Tomogashima

Tomogashima
Aerial photo of Tomogashima, 1974
Waters	Seto Inland Sea
Geographical location	34 ° 18 ′  N , 135 ° 2 ′  E Coordinates: 34 ° 18 ′  N , 135 ° 2 ′  E
Number of islands	4th
Total land area	2.5 km²
Residents	uninhabited

Tomogashima ( Japanese 友 ヶ 島 ) is an uninhabited Japanese island group in the Seto Inland Sea .

geography

The archipelago is located in the strait of the Kitan Strait, which is also called the Tomogashima Channel, between the island of Awaji and the Kii peninsula of Honshu . It forms the border between Osaka Bay in the north and the Kii Canal in the south.

The archipelago consists of the following four islands from west to east:

Surname	Japanese	translation	Area [km²]	Height [m]	Coordinates
Okinoshima	沖 ノ 島	'Remote island'	1.33	119.7	34 ° 16 ′ 57 "  N , 135 ° 0 ′ 47"  E
Kamishima	神 島	'Island of gods'	-	31, 0	34 ° 17 ′ 20 "  N , 135 ° 0 ′ 49.5"  E
Torashima	虎 島	'Tiger Island'	-	49, 0	34 ° 17 ′ 33 "  N , 135 ° 1 ′ 34"  E
Jinoshima	地 ノ 島	'Soil island'	1.08	93.3	34 ° 17 '43 "  N , 135 ° 2' 48"  E
Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Okinoshima and Torashima are linked by a tombolo that can be crossed at low tide.

Geologically, the islands consist of sandstone and are characterized by 20 to 50 m high cliffs with the exception of the north side on the Bay of Nanoura ( 野 奈 浦 ) of Okinoshima. The highest point with around 120 m is the Kōnosu-yama ( コ ウ ノ 巣 山 ) on Okinoshima.

Administratively, the islands belong to the district of Kada of the municipality of Wakayama .

Religious meaning

Kamishima was originally called Awa-shima ( 淡 嶋 ) and is said to have been the original seat of the Awashima shrine , which was then relocated to Kada on the Kii Peninsula at the time of Emperor Nintoku in the 4th century for better accessibility. According to the  mythological genesis of the Japanese islands described in  Kojiki , the primordial gods  Izanagi and Izanami rammed  their heavenly jewel lance into the sea and when they pulled it out, salt dripped from the tip, which in turn formed the first land. This  island,  called Onogoro , is identified with Kamishima, among others.

The islands also have a significance as a place of pilgrimage for the Shugendō -Bergasketenkult where they are the first of 28 places of pilgrimage of Katsuragi-Shugendō direction. Five places are visited: the Shinja-ike pond ( 深 蛇 池 ) and the Akai ( 閼 伽 Ort ) place on Okinoshima, the Kannen-tsuku ( 観 念 窟 ) and Johin-tsuku ( 序 品 窟 ) caves on Torashima and the Tsurugu pond -ike ( 剣 池 ) in Kamishima. Nowadays the members of the Shōgo-in temple of the Honzan direction make a pilgrimage to the island every April.

history

In 1854 the island was transferred to the Kishu fief by the shogunate . After the fall of the shogunate, the islands became a restricted military area in 1888 and remained so until the end of World War II . Due to their location on Osaka Bay, they were an important part of the Japanese coastal defense and even today the remains of military buildings can still be found on Okinoshima, such as six gun batteries , a sonar station , an ammunition store, a horse stable, the officers' quarters and a toilet block.

Tomogashima lighthouse

In 1872 the "father of the Japanese lighthouses" Richard Henry Brunton had a lighthouse built that is almost exactly on the 139th degree of longitude and is still in operation today after modernization.

In 1949 the islands became part of the Setonaikai National Park and are now used as a tourist destination due to their unspoiled nature and military buildings.

Representation in art

A painted scroll by the important painter Kanō Tan'yū dates from 1661 and is now hanging in the Shōgo-in. In addition, the British Museum owns a painted hand scroll , not signed by name, the foreword of which is dated 1798, stylistically similar to the works of Tani Bunchō and probably comes from a court painter of Kishū.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} 友 ケ 島 （と も が し ま） . In: 日本 の 島 へ 行 こ う . Retrieved July 17, 2015 (Japanese). 
2. ↑ Official topographic map of Kokudo Chiriin
3. ↑ ^{a b} 友 ヶ 島 . In: 世界 大 百科 事 典 第 ２ 版 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2015 (Japanese). 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} 友 ヶ 島 っ て ど ん な と こ？ . In: 加 太淡 島 温泉 あ ぶ り の 湯 ペ ン シ ョ ン ふ じ や . Retrieved July 17, 2015 (Japanese). 
5. ↑ 観 光 ・ 遊 び . In: 観 光 ・ 遊 び ス ポ ッ ト . Wakayama-Kada Tourism Association, accessed July 17, 2015 (Japanese). 
6. ↑ Tomogashima islands. Wakayama Tourism Association, accessed July 17, 2015 . 
7. ↑ Views of Tomogashima, a handscroll painting. British Museum, archived from the original on September 5, 2015 ; accessed on August 4, 2016 .