Inujima

Inujima
Native name:
犬島
Island with forests, lakes, buildings, and quays
Aerial photo of Inujima, circa 1980
Map
Administration
Japan
Higashi-ku, Okayama, Okayama Prefecture
Demographics
Population47 (2017)

Inujima (犬島, [inɯdʑima], lit. "Dog Island") is a Japanese island in the Seto Inland Sea, located near the coast of Okayama Prefecture. It is part of Higashi-ku, Okayama.[1]

As of 2017, Inujima has a population of 47.[2]

Access from mainland

A ferry service operates between Hōden and Inujima.[3]

Industrial heritage

A copper refinery was opened on the island in 1909, but this closed in 1919.[2] The brick-built refinery remained largely undemolished, and from 2008, it formed the centrepiece of a large-scale art project designed to stimulate tourism to the island.[4]

Inujima Art Project

Ruined buildings in front of a chimney which is slowly being consumed by vines
Remains of the refinery in 2011

The Inujima Art Project (犬島アートプロジェクト) is a rehabilitation project covering the entire island by the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation, a project of Benesse Corporation. It opened to the public in April 2008. The first phase of the project was to turn the old seirensho refinery into a model of contemporary architecture and art to recycle the Japanese industrial heritage. It was the coordinated efforts of the architect Hiroshi Sambuichi and Yukinori Yanagi who collaborated with the architect in his artwork, and the Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology at Okayama University.[citation needed]

Population data

The population of the island has changed over the years as follows.[2]

Year Population Number of households
1822 80 18
1862 110 22
1919 1,200 240
1935 1,500 280
1945 982 241
1951 1,350 242
1955 843 220
1960 629 189
1969 750 190
1975 353 133
1984 224 93
1991 130 70
1996 115 59
2001 79 49
2002 70 45
2005 72 44
2017 47 35

Film locations

References

  1. ^ 区内の住所一覧あ行 [Ward Address List] (in Japanese). Japan: City of Okayama. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d 犬島の歴史 [The History of Inujima] (in Japanese). Japan: City of Okayama. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  3. ^ 運航ダイヤ [Ferry service] (in Japanese). Japan: Nikkan Kaiji Tsushin Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on 28 January 1999. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Inujima Island". Japan: japan-guide.com. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
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34°33′45″N 134°05′59″E / 34.56250°N 134.09972°E / 34.56250; 134.09972

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