Japonski Island ( tli, Yak'w Kashaneixí, russian: остров Японский, ja, ヤポンスキー島) is a small island in the city of

Sitka russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

in the

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago (russian: Архипелаг Александра) is a long archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal m ...

of southeastern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It lies across the

Sitka Channel The Sitka Channel is a strait that separates Japonski Island from Baranof Island in Alaska. The Sitka Channel, or more commonly referred to as simply The Channel by locals, is a notable feature of Sitka, Alaska that separates vital portions of in ...

from Sitka's central business district. The Russian colonists named the island ''Japonski'' (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

for "

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese") after some Japanese fishermen who were stranded there in 1805 (unnamed Russians returned them to Yezo (

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

) in 1806).* Japonski Island is connected to

Baranof Island Baranof Island is an island in the northern Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle, in Alaska. The name Baranof was given in 1805 by Imperial Russian Navy captain Yuri Lisyansky, U. F. Lisianski to honor Alexander Andreyevich Baranov. It ...

and Sitka by the

O'Connell Bridge O'Connell Bridge () is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, which joins O'Connell Street to D'Olier Street, Westmoreland Street and the south quays. History The original bridge (named ''Carlisle Bridge'' for the then ...

. Before the bridge there was a ferry system similar to that which currently exists in

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 202 ...

. The shore boats that maintained the transportation link between Japonski and the rest of Sitka were the ''Donna'', ''Teddy'', ''Dorothy'', ''Diane'', and ''Arrowhead''. They carried approximately 1000 passengers a day from 1946 to 1972. Japonski Island is home to

Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport is a state-owned, public-use airport located west of the central business district of Sitka, a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is named after Sitka's former mayor Rocky Gutierrez. It feat ...

; the Sitka branch campus of the

University of Alaska Southeast The University of Alaska Southeast (UA Southeast, Alaska Southeast, or UAS) is a public university with its main campus in Juneau, Alaska and extended campuses in Sitka and Ketchikan. It is part of the University of Alaska System and was estab ...

;

Mt. Edgecumbe High School Mt. Edgecumbe High School (abbreviated MEHS) is a public boarding high school in Sitka, Alaska in the United States. Located on Japonski Island, across Sitka Harbor from the northwestern corner of downtown Sitka, the school is situated on a por ...

— a state-run boarding school for rural Alaskans; the

Indian Health Service The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an operating division (OPDIV) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally-recognized Nativ ...

regional hospital SEARHC (SouthEast Alaska Regional Healthcare Center); a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

air station; the port and facilities for the USCGC ''Kukui''; and the restored boathouse maintained by the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society. Besides the Coast Guard housing complex, there are very few Sitkans who live on Japonski Island. The official population was 269 persons at the 2000 census. The land area of Japonski Island, including the connected nearby much smaller islands such as Virublennoi (Russian for "harvested" or "cut out"), Sasedni (Russian for "neighbor"), Kirushkin (probably a Russian surname), Makhnati (Russian for "shaggy") and smaller islets, was .

Demographics

Japonski Island appeared once separately on the 1940 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It was later annexed into Sitka.

References

Japonski Island and connected smaller islands: Block Group 6, Census Tract 2, Sitka City and Borough, Alaska
United States Census Bureau Islands of the Alexander Archipelago Islands of Sitka, Alaska Islands of Alaska {{SitkaAK-geo-stub