Yugeshima (弓削島) is an inhabited island located in northeastern Ehime Prefecture, Japan, in the Seto Inland Sea between Shikoku and Honshu.[1] The island is part of the Geiyo Islands archipelago, and is administratively the seat of the town of Kamijima, Ehime.
Native name: 弓削島 | |
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Geography | |
Location | Kamijima, Ehime |
Coordinates | 34°16′7″N 133°12′59.8″E / 34.26861°N 133.216611°E |
Archipelago | Geiyo Islands (Seto Inland Sea) |
Area | 8.61 km2 (3.32 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 210 m (690 ft) |
Administration | |
Japan | |
Demographics | |
Population | 2835 (2015) |
Pop. density | 329.26/km2 (852.78/sq mi) |
Ethnic groups | Japanese |
Geography
editYugeshima has a total area of 8.61 square kilometres (3.32 sq mi). The island is mostly hilly, with its highest point at 210 meters above sea level. Much of the island consists of limestone.
History
editYugeshima has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Kushiyama Kofun on Yugeshima is a burial mound dating from the Kofun period. Around the end of the Heian period, the island was the center of a shōen landed estate (Yuge Island Shōen ruins) controlled by retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and was noted for its production of salt.[1] The estate later became property of the temple of Tō-ji in Kyoto and its detailed records from the Kamakura period are regarded as a valuable historic resource.[1][2] The island became part of Yuge Village in Ehime Prefecture, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on December 15, 1889. Yuge was elevated to town status on January 1, 1953. The town merged with the villages of Ikina, Iwagi and Uoshima (all from Ochi District) to become the town of Kamijima on October 1, 2004. The primary occupations on the island are centered on commercial fishing.
References
edit- ^ a b c Shapinsky, Peter D. (2014). Lords of the Sea: Pirates, Violence, and Commerce in Late Medieval Japan. University of Michigan Press. pp. 71–80. ISBN 978-1-929280-81-0.
- ^ Oxenboell, Morten (2018-05-31). Akutō and Rural Conflict in Medieval Japan. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 101–104. ISBN 978-0-8248-7533-6.
External links
edit- Media related to Yugeshima at Wikimedia Commons
- Kamijima Chamber of Commerce