Kanmurijima

Kanmurijima Island
Native name: 冠島 Kanmurijima Nickname: Oshima or Yushima
	Aerial photograph of Kanmurijima
	Location within Japan
Geography
Location	Sea of Japan
Coordinates	35°40′50″N 135°25′35″E / 35.68056°N 135.42639°E
Archipelago	no
Area	0.223 km2 (0.086 sq mi)
Length	1.3 km (0.81 mi)
Width	0.5 km (0.31 mi)
Coastline	4 km (2.5 mi)
Highest elevation	169.7 m (556.8 ft)
Administration
	Japan
Prefecture	Kyoto Prefecture
City	Maizuru
Demographics
Population	0
Ethnic groups	Japanese

Kanmurijima (冠島), also known as Oshima (冠島, O-shima) in the Oomoto religion, is an island in the Sea of Japan administered under Maizuru in Kyoto Prefecture. It is about 2 km from Kutsujima, a similar smaller island. Nakatsu reef (中津ぐり, Nakatsu-guri) is located just midway between islands. A breeding ground for streaked shearwaters, the island was designated a Japanese natural monument (天然記念物, tennen-kinenbutsu) in 1924. It has also been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International. Currently, the island is designated as Kanmurijima-Kutsujima wildlife protection area and any landing is prohibited. A recreational diving service is available though.

History

According to records of Tango no kuni fudoki, Kanmurijima and Kutsujima are the remains of a much larger island which submerged following an earthquake in 701 A.D. The topography of the seafloor seems to support the claim, as the steep 60-metre cliff is located underwater off the eastern coast of Kanmurijima and Kutsujima, indicating a recent crustal fault.

Sacred site

Kanmurijima is a sacred pilgrimage site in the Oomoto religion. In Oomoto, the name of the island is pronounced differently as Oshima, although it is still written using the same kanji characters (冠島).