Ikeshima
池島
Island
Abandoned apartment buildings on Ikeshima
Abandoned apartment buildings on Ikeshima
Location of Ikeshima
Country Japan
RegionKyushu
Prefecture Nagasaki
City Nagasaki
Area
 • Total1.08 km2 (0.42 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total111

Ikeshima or Ikejima (Japanese: 池島), also sometimes listed as Ike Island, is an island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Initially within the borders of Kamiura village, from 1955 until its merger with the city of Nagasaki in 2005, it was part of Sotome municipality.

Thousands of coal miners who lived on the island were formerly employed there, representing the vast majority of its population. The coal mines opened in 1959 and closed in 2001.[1] The number of miners was reported to be 8,000,[2] or over 10,000 at its peak.[3] As of 2018, only 130 individuals, mostly retired miners or their relatives, remained on the island.[3]

Etymology

The island is named after the former pond on the island, named Kagamigaike. The pond was destroyed in favour of turning it into a port.[4] "Ike" (Japanese: 池) translates to pond, so a literal translation for Ikeshima would be "Pond Island".

References

  1. ↑ "Former coal mining island Ikeshima hopes unique tours ensure survival". 10 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Former coal mining island Ikeshima". Japan Times. January 10, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "住民基本台帳に基づく町別人口・世帯数（各月末）" [Population and households by town based on basic resident register]. City of Nagasaki.
  4. ↑ "Ikeshima: A Semi-Abandoned Island".
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32°53′1.8″N 129°35′44.9″E / 32.883833°N 129.595806°E / 32.883833; 129.595806


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