Okushiri (island)
Okushiri | ||
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Waters | Sea of Japan (Pacific Ocean) | |
Geographical location | 42 ° 9 ′ N , 139 ° 28 ′ E | |
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surface | 142.69 km² | |
Highest elevation | Kamui-yama 584 m |
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Residents | 2589 (September 30, 2019) 18 inhabitants / km² |
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main place | Okushiri |
Okushiri ( Japanese 奥 尻 島 , -tō ) is a Japanese island off the Oshima Peninsula . Administratively, it belongs to the Hokkaidō Prefecture . The district of Okushiri is located on the island with its only municipality, Okushiri .
The island has an area of 142.69 km² and a population of 2603 (May 31, 2019). The highest point is the Kamui-yama ( 神威 山 ) with 584 m.
The island is known for its sea urchins and the Nabetsuru-iwa, an arched rock.
Surname
If the Kanji characters are read literally, they mean “inner bottom” or “wife's bottom”. In fact, the name comes from the Ainu of i-kus-ta-mosir ( イ ク ㇱ タ モ シ ㇼ ) or i-kus-un-sir ( イ ク ㇱ ウ ン シ ㇼ ) with ikus for "opposite (lying)" and (mo) sir for "Island".
1993 seaquake
On July 12, 1993 at 10:17 p.m. a seaquake ( 北海道 南西 沖 地震 , Hokkaidō Nansei Oki Jishin ) with a magnitude of 7.8 took place off the southwest coast of Hokkaidōs . The resulting tsunami killed 165 people on Okushiri and damage the equivalent of $ 600 million was caused on Okushiri and on the southwest coast of Hokkaidō.
On the occasion of this event, the Tennō Akihito wrote the following Japanese poem called Okushiri-tō :
- 壊 れ た る 建 物 の 散 る 島 の 浜 物 焼 く 煙 立 ち て 悲 し き
- Kowaretaru / tatemono no chiru / shima no hama / mono yaku kemuri / tachite kanashiki
- I am sorrowful / To see the smoke wreaths rising / From things burning out, / There along the island shore / All strewn with broken houses.
traffic
In addition to ferries, there is also the small Okushiri airport on the island . There is a ring road on the island itself.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 島 面積 . (PDF; 136 kB) (No longer available online.) Kokudo Chiriin , October 1, 2015, archived from the original on June 15, 2016 ; Retrieved July 30, 2016 (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.
- ↑ ア イ ヌ 語 地名 リ ス ト . Hokkaidō Prefecture, p. 24 , accessed January 28, 2015 (Japanese).
- ↑ 奥 尻 町 の 位置 ・ 地勢 に つ い て . Okushiri Ward, accessed January 28, 2015 (Japanese).
- ↑ Tsunami Devastates Japanese Coastal Region. In: NOAA Center for Tsunami Research. Retrieved July 30, 2016 .
- ↑ Poems of Her Majesties the Emperor and Empress of the Year. (PDF; 6.58 kB) In: Imperial Court Office . Retrieved July 1, 2016 (Japanese, Heisei 5 (1993)).