Gaja Island

It is an island in the Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture. It has an area of ​​4.07 square kilometers and a circumference of 9.3 kilometers. It belongs to Toshima Village, Kagoshima County. It is an old volcanic island made of pyroxene andesite, with the highest point being Ontake in the center at 497 meters. It is surrounded by cliffs several tens to over 100 meters high, and traces of a small settlement that once existed on the main island remain on the narrow slopes of the cliffs that rose more than 60 meters up. In 1970 (Showa 45), the number of permanent households was reduced to 8 and the population was 30, and the entire island became a remote island and uninhabited. Until then, a village-run regular ferry stopped off from Kagoshima Port about once a week, but there are no regular ferry services now. After it became uninhabited, goats, deer, and other animals were allowed to graze naturally under the management of the village office (located in Kagoshima City).

[Kimihiko Tsukada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鹿児島県吐噶喇(とから)列島の中の一島。面積4.07平方キロメートル、周囲9.3キロメートル。鹿児島郡十島村(としまむら)に属する。輝石安山岩からなる旧期火山島で、最高点は中央にある御岳(おんたけ)の497メートル。周囲はすべて数十～100メートル以上もある断崖(だんがい)で、かつて本島にあった小集落は60メートル以上も登った崖上の狭い斜面に跡を残している。1970年（昭和45）常住世帯数8、人口30人となり、全島あげて離島し、無人島となった。それまでは鹿児島港より村営定期船が週に1便程度立ち寄ったが、現在は定期便はない。無人となったのち、村役場（鹿児島市にある）の管理の下にヤギ、シカなどの自然放牧が行われた。

［塚田公彦］

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