Kanmurijima

Kanmurijima Island

Native name: 冠島 Kanmurijima Nickname: Oshima or Yushima
Aerial photograph of Kanmurijima
Location within Japan
Geography
Location	Sea of Japan
Coordinates	35°40′50″N 135°25′35″E
Archipelago	no
Area	0.223 km2 (0.086 sq mi)
Length	1.3 km (0.81 mi)
Width	0.5 km (0.31 mi)
Coastline	4 km (2.5 mi)
Highest elevation	169.7 m (556.8 ft)
Administration
Japan
Prefecture	Kyoto Prefecture
City	Maizuru
Demographics
Population	0
Ethnic groups	Japanese

Kanmurijima (冠島), also known as Oshima (冠島, O-shima) in the Oomoto religion, is an island in the Sea of Japan administered under Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture. It is about 2 km from Kutsujima, a similar smaller island. Nakatsu reef (中津ぐり, Nakatsu-guri) is located just midway between islands. A breeding ground for streaked shearwaters, the island was designated a Japanese natural monument (天然記念物, tennen-kinenbutsu) in 1924. It has also been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International. Currently, the island is designated as Kanmurijima-Kutsujima wildlife protection area and any landing is prohibited. A recreational diving service is available though.

View of Ama-no-Hashidate by Sesshū Tōyō. On the right, torii of Kono Shrine is seen. On extreme right, Kammurijima and Kutsujima are also painted

History

According to records of Tango no kuni fudoki, Kanmurijima and Kutsujima are the remains of a much larger island which submerged following an earthquake in 701 A.D. The topography of the seafloor seems to support the claim, as the steep 60-metre cliff is located underwater off the eastern coast of Kanmurijima and Kutsujima, indicating a recent crustal fault.

Sacred site

Kanmurijima is a sacred pilgrimage site in the Oomoto religion. In Oomoto, the name of the island is pronounced differently as Oshima, although it is still written using the same kanji characters (冠島).

See also

• Amanohashidate
• Kutsujima
• Desert island
• List of islands

References

• Kyoto Prefecture (in Japanese).