Cape Shionomisaki

It is also written as Shionomisaki, Shiomisaki, and Shionomisaki. It is a cape located in Kushimoto Town, Higashimuro District, in the southern part of Wakayama Prefecture. Its tip facing the Pacific Ocean is at 33 degrees 26 minutes north latitude, making it the southernmost point of Honshu. It is the southernmost cape of a land-tied island with an area of ​​about 7 square kilometers, connected to Kushimoto by a sandbar about 900 meters long, and on the cliffs of the cape are the Shionomisaki Lighthouse, which was lit in 1873 (Meiji 6), and a tourist tower.

From 1889 (Meiji 22) until its merger with Kushimoto Town in 1955 (Showa 30), the island was the only part of Shionomisaki Village, so the whole island is also called Shionomisaki. It is a flat marine terrace, and the village has groves of houses and stone walls. It is surrounded by sea cliffs 20 to 40 meters high. It is part of Yoshino-Kumano National Park. The island is home to the fishing villages of Izumo and Ueno, which once conducted whaling.

[Yoichi Koike]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

潮ノ岬、潮御埼、塩の岬とも書く。和歌山県南部、東牟婁(ひがしむろ)郡串本(くしもと)町にある岬。太平洋に臨む先端は北緯33度26分で本州最南端にあたる。串本から長さ約900メートルの砂州で結ばれた面積約7平方キロメートルの陸繋島(りくけいとう)の南端の岬で、岬の崖(がけ)上には1873年（明治6）点灯の潮岬灯台や観光タワーがある。

　なお、1889年（明治22）から1955年（昭和30）の串本町への合併まで陸繋島だけで潮岬村だったので島全体を潮岬ともよぶ。平坦(へいたん)な海成段丘で、集落には屋敷林や石垣がみられる。周囲は20～40メートルの海食崖(がい)をなす。吉野熊野国立公園域。島にはかつて捕鯨を行った出雲(いずも)、上野の漁村がある。

［小池洋一］

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