Ogasawara
The Ogasawara (or Bonin) Islands lie between the Japanese mainland and the Marianas in the North Pacific. The first known inhabitants were a tiny group of American, European, and Pacific Islander settlers who arrived on the main island of Chichijima in 1830. Others soon followed, creating an ethnically and linguistically diverse community in which English (probably a pidgin variety) became the language of communication. In the 1870s, Japan proclaimed ownership of the islands, naturalizing the inhabitants and promoting Japanese settlement. The original settlers became increasingly incorporated into Japanese society but sustained a separate identity through their maintenance of English and Christianity.
Toward the end of World War II, the entire civilian population was evacuated to mainland Japan. Following the war, the U.S. Navy established a base on the islands, allowing only those islanders of non-Japanese heritage (commonly called "Westerners") to return. For a quarter century, these Bonin Islanders worked and studied in an English-speaking environment. During this period, the navy severely restricted movement to and from the islands and secretly stored nuclear missiles there. In 1968, the United States abruptly returned the islands to Japan. Many displaced prewar families returned to their birthplace, along with new migrants from the Japanese mainland. At the end of the twentieth century, the islands have been largely culturally and linguistically incorporated into Japan, although many descendants of the original settlers remain.
Further Reading
Cholmondeley, Lionel B. (1915) The History of the Bonin Islands. London: Archibald Constable and Co.
Head, Timothy E., and Gavan Daws. (1968) "The Bonins— Isles of Contention." American Heritage 19, 2: 58–64, 69–74.
Long, Daniel. (1999) "Evidence of an English Contact Language in the 19th Century Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands." English World-Wide 20, 2: 251–286.
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