Community Governance at the Peripheral Small Island －Field Study at Yoro Island: South most of the Amami Ooshima Group－

Yoro Island is a typical small island with a small population that is bound to a single, closely knit community. This offered an excellent opportunity to observe the mutual interactions, relationships, and co-governance between human life and 5 livelihood-environmental elements. Additionally, while Yoro Island is considered as one of the small remote islands of Amami Ōshima, this paper also explores the strong historical relationship with Tokunoshima, the neighbouring island separated by the channel. It also discusses the origins of the‘ habu-bo’（ a snake pole）, history of human migration, and the current state of medical practices for the elderly on the island