Hikoshima Island

An island in Shimonoseki City, in the southwestern tip of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Formerly Hikoshima Town. Located at the west entrance of the Kanmon Straits, it is connected to the Oseto Strait on the Honshu side and the Oseto Strait on the Kitakyushu side, making it a key transportation location. It is a hilly island with an elevation of about 100 meters and an area of ​​10.60 square kilometers. It is connected to Shimonoseki city by the Kangen Bridge and the Hikoshima Ohashi Bridge. The JR Sanyo Main Line also passes through the island and reaches Moji via the Kanmon Railway Tunnel. It appears in the Nihon Shoki as "Hikushima" and was the site of the Genpei War at the end of the Heian period. After the Meiji period, various industries such as chemicals, metals, and shipbuilding developed, and fishery-related industries were established around Shimonoseki Fishing Port, forming the core area of ​​Shimonoseki industry. Suburban agriculture has been thriving since early times, and the greenhouse melons that were known before World War II have now been replaced by floriculture. Haedomari Fishing Port has a market for pufferfish, a delicacy representative of Shimonoseki. Hikoshima Hachimangu Shrine, famous for its Sai-no-ari ritual, contains the Miyanohara ruins from the early and middle Jomon period, and Oinoyama Park has a great view of the Hibikinada Sea outside the Kanmon Port. Population 33,100 (2000).

[Hajime Miura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

山口県南西端、下関(しものせき)市にある島。旧彦島町。関門海峡の西口に位置し、本州側には小瀬戸、北九州側には大瀬戸の海峡が通じ、交通上の要地を占める。高度100メートル前後の丘陵状の島で、面積10.60平方キロメートル。下関市街地とは関彦(かんげん)橋、彦島大橋などで結ばれている。また、JR山陽本線も本島を通過、関門鉄道トンネルで門司(もじ)に至る。『日本書紀』に「引島(ひくしま)」とみえ、平安末期には源平合戦の舞台となった。明治以降、化学、金属、造船などの諸工業が発達し、さらに下関漁港周辺に水産関連産業が立地し、下関工業の核心地区を形成している。早くから近郊農業が盛んで、第二次世界大戦前知られた温室メロンは現在では花卉(かき)栽培にかわった。南風泊(はえどまり)漁港には下関を代表する味覚フグの市場がある。サイ上り神事で有名な彦島八幡宮(はちまんぐう)の境内には縄文時代前期・中期の宮ノ原遺跡があり、老(おい)ノ山(やま)公園は関門港外、響灘(ひびきなだ)の展望に優れる。人口3万3100（2000）。

［三浦　肇］

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