Hashima Island
Hashima Island
Various views from the ocean and from on the island, 2016
Hashima Island
Hashima Island (端島; or simply Hashima, as -shima is a Japanese suffix for 'island'), commonly called Gunkanjima (軍艦島; meaning 'Battleship Island'), is an abandoned island off Nagasaki, lying about 15 kilometres (8 nautical miles) from the centre of the city. It is one of 505 uninhabited islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. The island's most notable features are its abandoned concrete buildings, undisturbed except by nature, and the surrounding seawall. While the island is a symbol of the rapid industrialisation of Japan, it is also a reminder of Japanese war crimes as a site of forced labour prior to and during World War II.
Hashima Island
The 6.3-hectare (16-acre) island was known for its undersea coal mines, established in 1887, which operated during the industrialisation of Japan. The island reached a peak population of 5,259 in 1959. In 1974, with the coal reserves nearing depletion, the mine was closed and all of the residents departed soon after, leaving the island effectively abandoned for the following three decades.
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