Iwaya Caves - Enoshima, Japan - DSC07913

is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the

Katase River The is a Class B river in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture which flows into the Bay of Sagami of the Pacific Ocean. The Sakai River The Sakai River has with the length of 52.1 km and the basin size of 210.7 square km. It starts from Aihara ...

which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, and is linked to the Katase section of that city by a bridge. Home to some of the closest sandy beaches to Tokyo and Yokohama, the island and adjacent coastline are the hub of a local resort area.

History

Classical era

Benzaiten Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...

, the goddess of music and entertainment, is enshrined on the island. The island in its entirety is dedicated to the goddess, who is said to have caused it to rise from the bottom of the sea in the sixth century. The island is the scene of the ''

Enoshima Engi The ''Enoshima Engi'' (江嶋縁起) is a history of the temples and shrines on Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay. It was written in Chinese language, Chinese, the scholarly language of the time, by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei (monk), Kōkei in 10 ...

'', a history of shrines on Enoshima written by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei in 1047 AD.

Modern era

In 1880, after the Shinto and Buddhism separation order of the new Meiji government had made the land available, much of the uplands was purchased by

Samuel Cocking Samuel Cocking (19 March 1845 in Camberwell London – 26 February 1914 in Yokohama, Japan) was a merchant in Yokohama arriving in 1869, shortly after the “Opening of Japan”. Although he was born in London, he moved with his parents to Aus ...

, a British merchant, in his Japanese wife's name. He developed a power plant and extensive botanical gardens including a very large greenhouse. Although the original greenhouse was destroyed in the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...

, the botanical garden (now the

Samuel Cocking Garden The , also known as the Enoshima Tropical Plants Garden, is a small botanical garden on the small island of Enoshima in Japan. The address is 2-3-28 Enoshima, Fujisawa, Kanagawa. The garden was established in 1880 by British merchant Samuel Cocki ...

) remains an attraction with over half a million visitors a year. File:Enoshima in the Sagami province.jpg, "Enoshima in the Sagami Province" by

Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the ...

(part of the series'' Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji''), circa 1930 File:Hiroshige_Pilgrimage_to_the_Cave_Shrine_of_Benzaiten.jpg, Pilgrimage to the Cave Shrine of Benzaiten by Hiroshige Ando (c. 1850) File:Enoshima_by_Takahashi_Yuichi_(MOMA_Kamakura_and_Hayama).jpg, Enoshima by Yuichi Takahashi. Between 1876 and 77. File:Kusakabe_Kimbei_1016_Enoshima.JPG, Photograph by Kimbei Kusakabe. 1890s. File:Lucky Gods' visit to Enoshima.jpg, Lucky Gods' visit to Enoshima (1869) File:19 - The Seven Ri Beach.jpg, The Seven Ri Beach

Contemporary era

Enoshima is now the center of Shōnan, a resort area along the coast of Sagami Bay.

Transportation

Enoshima is served by three nearby railway stations: Katase-Enoshima Terminus on the Odakyū Enoshima Line,

Enoshima Station is a commuter railway station on the Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden) located in the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Lines Enoshima Station is served by the Enoshima Electric Railway Main Line and is 3.3 kilometers from the ...

on the Enoshima Electric Railway ("Enoden"), and Shōnan-Enoshima Station on the

Shonan Monorail The is a Suspension railway, suspended SAFEGE monorail in the cities of Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura and Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the which belongs to Michinori Holdings, and opened on March ...

Features

Enoshima Shrine Enoshima Shrine (江島神社) is a Shinto shrine in Enoshima, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan. The shrine is dedicated to the worship of the ''kami'' Benten. Enoshima-jinja consists of three shrines, He-tsu-miya, Naka-tsu-miya and Oku-tsu-miya. Pe ...

*Iwaya Caves - were formed by the erosion of waves in ancient times. It has also been a place for Buddhist monks to train. The Iwaya caves consists of the First Cave ( in length) and the Second Cave ( in length). These caves can be entered by purchasing a ticket. *

- located at the island's summit. *

Enoshima Sea Candle The Enoshima Sea Candle ( ja, 江の島シーキャンドル), also known as the Shonan Observatory Lighthouse, is an observation tower and lighthouse located in the Samuel Cocking Garden on the small tidal island of Enoshima in Fujisawa, Kanag ...

- located within the Samuel Cocking Garden.

Sport

Enoshima was the Olympic harbor for the 1964 Summer Olympics. Enoshima was also used as the sailing venue for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Accessibility

While the bridge and town area of Enoshima are wheelchair accessible, anything past the main gate of the shrine (including the observation tower, caves, etc.) is inaccessible to those with mobility difficulties.

In popular culture

* In the 1951 film ''

Tokyo File 212 ''Tokyo File 212'' (Japanese: ) is a 1951 spy film directed by and . George Breakston wrote the film's script and co-produced it with Dorrell McGowan jointly under the banner of their newly formed Breakston–McGowan Productions and Japanese ...

'', a key scene takes place in Enoshima. * In the 2004 anime '' Uta Kata'', the main character and her friends visit Enoshima in one episode. * In the 2004 anime '' Elfen Lied'', Enoshima and the

are the location for the battle with Mariko. * In the 2012 anime ''

Tsuritama , sometimes written as ''tsuritama'', is a Japanese anime television series that aired between 13 April 2012 and 28 June 2012. The anime was licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America, by MVM Films in the United Kingdom, and Hanabee in Austr ...

'', Enoshima is the main location. * In the 2015 anime ''

Himouto! Umaru-chan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sankaku Head. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from March 2013 to November 2017, with its chapters collected in twelve ''tankōbon'' v ...

'', the characters visit Enoshima in the penultimate episode of the first season. * In the 2018 anime '' Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai'', the story mostly takes place in Enoshima. * In the 2022 anime ''

Bocchi the Rock! is a Japanese four-panel manga series written and illustrated by Aki Hamaji. It has been serialized in Houbunsha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Manga Time Kirara Max'' since December 2017. Its chapters have been collected in five ''tankō ...

'', the main protagonists visit the island in episode 9. * In the video game series ''

Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high school students who are forced into murdering each other ...

'', the main antagonist is named

Junko Enoshima is a fictional character and the primary overarching antagonist of Spike Chunsoft's '' Danganronpa'' series. Junko is featured as the main antagonist and mastermind in the first two games of the series as the true identity of the robotic teddy ...

Notes

References

* Johnson, H. (2022).
Enoshima: Signifying Island Heritage Across Space and Place
. ''Okinawan Journal of Island Studies'' 3 (1): 3–20. * Papinot, E. (1910). ''Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan''. 1972 printing. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company. . *

External links

Fujisawa City Tourism
{{Authority control Venues of the 1964 Summer Olympics Venues of the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic sailing venues Olympic surfing venues Fujisawa, Kanagawa Islands of Kanagawa Prefecture Shoals of Japan