Kabashima

An island located at the southern tip of the Nagasaki Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture, separated by the Kabashima Strait from Wakimisaki. It belongs to Nagasaki City. In 1986, the Kabashima Bridge was built, connecting the island to Wakimisaki via Nakanoshima. Its area is 2.36 square kilometers. It once formed the village of Kabashima. There is a bay in the northern part of the island, and on either side of this bay are the fishing ports of Furumachi and Shinmachi. The port has long been a key transportation point in the Western Sea, connecting northern Kyushu and southern Kyushu, and in the Meiji and Taisho eras it was a port of call for ships transporting coal from the Miike coalfield to the Seto Inland Sea. However, as transportation methods changed, its function as a port town declined, and it became a fishing village that also processed seafood. The Kabashima Lighthouse is located on the sea cliffs at the southern end of the island, and there are great fishing spots nearby. In addition, there is an old well where giant eels, which are nearly two meters long, live, and the area has been designated a national natural monument as a "giant eel habitat." Population: 834 (2000).

[Yasuyoshi Ishii]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

長崎県長崎半島の南端、脇(わき)岬に樺島水道を隔てて浮かぶ島。長崎市に属する。1986年（昭和61）樺島大橋が架橋され、中ノ島経由で脇岬と結ばれた。面積2.36平方キロメートル。かつて樺島村を形成していた。島の北部に湾入があり、この樺島港両岸に古(ふる)町、新町の漁港がある。同港は古来北九州と南九州を結ぶ西海(さいかい)の交通上の要地で、明治・大正時代は三池(みいけ)炭田の石炭を瀬戸内海方面へ輸送する船舶の寄港地であったが、輸送方法の変化に伴い港町としての機能は衰え、水産加工を伴う漁村となった。島の南端の海食崖(がい)上には樺島灯台があり、付近には絶好の釣り場がある。また、体長が2メートル近いオオウナギが生息する古井戸があり、「オオウナギ生息地」として国の天然記念物に指定されている。人口834（2000）。

［石井泰義］

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