Tanegashima

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Tanegashima
Location of Nakatane
Location of Nakatane
Waters East China Sea
Archipelago Ōsumi Islands
Geographical location 30 ° 34 ′  N , 130 ° 59 ′  E Coordinates: 30 ° 34 ′  N , 130 ° 59 ′  E
Tanegashima (Kagoshima Prefecture)
Tanegashima
length 57.5 km
width 12 km
surface 444.3 km²
Highest elevation Takamineo-yama
282  m
Residents 36,000
81 inhabitants / km²
main place Nishinoomote
Map sheet Tanegashima 1: 250,000
Map sheet Tanegashima 1: 250,000

Tanegashima ( Japanese 種子 島 , German  "Island of Tane " ) is an island in southern Japan . It belongs to the Kagoshima Prefecture . To the southeast is a Japanese spaceport , the Tanegashima Space Center , and the Japanese space agency is based there.

The island is 444.30 km².

The island is home to the independent city of Nishinoomote , as well as the communities of Nakatane and Minamitane of the district of Kumage .

The island gained historical importance in 1543 when a Chinese ship, which the Portuguese Antônio da Mota, Antônio Peixoto and Francisco Zeimoto had on board, ran aground at Cape Kadokura ( 門 倉 崎 , Kadokura-saki ) in the south of the island. This was the first contact between Europeans and Japanese, through which the Tanegashima rifle , the first western firearm, was introduced.

See also

literature

  • Olof Lidin: Tanegashima: The Arrival of Europe in Japan . NIAS Press, Copenhagen 2002, ISBN 0-7007-1674-2

Web links

Commons : Tanegashima  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gsi.go.jp