is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

located between

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

and

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, and accessible via ferry from .

Name

It is famous for the duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojirō. The small island was named for its boat-like appearance, and later came to be called after the Ganryū ''

kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms o ...

'' school Kojirō had founded.

Features

On the island are a few monuments as well as facilities for public gatherings such as an annual tug-of-war. Along the west coast is a walking path.

Industry

The western half of the island is currently being used by

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

as a storage facility for its ship manufacturing and drydocks in Shimonoseki across the harbor. :ja:巌流島#cite ref-3

Sports hosting

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

held two matches on the island. On October 4, 1987,

Antonio Inoki (born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promot ...

defeated

Masa Saito was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Mr. Saito or . He wrestled for 33 years around the world. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990, and as a tag team wrestle ...

. On December 18, 1991,

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician and semi-retired professional wrestler who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. As a professional wrestler, Hase primarily worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and also for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJ ...

defeated

Tiger Jeet Singh Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan and was the ...

References

Islands of Yamaguchi Prefecture Tourist attractions in Yamaguchi Prefecture Kanmon Straits {{japan-hist-stub