The main purpose of this article is to analyze the dynamics of relation between inland
and maritime cultures in an insular region by taking Java island, Indonesia, as an object of study.
Java island is located in the midst of Indonesian archipelago which is geographically recognized as the ‘‘maritime continent’’ and the widest insular region in the world. During the history, Java has
been one of the most important islands not only in the Indonesian archipelago but also in Southeast
Asian region. It is interesting that Java has not only varied maritime cultures but also feudalistic inland culture. Moreover, during the course of history there has been a latent contesting relationship among the two different types of culture, which has been coloring the history of Indonesia at large till the present day.