Shima Peninsula - Shimahanto

A peninsula in central-eastern Mie Prefecture. It forms an almost trapezoid with a baseline connecting the central city of Matsusaka and the northeastern part of Kihoku Town, facing Ise Bay to the north, Kumano Nada to the south, and Enshu Nada to the east. Topographically, it can be divided into three parts. The first is the southern part of the Ise Plain along the coast of Ise Bay. The second is the Sakishima Plateau, located at the southeastern end of the peninsula, south of the line connecting Kuzaki, Yokoyama, and Hamajima, where a marine terrace and sedimentary plateau formed when sea levels rose has now turned into land and formed a flat surface. The third part is the remaining mountainous area where erosion has progressed considerably. The coast, except for the emerged coasts of the Ise Plain, is a submerged ria coast, and Matoya Bay, Ago Bay, and Gokasho Bay are particularly known as typical sawtooth coasts. Geologically, it belongs to the Southwest Japan Outer Zone, with Palaeozoic and Mesozoic strata running east to west. The Sakishima Plateau is covered by the Quaternary Sakishima Formation on top of the Mesozoic Matoya Group. Climate-wise, the north is of the Tokai type, while the south is of the Nankai type. Sakishima is blessed by the Kuroshio Current, and is generally warm and rainy, with winters being particularly warm. The flora is therefore temperate, with many native communities of warm-climate ferns, sea angelica, sea laurel, and boxwood. The natural forest ecology unique to this region can be seen in the Jingu forest in Ise City. The northern part has been developed since ancient times, with Ise Shrine and Toba Port, but the southern part has a ria coastline and poor transportation, so for a long time it was an area dotted with fishing villages known for female divers and pearl farming. In 1946 (Showa 21), it was designated as part of the Ise-Shima National Park, and after the Kintetsu Railway Shima Line was widened in 1967, it rapidly became a tourist destination, and with the opening of toll roads, it has become one of Japan's leading international tourist destinations. Kashikojima is the center of the area, but in recent years, the number of villas and guesthouses has been expanding to Sakishima as well.

[Tatsuo Ito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

三重県中東部にある半島。松阪(まつさか)市中心市街と紀北(きほく)町北東部を結ぶ線を基線としてほぼ台形をなし、北は伊勢(いせ)湾に、南は熊野灘(なだ)に、東は遠州灘に面する。地形的には三つに分けられる。一つは伊勢湾岸に沿う伊勢平野の南部。二つは半島の南東端、国崎(くざき)―横山(よこやま)―浜島(はまじま)を結ぶ線の南の先(さき)志摩台地で、ここはかつて海水面があがったときに形成された海食台、堆積(たいせき)台が、現在陸化し平坦(へいたん)面をなしている。その三は残りの侵食のかなり進んだ山地である。海岸は、伊勢平野の離水海岸を除いて、沈水性のリアス式海岸で、とくに的矢(まとや)湾、英虞(あご)湾、五ヶ所(ごかしょ)湾は典型的な鋸歯(きょし)状海岸として知られる。地質的には西南日本外帯に属し、古生層、中生層が東西に走る。先志摩台地は中生層の的矢層群の上に第四紀の先志摩層が覆う。気候的には北部は東海型、南部は南海型で、先志摩は黒潮の恵みを受けてとくに冬暖かく、総じて温暖多雨である。したがって植物相も暖帯性で、暖地性シダ、ハマオモト、ハマウド、ツゲモチなどの自生群落が多い。伊勢市の神宮林にこの地域固有の天然森林生態をみることができる。北部は伊勢神宮や鳥羽港(とばこう)があって古くから開けたが、南部はリアス式海岸で交通が不便なため、長く海女(あま)漁業や真珠養殖で知られる漁村が点在する地域であった。1946年（昭和21）伊勢志摩国立公園区域の指定を受け、1967年に近畿日本鉄道志摩線が拡幅されてから急速に観光地化が進み、有料道路なども開通して、日本を代表する国際的観光地の一つとなった。賢島(かしこじま)がその中心であるが、近年は先志摩へも別荘、民宿地域が拡大している。

［伊藤達雄］

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