Mitsukejima
Encyclopedia
Suzu, Ishikawa
is a city located at the northeasternmost tip of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa, Japan. The city is the proposed site of the Suzu Nuclear Power Plant; however, in 2003 the proposal was "frozen" until further notice....
, Ishikawa
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Because of its shape, it is also known as Gunkanjima (軍艦島; meaning "Battleship Island"), which is also the common name given to Hashima Island
Hashima Island
For the island in Connecticut, see Thimble Islands., commonly called Gunkanjima or Gunkanshima , is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself....
in the Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...
.
According to folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, the island was given the name "Mitsukejima" by the monk, scholar, and artist, Kūkai
Kukai
Kūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....
, who was the first to discover the island while travelling from Sado Island
Sado, Niigata
is a city located on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area of 855.26 km2 is urbanized...
, Niigata
Niigata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
.
Mitsukejima is approximately 150 metres long, 50 metres wide, and 30 metres above sea level. It is composed of diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth also known as diatomite or kieselgur/kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to...
, the raw materials for shichirin
Shichirin
]The shichirin is a small charcoal grill.-Description:The shichirin is a lightweight, compact, and easy-to-move cooking stove. Charcoal is chiefly used for the fuel of shichirin. It has had prototypes since ancient times, and it is said that shichirin roughly the same as today's were made in the...
, a portable clay cooking stove which is a specialty product of Suzu. Mitsukejima is known as a scenic spot of the Notohantō
Noto Peninsula
thumb|right|240px|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle.Noto Peninsula is a peninsula that projects north into the Sea of Japan from the coast of Ishikawa prefecture in central Honshū, the main island of Japan...
quasi-national park, and attracts many tourists.