(also previously named Hiranoshima and Firando Island) is the 4th largest island in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...

. Its coasts are washed by

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

. The entire island and the part of the nearby

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

mainland is administered as part of

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The component ...

city. The island's highest peak is

Mount Yasumandake Mount Yasumandake (安満岳) is the highest peak on the island of Hirado, Japan. The mountain was sacred to Buddhists and Shintoists, and as Christianity became prevalent in Hirado it also became an object of Hidden Christian worship. In 2018 the ...

Saikai National Park is a marine national park located in Nagasaki prefecture of northwest Kyūshū, Japan. It consists of the coastal regions of Matsuura Peninsula, extending northward from the port city of Sasebo and encompasses the Kujūku Islands, with over 2 ...

comprise 24% of the island's total area.

Geology

The ''Hirado island'' has formed as a horst elevated from the sea in

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

period, mixed and overlaid by the recent

Igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...

. Due to being relatively young, the island is very hilly with large fraction of area over 200 meters elevation, and flat land is limited to marginal coastal plains. The coastline is highly indented and feature a large cliffs along the entire north-west coast facing

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

, except for river mouths.

History

The ''Hirado Island'' port was the primary departure point for the

Japanese missions to Sui China Japanese missions to Sui China represent a lens for examining and evaluating the relationship between the Sui dynasty and Japan in the 7th century. The nature of these bilateral contacts evolved gradually from political and ceremonial acknowledgme ...

and

Japanese missions to Tang China represent Japanese efforts to learn from the Chinese culture and civilization in the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries. The nature of these contacts evolved gradually from political and ceremonial acknowledgment to cultural exchanges; and the process ...

in 7th-9th centuries. 16 October 1274, the ''Hirado Island'' was invaded by the detachment of the Mongol army as the part of

Mongol invasions of Japan Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of mac ...

. During the 2nd invasion of 1281, the island was an important rear base for the Mongols until been abandoned after the invasion failed. Since

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

in 14th century, the island had become the hub for the

Wokou ''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.Nanban trade or the , was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to the first '' Sakoku'' Seclusion Edicts of isolationism in 1614. Nanban (南蛮 Lit. "Southern barbarian") is a Japanese word which had been used to desig ...

with Europe, the Portuguese trade station was operational on the island in 1550-1561 period. In 1584, the Spanish, British and Dutch traders started visiting the island once again. The

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

was established and

Hirado Castle was the seat of the Matsura clan, the ''daimyō'' of Hirado Domain, of Hizen Province, Kyūshū. It is located in present-day Hirado city Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It was also known as . Description Hirado Castle was built on top of a sma ...

built under leadership of the Matsuura clan in 1599. The castle was razed in 1613 and re-built in 1704. In 1609–1641, a Dutch trading factory was established in ''Hirado Island'' before been transferred to

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...

.Internet archive of 2012 - Van hier tot Tokio. 400 jaar handel met Japan
/ref> From 1613, the ships of William Adams started operating from ''Hirado Island'' too, but the British trade mission was closed in 1623. From 1955 to 2005, after a series of the municipal mergers, the Hirado city comprising the entire island was established.

Transportation

The

Hirado Bridge The is a suspension bridge in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It connects the islands of Hirado and Kitamatsuura Peninsula. Completed in 1977, it has a main span of 465.5 meters and total length of 665 m. From April 1, 2010, no fee is required to pass ...

over 570 meters wide strait connects the ''Hirado Island'' to the

. The bridge was completed in 1977 and the transit fee was cancelled in 2010. Also,

Ikitsuki Bridge The Ikitsuki Bridge is a continuous truss bridge that connects Ikitsuki to Hirado Island. Completed in 1991, it has a main span of . It is the longest continuous truss bridge in the world. History The bridge allows automobile access from Iki ...

(completed in 1991) connects ''Hirado Island'' to the Ikitsuki Island. The island is served by the national Route 383. Ferries are available for transfer to the lesser inhabited islands nearby.

Climate

''Hirado Island'' is located in the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

zone (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa''), with four distinct seasons. The island rarely sees snowfall during the winter. Spring in ''Hirado Island'' starts off mild, but ends up being very humid. The summer tends to be Hirado's wettest season, with the — the rainy season — occurring between early June (average:Jun.7) to late July (average:Jul.21). The island's weather is affected by the nearby while being shielded from the warm

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

by the

island, resulting in wetter and colder climate than should be expected at lower 30's latitudes. The climate of ''Hirado Island'' is greatly moderated by the surrounding sea, resulting in reduced seasonal and diurnal temperature variations.

Attractions

Notable residents

References

*This article incorporates material from Japanese Wikipedia page 平戸島, accessed 4 August 2017 {{Authority control Islands of Nagasaki Prefecture Islands of the East China Sea