Shōdoshima or is an island located in the Inland Sea of

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 n ...

. The name means "Island of Small Beans". There are two towns on the island: Tonoshō and

Shōdoshima Shōdoshima or is an island located in the Inland Sea of Japan. The name means "Island of Small Beans". There are two towns on the island: Tonoshō and Shōdoshima, composing the district of Shōzu. The island is famous as the setting for th ...

, composing the district of Shōzu. The island is famous as the setting for the novel ''

Twenty-Four Eyes is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Sakae Tsuboi. The film stars Hideko Takamine as a schoolteacher named Hisako Ōishi, who lives during the rise and fall of Japanese nati ...

'' and its subsequent film adaptations. The island was the first area of Japan to successfully grow

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...

s, and it is sometimes known as "Olive Island".

Geography

Shōdoshima is part of

Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

and is located north of the prefectural capital

Takamatsu 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

. It has an area of and a coastline of . It is the 23rd largest island in Japan, and the second largest in the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to ...

. Shōdoshima is home to Dofuchi Strait, the world's narrowest strait, meters at its narrowest. Frequent ferries run to the island from Takamatsu,

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

Teshima is an island located in the inland sea of Japan, between Naoshima and Shōdoshima islands, and is part of Kagawa Prefecture. It has an area of and a population of about 1,000 people. Teshima is one of the locations of the Setouchi Triennale, ...

and

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

. Ferries run infrequently to

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

and

Kōbe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, which ...

as well.

History

Shodoshima Olive Park Shodo Island Japan21bs3

201211Kankakei Shodoshima Kagawa pref Japan10s4

Shōdoshima was once known as Azuki-shima and was part of Kibi (later Bizen) Province, given to

Sanuki Province was a province of Japan in the area of northeastern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sanuki''" in . Sanuki bordered on Awa to the south, and Iyo to the west. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system ...

, and finally made part of Kagawa prefecture.

Tourism and culture

Shōdoshima is a popular destination for domestic tourism in Japan. In addition to natural features such as the Dobuchi Strait, the Angel Road, Shōdoshima Olive Park and the , Shōdoshima is famous as the setting for the antiwar novel , written by the native author

Sakae Tsuboi was a Japanese novelist and poet. Biography Early life Sakae Tsuboi was born in the village of Sakate (now part of the town of Shōdoshima) in Kagawa Prefecture, the fifth daughter of soy sauce barrel maker, Tokichi Iwai. Despite the bankrupt ...

and later turned twice into a film (1954 and 1987), as well as a television special. The island is the birthplace of two other distinguished writers: Sakae's husband the poet Shigeji Tsuboi and the novelist and short-story writer Denji Kuroshima. All three were prominent participants in the proletarian literary movement, an important and politically radical current within modern Japanese literature. Shōdoshima is also known for its olives, soy sauce, wild monkeys, and beaches. In addition, tourists are attracted to a miniature version of the 88-temple

Shikoku Pilgrimage The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...

. The island is also famous for being the first in Japan to successfully cultivate olives. Olive trees proliferate on the island and olive-related merchandise is quite popular with tourists.

Milos Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group. The ''Venus d ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, is Shōdoshima's sister island. The island is the setting for the manga and anime series ''

Teasing Master Takagi-san is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sōichirō Yamamoto. The series features the daily life of Takagi, who loves to tease her classmate Nishikata, and Nishikata's failed attempts to get back at her. In North America, the ...

''. Native creator Sōichirō Yamamoto was raised in Tonoshō Town. The island's mascot is Olive Shima-chan ( ja, オリーブしまちゃん), who is an olive-shaped prince those task is to find secret spots of the island and to test taste olive oil for quality. He likes white rice. His birthday is on August 15. He is assisted by Mimozanoriku-chan and Rukkarukka. *Olive King ( ja, オリーブキング, Orībukingu) has protected the island for 100 years, he is Olive Shima-chan's master. 15 March is his birthday. *Mimozanoriku-chan ( ja, ミモザのりくちゃん, Mimoza no riku-chan) is a mimosa. She is the girlfriend of Olive Shima-chan and is responsible to signalling the island's residents about the arrival of spring. Her birthday is March 8. *Rukkarukka ( ja, ルッカルッカ), on the hand, an olive who is a crybaby. His birthday is November 16.

Sister island

(1989)

Notes

External links