Okunoshima
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
located in the Inland Sea of 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...
in the city of Takehara
Takehara, Hiroshima
is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan., the city has an estimated population of 29,093 and a density of 246 persons per km². The total area is 118.30 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1958....
, Hiroshima Prefecture
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
. It is accessible by ferry from Tadanoumi and Ōmishima
Omishima, Ehime
was a town located in Ochi District, Ehime, Japan.On January 16, 2005 Ōmishima, along with the towns of Hakata, Kamiura, Kikuma, Miyakubo, Namikata, Ōnishi, Tamagawa and Yoshiumi, and the villages of Asakura and Sekizen, all from Ochi District, was merged into the expanded city of Imabari and no...
. There are campsites, walking trails and places of historical interest on the island. It is often called Usagi Shima, or Rabbit Island, because of the numerous wild rabbits that roam the island - these creatures are rather tame and will come close to you. Despite its size, the island played a key role during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a poison gas factory for much of the chemical warfare
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
that was carried out in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
History
The island was a cultivated area until the First Sino-Japanese WarFirst Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
when ten forts were built to protect it. Because Japan was a signatory on the 1925 Geneva Protocol
Geneva Protocol
The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the first use of chemical and biological weapons. It was signed at Geneva on June 17, 1925 and entered...
banning the use of poison gas, the country went to great lengths to assure the secrecy of the building of the poison gas plant begun in 1929, even going so far as to remove records of the island from some maps. The plant, constructed at the beginning of the Showa Era (1926–1989), was home to a poison-gas facility that produced over six kilotons of mustard gas.
The island was chosen for its isolation, conduciveness to security, and because it was far enough from Tokyo and other areas in case of disaster. Under the jurisdiction of the Japanese military, the local fish preservation processor was converted into a poison-gas reactor. Residents and potential employees were not told what the plant was manufacturing and everything was kept secret; working conditions were harsh and many suffered from gas exposure related illnesses.
With the end of the war, documents concerning the plant were burned and Allied Occupation Forces disposed of the gas either by dumping, burning, or burying it. The laboratory animals were set loose - hence the many rabbits that remain on the island - and people were told to be silent about the project. Several decades later, victims from the plant were given government aid for treatment, and in 1988 the Ōkunoshima Poison Gas Museum was opened.
Present
The Island now has a congress-hotel, a six-hole golf course and a small camping ground. Visitors are able to swim in the clean water surrounding the island, regardless of the tide level. The whole island looks a little like a petting zoo. Many rabbits live in the island. When the island was developed for park after the World War 2, these rabbits were intentionally loosed. Many rabbits were used in the poison gas plant to test effectiveness of the chemical weapon during the World war 2. But all these rabbits were killed when the factory was demolished, therefore the current rabbits have nothing to do with the rabbits for chemical weapon test. Hunting these creatures is forbidden and dogs and cats may not be taken onto the island. The ruins of the old forts and the gas factory can be found all over the island; entry is prohibited as it is too dangerous. Since it is part of the Inland Sea National Park system of Japan, there is a resource center and across the way is the museum.Poison Gas Museum
Opened in 1988, the museum "was established in order to alert as many people as possible to the dreadful truths about poison gas."Only two rooms large, the small building provides a basic overview of the construction of the plant, working conditions and the effects of poison gas on humans. Families of workers who suffered the aftereffects of the harsh working conditions donated numerous artifacts to help tell the story of the workers' plight when handling the gas with poor safety equipment that often leaked.
The second room shows how poison gas affects the human body through the lungs, eyes, skin, and heart. Images of victims from Iraq and Iran add to the message of the museum: that the effects of poison gas are devastating to people and should not be used in any war.
Because of the secrecy involved, people around the world and in Japan do not realize the active role the island played creating gas for the war effort. This is why the museum was created: to inform the world, especially the Japanese, about the aggressive stance that the country adopted. As expressed by the curator Murakami Hatsuichi to The New York Times, “My hope is that people will see the museum in Hiroshima City and also this one, so they will learn that we [Japanese] were both victims and aggressors in the war. I hope people will realize both facets and recognize the importance of peace."
In the museum one can pick up a guide to the numerous remains of the forts from the Sino-Japanese War and the poison gas factory. Most of the buildings are run-down and condemned, but recognizable.
The museum is aimed mainly at the Japanese people, but English translations are provided on the overall summary for each section. The rest is entirely in Japanese.
Other buildings and structures
Over the island runs a powerline on the tallest electricity pylons in Japan, see Chusi Powerline CrossingChusi Powerline Crossing
The Chūshi Powerline Crossing is a part of the , a 220 kV powerline in Japan. It has two circuits running over the Inland Sea from Takehara. It was built in 1962 and consists of two towers, each 226 metres tall, one situated in Takehara, Honshū at , the other on the island of Ōkunoshima at...
Travel
The best way of accessing the island from the mainland is to take the Sanyō ShinkansenSanyō Shinkansen
The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Ōsaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan...
train to Mihara Station (the Nozomi
Nozomi (Shinkansen)
is the fastest train service running on the Tōkaidō/Sanyō Shinkansen in Japan. The service stops at only the largest stations, and along the stretch between Shin-Osaka and Hakata, Nozomi services using N700 series equipment reach speeds of...
does not stop there so a slower train will have to be taken); at Mihara, catch the Kure Line
Kure Line
The is a rail line operated by JR West within Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It begins at Mihara Station in Mihara and terminates at Kaitaichi Station in Kaita. It's one of the main lines of JR West. The section between Mihara Station to Hiro Station is nicknamed "Setouchi Sazanami Line" as the...
local train to , from there walk to the terminal and catch a ferry.
See also
- Battle of Wuhan: Use of chemical weapons
- Changde chemical weapon attack
- Unit 516Unit 516Unit 516 was a top secret Japanese chemical weapons facility, operated by the Kempeitai, in Qiqihar, Manchukuo. The name Unit 516 was a code name of the Unit....
- Unit Ei 1644Unit Ei 1644Unit Ei 1644 , also known as Unit 1644, was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II...