A small island in the Shiwaku group, part of Mitoyo (formerly Takuma town), about 0.74 square kilometers. More than a thousand people lived here in the Meiji and Taisho eras; today there are around twenty, and no cars. It appeared as "Kotojima" in the 1993 film Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajiro no Endan (the 46th in the Tora-san series) and was also a location for Kikansha Sensei (2004). The island keeps the old custom of separate burial and visiting graves, with brightly colored grave shelters near the port.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org nippon.com
This moment in the journey
Shishijima, a small island of the Shiwaku group
I arrived at Shishijima, a small island in the Shiwaku Islands. At the port stood a board reading "Welcome to Shishijima" and a buoy painted with a cat's face. Around twenty people live here, and there are no cars.
I walked past a cycad tree into the village. The eaves of a shop with an old tobacco sign, and narrow lanes between stone walls, carry the memory of an island where more than a thousand people once lived.
Watch this scene on YouTube2:55
More notes from this journey
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Niku mosso
A beef version of mossou-meshi, a traditional dish of Mitoyo.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Awashima
One of the Shiwaku Islands, about 4.5 km northwest of Takuma port in Mitoyo.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
The boat between Awashima and Shishijima
Awashima Kisen runs passenger boats between Suda and Miyanoshita ports on the mainland and Awashima, Kamishinden and Shishijima.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
The Great Camphor Tree of Shishijima
A giant camphor tree on the hillside on the north side of the island.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
The Flower Garden in the Sky
After the war, Shishijima thrived on growing pyrethrum and flowers; at its peak more than a hundred farms raised chrysanthemums, stock, marguerites, calendula a…
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
Mitoyo, Kagawa
Kusunokura Observatory
A handmade lookout that the islanders built together on the rise above the great camphor tree.
From: A great camphor tree and a garden in the sky: island life in the Seto Inland Sea
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Onomichi-yaki
Onomichi's okonomiyaki is called Onomichi-yaki.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Octopus rice (tako-meshi)
A regional dish of Hiroshima handed down in Mihara, Onomichi and Fukuyama.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
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Shippoku udon
A winter dish found throughout Kagawa.
From: Drawn by the sea breeze and the cats to Sanagi Island
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Mackerel sandwich with Setouchi lemon
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From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
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Jako-ten, prawns and Ehime wagyu on a charcoal grill
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From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
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Tai-meshi, sashimi-bowl style
Ehime has two kinds of tai-meshi.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze