.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (October 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 3,786 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:直島町]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template ((Translated|ja|直島町)) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.
Naoshima
直島町
Town
Beachside Torii on the southern part of the island
Beachside Torii on the southern part of the island
Flag of Naoshima
Flag
Official seal of Naoshima
Chapter
Location of Naoshima in Kagawa Prefecture
Location of Naoshima in Kagawa Prefecture
Naoshima is located in Japan
Naoshima
Naoshima
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 34°27′30″N 133°59′00″E / 34.45833°N 133.98333°E / 34.45833; 133.98333
CountryJapan
RegionShikoku
PrefectureKagawa Prefecture
DistrictKagawa
Government
 • MayorShin'ichi Kobayashi
Area
 • Total14.22 km2 (5.49 sq mi)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total3,026
 • Density210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
Websitewww.town.naoshima.lg.jp

Naoshima (直島, Naoshima) is an island in Japan's Seto Inland Sea, part of Kagawa Prefecture. The island is best known for its many contemporary art installations and museums. The Town of Naoshima (直島町, Naoshima-chō) administers Naoshima and 26 smaller islands nearby.[1] As of 2020, the town has an estimated population of 3,026[2] and a density of 210 persons per km². The total area is 14.22 km².[3]

Naoshima Island is known for its many contemporary art museums. For example, the Chichu Art Museum (literally, "in the earth") houses a number of site-specific installations by James Turrell, Walter De Maria, and paintings by Claude Monet. Designed by Tadao Ando, it is located on one of the highest points of the island, and various exhibits and facets of the museum's architecture take advantage of its commanding view. Another contemporary museum (and hotel) is Benesse House, also by Ando. Another is the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum, with an outdoor sculpture garden, and a third is the James Bond museum, inspired by the island's use as one of the settings for the 2002 Bond novel The Man with the Red Tattoo by Raymond Benson.[4] It is also known as the island that the fictional locations of Summer Pockets are based on.

The museums and beauty of the island draw many tourists, whose visits help support the local economy. However, it is Mitsubishi Materials, loosely affiliated with other Japanese companies of the Mitsubishi name, that dominates industry on the island, as Naoshima has been the site of massive refining by Mitsubishi since 1917.

Benesse Art Site Naoshima

Benesse Corporation (one of the largest education companies in Japan and based in Okayama) has directed the creation and operation of the island's museums and other projects since the late 1980s.

Town of Naoshima and nearby islands

Naoshima was made a village in 1890, and upgraded to a town in 1954.[1] The town is part of Kagawa District.[5] Naoshima is the sister town of Timmins, Ontario, Canada.

As of 2010, only three of the town's 27 islands are inhabited: Naoshima, Byōbujima, and Mukaejima.[6] Ishima is also inhabited, but only in the northern portion which belongs to Okayama Prefecture.

Ishima

The second-largest island of the town, Ishima, lying northeast of Naoshima, is divided between Kagawa Prefecture in the south and Okayama Prefecture in the north. The only inhabitants are in a small settlement on the north coast, belonging to Okayama.

Ishima was divided after fishing-related disputes in the Edo period.[7] In 2011, 87% of the island was burned in a forest fire, though the northern settlement was spared.[8]

Byōbujima

Byōbujima is a minor island north of Naoshima, close to Okayama Prefecture, with a population 19 as of 2015.[9]

Mukaejima

Mukaejima is a minor island northwest of Naoshima with a population 15 as of 2015.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Introduction of Naoshima Town" (in Japanese). Japan: Naoshima Town. March 3, 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Kagawa Prefecture Population Statistics (September 1, 2020)" (in Japanese). Kagawa Prefectural Government. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Areas of Prefectures, Towns, etc". Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. January 1, 2021. p. 64. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  4. ^ Clements, Jonathan (15 October 2012). "From Naoshima With Love". The Official Schoolgirl Milky Crisis Blog. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Postal codes: Kagawa Prefecture" (in Japanese). Japan Post. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ "香川県離島振興計画 [Island Promotion Plan, Kagawa Prefecture]" (PDF) (in Japanese). Kagawa Prefecture. December 2017.
  7. ^ "Photo gallery: disputed borders". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). December 2008. p. 5. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. ^ "瀬戸内海の石島、87%を焼失…ようやく鎮火". YOMIURI ONLINE. 読売新聞社. 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  9. ^ a b "Island Population Statistics" (in Japanese). Kagawa Prefecture. Retrieved 5 April 2021.

External links


Authority control databases
Kagawa Prefecture
Categories