Keise Islands

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Keise Islands
Waters East China Sea
archipelago Okinawa Islands
Geographical location 26 ° 15 ′  N , 127 ° 34 ′  E Coordinates: 26 ° 15 ′  N , 127 ° 34 ′  E
Keise Islands (Okinawa Prefecture)
Keise Islands
Number of islands 3
Total land area 0.06 km²
Residents uninhabited
topographic map 1: 250,000
topographic map 1: 250,000

The Keise Islands ( Japanese 慶 伊 瀬 島 , Keise-shima ) is a group of three Japanese islands in the East China Sea . After their name in the local dialect , the group is also called Chībishi ( チ ー ビ シ ) in official documents .

geography

The Keise Islands are located 8 km west of the main island of the Ryūkyū Islands Okinawa Hontō and 8 km east of the Kerama Islands . However, some of the Keise Islands are also counted among the Kerama Islands.

Administratively, they belong to the administrative area of ​​the Tokashiki Municipality of Okinawa Prefecture , but are uninhabited.

The archipelago consists of three upscale coral islands :

Surname Area [km²] Height [m] Coordinates
Kamiyama-shima ( 神山 島 ) 0.29 11 26 ° 15 ′ 42 "  N , 127 ° 34 ′ 45"  E
Kuefu-jima ( ク エ フ 島 ) 0.02 02 26 ° 15 ′ 1 ″  N , 127 ° 33 ′ 39 ″  E
Nagannu-jima ( ナ ガ ン ヌ 島 ) 0.29 08th 26 ° 15 '57 "  N , 127 ° 32' 51"  E

In some cases, Kamiyama-shima is also considered to be two separate islands and the group of islands is therefore also considered to consist of four islands.

lighthouse

In the east of the eastern island of Kamiyama-shima, the 10 m high lighthouse Kamiyamashima ( 神山 島 灯台 , Kamiyamashima tōdai ) stands on a hill . This was put into operation on May 15, 1972. It works fully automatically by charging itself with solar cells during the day so that the LED beacon, which is 390 candela bright and visible for 7.5  nautical miles , can be operated at night  .

history

Field howitzers on Kamiyama-shima, 1945

On March 31, 1945, the islands were captured by the US Army without resistance at the Battle of Okinawa . Two battalions with 24 pieces of 155 mm Gun M1 field howitzers were then stationed on the islands to support the landing on the main island of Okinawa Honto. After that, the archipelago was like the rest of the Ryūkyū Islands under US military administration before they were returned to Japan in 1972.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ チ ー ビ シ . In: 語彙 詳細 - 首 里 ・ 那覇 方言 . Retrieved December 2, 2012 (Japanese).
  2. ↑ a b 環境 脆弱 性 指標 図 （慶 良 間 列島 －6） / Environmental Sensitivity Index Map (Kerama Retto - 6) . (PDF; 876 kB) Kaijō Hoan-chō , 2011, accessed on December 5, 2012 (Japanese).
  3. ↑ 慶 伊 瀬 島 （け い せ じ ま） [チ ー ビ シ [ . In: 日本 の 島 へ 行 こ う . July 4, 2009, Retrieved November 20, 2012 (Japanese).
  4. ↑ official topographic map
  5. ^ A b Roy E. Appleman, James M. Burns, Russell A. Gugeler, John Stevens: Okinawa: The Last Battle . United States Government Printing Office , 2000, ISBN 0-16-061318-3 , pp. 57 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - first published in 1948).
  6. ↑ 神山 島 灯台 . Kaijō Hoan-chō , accessed August 3, 2016 (Japanese).