is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

on the island of

Iki IKI may refer to: * Internationales Kulturinstitut in Vienna * Iodine potassium-iodide, a chemical compound * Russian Space Research Institute originally known as IKI RAN * Iki Airport, IATA code Iki or iki may refer to: * Iki Island, a Japanese ...

, in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the northeast. N ...

, Japan. As of November 2022, the city has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 25,042 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 202 persons per km². The total area is 138.57 km².

Geography

Iki is located in the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (동수로 Dongsuro) is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima ...

, approximately west of

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

on mainland Kyushu. The city consists of five inhabited and 17 uninhabited islands, and its entire area is within the Iki-Tsushima Quasi-National Park.

Climate

History

The Iki Islands have been inhabited since the Japanese Paleolithic era, and numerous artifacts from the Jōmon,

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

and Kofun periods have been found. The islands were organized as

Iki Province was a province of Japan which consisted of the Iki Islands, now a part of modern Nagasaki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Iki''" in . Its abbreviated name was . Iki is classified as one of the provinces of the Saikaidō. Und ...

under the ''

Ritsuryō , , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki'' ...

'' reforms in the latter half of the seventh century. Following the establishment of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

, the islands came under the rule of

Hirado Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with Hizen Province in modern-day Nagasaki Prefecture.

. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, Iki became part of Nagasaki Prefecture, and was organized into Iki District and Ishida District, with a total of 22 villages. These were consolidated into 12 villages by 1889, and Ishida District was abolished in 1896. Mushozu was raised to town status in 1925, followed by Katsumoto in 1935 and Takawa in 1947. Gonoura was established in 1955, and Takawa was renamed Ashibe. Ishida was raised to town status in 1970. The modern city of Iki was established on March 1, 2004, from the merger of the towns of Ashibe, Gonoura, Ishida and Katsumoto (all from Iki District).

Economy

The island has abundant groundwater reserves, and agriculture is widely practiced by the local inhabitants.

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

are the primary cash crops.

Commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

and

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

, once the mainstay of the local economy, have been largely restricted since the 1980s, although sea urchin,

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

, mackerel, abalone and

kombu ''Konbu'' (from ja, 昆布, konbu or kombu) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many ...

are harvested. Tourism is a growing sector of the local economy.

Transportation

Iki Island has ferry terminals in Ashibe, Ishida and Gōnoura, which connect Iki to mainland Japan. Located on the east coast

Iki Airport is a small airport in the city of Iki on Iki Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. History Iki Airport was opened on July 10, 1964. Initially, the airport was served by All Nippon Airways with flights to Fukuoka is the sixth-largest ...

(IKI/RJDB) connects the island to

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

. Japan National Route 382 connects the hamlets of the island together, and the bus company "Iki-kotsu" provides for public transport.

Sister cities

Suwa, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,972 in 20698 households, and a population density of 452 persons per km². The total area of the city is . History The shores of Lake Suwa have been inh ...

, since May 24, 1994

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Nagasaki Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan