is a
Japanese island in the
Inland Sea.
Administratively, it forms part of the
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 ...
of
Imabari
270px, Imabari City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Imabari city center
is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 152,111 in 75947 households and a population ...
,
Ehime Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...
.
Geography
Kurushima is situated some off the coast of
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
's at the entrance to in
Imabari
270px, Imabari City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Imabari city center
is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 152,111 in 75947 households and a population ...
.
The island has a coastline of approximately and a surface area of .
It is a natural fortress with cliffs to the north shaped by the fast currents (some to ) and rocks below; there is a settlement on the flatter land to the south, around a small bay.
To the east, the are spanned by the
Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge, while the island is protected as part of
Setonaikai National Park
is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, known as the Setouchi ...
.
History
During the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, the island was the base of the Kurushima Murakami, one of the three main houses of the
Murakami kaizoku (the others the
Noshima Murakami and Innoshima Murakami).
There are still remains of the walls of , an element of
Japan Heritage "Story" #036,
as well as traces of residences and wells.
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 ...
, together with nearby , the island was part of in
Matsuyama Domain
270px, Matsudaira Katsushige, 13th daimyō of Iyo-Matsuyama Domain
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now central Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Matsuyama Cast ...
, with an
assessment of twenty-six ''
koku'', three ''
to'', and nine ''
shō''.
Around the end of the
Kyōhō era in the early eighteenth century there were some seventy-eight households, fifty-three of them of fishermen.
By
Shōwa 53 (1978) this number had dropped to thirty-nine households, primarily making a living by commuting to the local shipyards and
line fishing.
As of 2009, Kurushima had thirty-two residents.
Related maps
Series L506, U.S. Army Map Service, 1953 (NI 53-5 Hiroshima).jpg, 1953 US AMS map showing Hiroshima Prefecture and, across the sea to the south, Imabari
270px, Imabari City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Imabari city center
is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 152,111 in 75947 households and a population ...
in Ehime Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...
; Kurushima is the small unmarked island near the bottom, to the right of the tip of what is marked Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
, just above Hashihama and to the southwest of "O-shima" ("Ko-jima" on the next map)
Series L775, U.S. Army Map Service, 1946 (Kikuma Sheet 4649-2).jpg, 1946 US AMS map showing "Kuru-shima", to the southwest of "Ko-jima" ("O-shima" on the previous map)
See also
*
Setonaikai National Park
is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, known as the Setouchi ...
*
Noshima
*
Innoshima
is an island and former city in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The island is located within the Geiyo Islands of the Seto Inland Sea. The city was founded on May 1, 1953.
, the city had an estimated population of 27,465 and a population density o ...
References
External links
*
Japan's outlying islands(
MLIT
The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.[国土交通省設置法 ...](_blank)
)
*
Detailed maps of Setonaikai National Park(
Ministry of the Environment; Kurushima is in 愛媛県地域（今治南）)
{{Authority control
Imabari, Ehime
Islands of the Seto Inland Sea
Islands of Ehime Prefecture
