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Torishima (Izu Islands)
Encyclopedia
, literally meaning "Bird Island", is an uninhabited volcanic island at the south end of the Izu Islands
in the Pacific Ocean
, administered by Japan
.
approximately 600 km (373 mi) south of Tokyo
and 76 km (47 mi) north of Lot's Wife
. The roughly circular-shaped island is listed as a Class A active volcano by the Japan Meteorological Agency
. The island is the above-water portion of a submarine volcano
, whose submerged caldera portion to the north of the island continues to erupt underwater. Volcanic activity on the island itself was last recorded in 2002, accompanied by earthquake swarm
s. The main peak on the island, has a height of 394 m (1,293 ft), and the island has a circumference of 6.5 km (4 mi). The total area of the island is 4.79 km² (1.8 sq mi)
, but was uninhabited aside from occasional shipwreck survivors. In 1841, 14-year-old Nakahama Manjirō
and four friends were shipwrecked on Torishima until rescued by the American whaler ship John Howland (Captain William H. Whitfield commanding). Award-winning Japanese writer Akira Yoshimura
researched and wrote about 15 similar instances. The island was settled in Meiji period
, with the primary economic activity being the gathering of guano
from the abundant
Short-tailed Albatross
, who use the island as their nesting grounds. A major volcanic eruption was recorded in 1871. The island was administratively grouped with the Ogasawara islands in August 1898, but was transferred to the administration of Hachijojima
in April 1901. The population of 150 inhabitants was killed by the major volcanic eruption of 1902. Torishima was never repopulated.
Since the 1930s, the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology
has taken a very active role in researching and attempting to preserve the local seabird
species, especially the short-tailed albatross, which had been reduced to an estimated 50 birds by 1933. The Japan Meteorological Agency established a weather station and volcanic research station on the island in 1947, but this was abandoned in 1965 due to volcanic activity and earthquakes. On November 1, 1954 Torishima was proclaimed a protected bird sanctuary. This designation was increased to that of a protected national Natural monument
on May 10, 1965. It can only be visited by research scientists with special permission, and landing on the island is very difficult due to heavy seas and lack of suitable landing beaches or facilities. Tour boats which take people around the island to view the birds are popular, but these tours are not permitted to land on the island. Researchers normally travel to the island by chartered government helicopter
.
Torishima, along with the other Izu Islands
, is officially part of Tokyo Metropolis
, and also falls within the borders of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
.
. Plants such as Vitex rotundifolia
and Hydrangea
are found near the shoreline, and Chrysanthemum pacificum
and Japanese Black Pine in sheltered areas inland, but most of the central portion of the island remains as volcanic ash and rock.
The island is home to several tens of thousand breeding pairs of Tristram's Storm-petrel
and other birds such as Japanese Murrelet
, Black-footed Albatross
, Common Kestrel
and Blue Rock-Thrush, but the short-tailed albatross population has been very slow to recover, with recovery hampered by the presence of large numbers of black rat
s, the only remaining mammal on the island.
Izu Islands
The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōshima....
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, administered by 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...
.
Geography
Torishima is located in the Philippine SeaPhilippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east and north of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 2 million mi² on the western part of the North Pacific Ocean...
approximately 600 km (373 mi) south of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and 76 km (47 mi) north of Lot's Wife
Lot's Wife (crag)
is a volcanic, deserted island located in the Philippine Sea approximately off the coast of Tokyo, in the southernmost tip of the Izu archipelago, Japan.-Geography:...
. The roughly circular-shaped island is listed as a Class A active volcano by the Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
. The island is the above-water portion of a submarine volcano
Submarine volcano
Submarine volcanoes are underwater fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. They are estimated to account for 75% of annual magma output. The vast majority are located near areas of tectonic plate movement, known as ocean ridges...
, whose submerged caldera portion to the north of the island continues to erupt underwater. Volcanic activity on the island itself was last recorded in 2002, accompanied by earthquake swarm
Earthquake swarm
Earthquake swarms are events where a local area experiences sequences of many earthquakes striking in a relatively short period of time. The length of time used to define the swarm itself varies, but the United States Geological Survey points out that an event may be on the order of days, weeks, or...
s. The main peak on the island, has a height of 394 m (1,293 ft), and the island has a circumference of 6.5 km (4 mi). The total area of the island is 4.79 km² (1.8 sq mi)
History
Torishima was known to Japanese fishermen and mariners since at least the early Edo periodEdo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, but was uninhabited aside from occasional shipwreck survivors. In 1841, 14-year-old Nakahama Manjirō
Nakahama Manjiro
, also known as John Manjirō , was one of the first Japanese people to visit the United States and an important translator during the Opening of Japan.-Voyage to America:...
and four friends were shipwrecked on Torishima until rescued by the American whaler ship John Howland (Captain William H. Whitfield commanding). Award-winning Japanese writer Akira Yoshimura
Akira Yoshimura
was a prize winning Japanese writer.He was the president of the Japanese writers' union and a PEN member. He published over 20 novels, of which On Parole and Shipwrecks are internationally known and have been translated into several languages...
researched and wrote about 15 similar instances. The island was settled in Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, with the primary economic activity being the gathering of guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
from the abundant
Short-tailed Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross
The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus, is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean...
, who use the island as their nesting grounds. A major volcanic eruption was recorded in 1871. The island was administratively grouped with the Ogasawara islands in August 1898, but was transferred to the administration of Hachijojima
Hachijojima
is a volcanic Japanese island in the Philippine Sea, administered by Tōkyō and located approximately south of the Special Wards of Tōkyō. It is the southernmost and most isolated of the Izu Seven Islands group of the seven northern islands of the Izu archipelago...
in April 1901. The population of 150 inhabitants was killed by the major volcanic eruption of 1902. Torishima was never repopulated.
Since the 1930s, the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology
Yamashina Institute for Ornithology
The is a non-profit scientific research organization in Japan, specializing in ornithology studies.-History:The Yamashina Institute for Ornithology was founded by Dr. Yoshimaro Yamashina at his home in Shibuya, Tokyo as a private museum to store his collection of bird specimens and books. Marquis...
has taken a very active role in researching and attempting to preserve the local seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
species, especially the short-tailed albatross, which had been reduced to an estimated 50 birds by 1933. The Japan Meteorological Agency established a weather station and volcanic research station on the island in 1947, but this was abandoned in 1965 due to volcanic activity and earthquakes. On November 1, 1954 Torishima was proclaimed a protected bird sanctuary. This designation was increased to that of a protected national Natural monument
Natural Monument
A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance....
on May 10, 1965. It can only be visited by research scientists with special permission, and landing on the island is very difficult due to heavy seas and lack of suitable landing beaches or facilities. Tour boats which take people around the island to view the birds are popular, but these tours are not permitted to land on the island. Researchers normally travel to the island by chartered government helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
.
Torishima, along with the other Izu Islands
Izu Islands
The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōshima....
, is officially part of Tokyo Metropolis
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and also falls within the borders of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
is a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands....
.
Flora and fauna
Repeated volcanic eruptions in 1939 and 2002 have set the flora on Torishima back to initial stages in the ecological successionEcological succession
Ecological succession, is the phenomenon or process by which a community progressively transforms itself until a stable community is formed. It is a fundamental concept in ecology, and refers to more or less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community...
. Plants such as Vitex rotundifolia
Vitex
Vitex is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae Martynov, nom. cons. . It has about 250 species. Its type species is Vitex agnus-castus. There is no universal English name, though "chastetree" is common for many species...
and Hydrangea
Hydrangea
Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...
are found near the shoreline, and Chrysanthemum pacificum
Chrysanthemum pacificum
Chrysanthemum pacificum is a flowering plant within the genus Chrysanthemum. It is endemic to the island of Honshū in Japan.-References:*...
and Japanese Black Pine in sheltered areas inland, but most of the central portion of the island remains as volcanic ash and rock.
The island is home to several tens of thousand breeding pairs of Tristram's Storm-petrel
Tristram's Storm-petrel
The Tristram's Storm Petrel is a species of seabird in the storm-petrel family Hydrobatidae. The species' common and scientific name is derived from the English clergyman Henry Baker Tristram, although the species is also known as the Sooty Storm-petrel...
and other birds such as Japanese Murrelet
Japanese Murrelet
The Japanese Murrelet, Synthliboramphus wumizusume also known as Crested Murrelet is a small bird that inhabits rocky islets and reefs in the warm waters of Japan, Russia and South Korea...
, Black-footed Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
The Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes, is a large seabird from the North Pacific of the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is one of three species of albatross that range in the northern hemisphere, nesting on isolated tropical islands...
, Common Kestrel
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European Kestrel, Eurasian Kestrel, or Old World Kestrel. In Britain, where no other brown falcon occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".This species...
and Blue Rock-Thrush, but the short-tailed albatross population has been very slow to recover, with recovery hampered by the presence of large numbers of black rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
s, the only remaining mammal on the island.