Aijima Island

A small island in the Itsukinada Sea, about 10 km from the northwest coast of the Takanawa Peninsula in northern Ehime Prefecture. It belongs to Matsuyama City. It is 1.2 km east to west, 0.2 km north to south, and has an area of ​​0.26 square kilometers. Oasujima Island is located about 2.5 km southeast. Boat service is available from Hojo Port. Until the mid-Edo period, it was uninhabited, but since it is close to good fishing grounds, people began to settle there, and because it is well located as a port for waiting for the tide and the wind, it flourished as a port of call for sailing ships. At the end of the Edo period, as navigation became more active, prostitutes gathered there, and by the early Meiji period, the number reached 70 to 80. Although the people were fishermen and farmers, there was also a lot of shipping business, and they lived a wealthy life, but in recent years, they have been focusing on fishing and tourism. The population peaked at 532 in 1955 (Showa 30), and has dropped sharply due to the increase in isolated islands. Population 27 (2009).

[Kazuo Fukaishi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

愛媛県北部、高縄半島北西海岸から約10キロメートルの斎灘(いつきなだ)に浮かぶ小島。松山市に属す。東西1.2キロメートル、南北0.2キロメートル、面積0.26平方キロメートルで、南東約2.5キロメートルに小安居島がある。北条港から船便がある。江戸中期までは無人島であったが、その後好漁場に近いので定住が始まり、潮待ち港、風待ち港として好位置にあることから帆船の寄港地として栄えた。江戸末期、航行が活発になると娼婦(しょうふ)が集まり、明治初期には70～80人にも達した。漁主農従だが、船舶輸送業も多く生活は豊かであったが、近年は漁業と観光に力をいれている。人口は1955年（昭和30）の532人をピークに、挙家離島の増加により激減している。人口27（2009）。

［深石一夫］

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