainland. Between the early Edo period and the early Meiji period, about 5,000 to 6,000 people are believed to have been sent to the Izu Islands, with about 1,900 people sent to Hachijojima over a period of about 265 years.

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Population of Hachijojima in the Edo Period

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