Kamome-jima
| Kamome-jima | ||
_Aerial_photograph.1976.jpg) Aerial photo of Kamome-jima (top left), 1976 |
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| Geographical location | ||
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| Coordinates | 41 ° 51 '59 " N , 140 ° 6' 49" E | |
| Waters 1 | Japanese sea | |
| length | 1 km | |
| width | 200 m | |
 Heishi-iwa is the main attraction on Kamome-jima |
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Kamome-jima ( Japanese 鷗 島 , dt. "Seagull Island") is a peninsula in the Sea of Japan east of the coastal city of Esashi , Hiyama , Hokkaidō , Japan . It has several historical landmarks and is protected as part of the Hiyama Prefecture Natural Park.
geography
Kamome-jima is about 200 × 1000 m in size and only 27.6 m above sea level . It is connected to the land by a 500 m long sandbank on which a road runs. The peninsula forms a breakwater for Esashi Harbor. The west coast is badly eroded by the waves.
Surname
Kamome means “ seagull ”, and the peninsula probably got this name because of its elongated shape reminiscent of a seagull. In the Edo period , the peninsula was called Benten-jima ( 弁天島 ), a name that many Japanese islands in honor of the Hindu - goddess Saraswati , which in Japanese Buddhism and Shinto Benten is contributed or still contribute. Benten is revered as the goddess of water and is considered the protector of fishermen. A shrine is dedicated to her on many Japanese islands.
history
In the Edo period, the peninsula was a natural harbor for ships that traded with Hokkaidō or for fishermen specializing in Pacific herring .
In 1615, a group of merchants built a shrine on the peninsula in honor of the god of the Sea of Japan, and since 1868 this has been called Itsukushima Shrine . In 1814, a monument to Matsuo Bashō , the most famous poet of the Edo period, was erected near the shrine.
For a long time the peninsula had problems with drinking water that would have been needed to supply ships. In 1876 the merchant Murakami from Esashi therefore invested a significant amount in building a well on the peninsula. At that time, the peninsula was also embroiled in conflicts between various Japanese clans and in 1852 two cannons were brought onto the peninsula to protect it and the city of Esashi.
Heishi rocks
Legend
Herring fishing also plays a role in the legend of the Heishi-iwa ( 瓶子 岩 ). This 500 year old legend says that when the herring disappeared, an old fortune teller was given a bottle with a magical liquid. She threw the bottle in the sea and the herring came back. The bottle got stuck in the seabed and turned into a rock representing the god in the Sea of Japan.
Religious celebrations
The first weekend in July of each year, Kamome-jima Matsuri ( か も め 島 ま つ り ) is held, a two-day festival that pays homage to the legend of the Heishi Rock and attracts tourists to the peninsula. A group of young men receive a blessing at a Shinto shrine. The men then swim to the rock, wearing only a traditional loincloth ( fundoshi ) , climb it and renew the thirty-meter long shimenawa that surrounds the rock. This ritual rope made from rice straw weighs around 500 kilograms. The renewal of the rope is the highlight of the festival, which also includes a rowing competition, a parade in traditional costumes, vocal performances and a karaoke competition.
tourism
Fishing, camping and hiking can be enjoyed all year round on Kamome-jima. The beaches are suitable for swimming in summer.
Flora and fauna
The constant westerly wind ensures that the peninsula is largely only grass-covered, but there are also maples ( Acer pictum subsp. Mono ) and Mongolian oaks ( Quercus mongolica ). The marine fauna around the island is rich in species, especially hokke ( Pleurogrammus azonus ) and plaice in the spring, Hexagrammos otakii (a Japanese type of green compacts ) in the summer, mackerel and buri ( Serriola quinqueradiata , a kind of jack fish ) in the fall and hokke and octopus in winter.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d 檜 山道 立 自然 公園 . (No longer available online.) Hokkaido Prefecture, 2006, archived from the original on June 24, 2017 ; Retrieved October 27, 2013 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i か も め 島 Esashi Town Guide. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; Retrieved November 23, 2013 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 瓶子 岩 Official website of Hiyama Prefecture, Hokkaido. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 29, 2007 ; Retrieved November 23, 2013 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ A Town Blessed with the Romance of History, Esashi City Guide. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 20, 2011 ; accessed on November 23, 2013 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Kamome Island Festival Program. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 14, 2011 ; Retrieved November 23, 2013 (Japanese). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Kevin Nute: Place, time, and being in Japanese architecture . Routledge 2004, ISBN 0-419-24010-1 , pp. 63 ( online at Google Books ).
