The are Japanese islands in the

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 ...

. They are part of

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

Geography

There are 140 islands, including five main ones: , , , , and . The northernmost island is Ukujima. The group of islands runs approximately from Osezaki Lighthouse,

Fukue Island is the largest and southernmost of the Gotō Islands in Japan. It is part of the city of Gotō, Nagasaki, Gotō in Nagasaki Prefecture. Gotō-Fukue Airport is on this island. As of July 31, 2016, the population is 38,481.Nakadōri Island. Its center is near Naru Island at about . To the north is Tsushima Island in the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (; ''Dongsuro'') is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Isl ...

and to the east is Kyūshū and the rest of Nagasaki Prefecture. It is about from the port of

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

. The Tsushima Current (a branch of the Kuroshio) passes around the islands. The southern of the two principal islands, Fukue, measures approximately north-to-south by east-to-west; the northern, Nakadōri Island, measures approximately north-to-south by east-to-west at its widest point. Most of Nakadōri Island, however, is quite narrow, measuring less than wide for much of its length. Some dome-shaped hills command the old castle town of Fukue. The islands are highly cultivated; deer and other game abound, and trout are plentiful in the mountain streams. As a result of a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

on August 1, 2004, the city of Gotō was established. It occupies Fukue, Hisaka, and Naru islands, and seven inhabited ones. The town of Shin-Kamigotō, itself the product of a simultaneous, separate merger in 2004, occupies Nakadōri and Wakamatsu islands, two of the five main islands of the Gotō archipelago, in addition to the small inhabited islands of Arifuku, Kashiragashima, Hinoshima, Ryōzegaura, and Kirinoko and a great number of uninhabited islets. The small island of Kabajima is east of Hisaka Island and northeast of Fukue Island. It belongs to Gotō City.

Demographics

In 2005, there were 76,311 inhabitants on the islands. An important historical element is the roots of Christianity in Japan within the islands. Some of the inhabitants are descended from Christians of the Catholic Church (" Kakure Kirishitan"), who came to their faith upon the introduction of Christianity to Japan via Portuguese missionaries in the late 16th century. These Japanese were many times persecuted and tortured by the Japanese

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

s for their beliefs, all the way into the early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. Until recently Hanare Kirishitans still lived there; the majority either returned to Catholicism after it was legalized in the 19th century or reverted to earlier practices. The islands have numerous Catholic churches, the oldest and most famous of which is Dōzaki church, built in 1868 and located about north of Fukue port. The islands are part of the Archdiocese of Nagasaki.

Products

Marine products, such as

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

s and

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

s, are the main products of the island. The natural camellia oil of Fukuejima is famous in Japan for cosmetic use. Kankoro Mochi is a confectionery and specialty food of the Gotō Islands made from sliced, sundried

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of ...

combined with

mochi A mochi ( ; Japanese ) is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain Japonica rice, japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The steamed rice is pounded into paste and molded into the ...

Tourism

Fukue City is a typical castle city. The historic castle in Fukue, Ishida Castle, was built last of all castles in Japanese history because year after the castle was completed Japan underwent the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. Today, the castle is used as the Goto high school and is contributing to the education of young people. Most of the castle area inside the stone walls are opened for public.

Transportation

The Gotō-Fukue Airport (FUJ/RJFE) is on Fukue Island. Ferry services from Nagasaki and Sasebo are offered by Kyusyu Shosen Co. Ltd. Both standard ferry and hydrofoil services operate. There are also regular bus services on Fukue island.

Citations

External links

Goto city tourism association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goto Islands Archipelagoes of Japan Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Islands of Nagasaki Prefecture Islands of the East China Sea Japanese archipelago