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Tomogashima Island 友が島

 

Tomogashima Island  友が島_d0360104_22170035.jpg
友が島
 和歌山市西端の町加太からフェリーで20分。紀淡海峡に浮かぶ友が島は、晴れた日には呼べば声が届きそうな近くに見えます。しかし、この島は明治時代から第二次大戦終戦までは一般人の立ち入りが厳しく制限された幻の土地でした。外国艦船の侵入を防ぐため6基の砲台が建設され、軍事要塞としての役割を担うことになったのです。
 Tomogashima Island  
 A 20-minute ferry ride brings visitors to Tomogashima Island, which is located off the western tip of Wakayama City. On sunny day, Tomogashima appears to be within call from the other side of a strait.  
 

 Even so, the group of four isles had remained a mysterious place for several decades until the end of World War II in 1945. The government built military facilities on the island and the place was closed to the public. 
 
 The constructions of Tomogashima’s batteries began in 1889 and six batteries were completed, with magazines placed in their basements, respectively.

Tomogashima Island  友が島_d0360104_22184590.jpg
 砲台にはそれぞれ地下に煉瓦造りの弾薬庫があり、通路で結ばれています。近年、このレトロな煉瓦の建物が“コスプレ”愛好家の若者達に、インスタ映えする写真の撮影場所として人気を博しています。
 
 Today, the ruins of brick-made magazines provide a nice background for young visitors who enjoy costume-playing and taking photos to be uproaded onto Instagram.
 
Tomogashima Island  友が島_d0360104_22170530.jpg
 軍事関連の遺構では兵舎、トイレ、石炭発電所も残っています。中でも注目したいのが旧海軍聴音所です。戦時中、このコンクリート造りの建物では30人の兵隊が三交代で、太平洋から紀伊水道を北上する敵艦の警戒にあたっていました。海中の集音機から聞こえてくるスクリュー音をレシーバーを通して聞くのです。海中には機雷が設置され、敵艦と判断されれば上等兵曹が爆破ボタンを押す権限を与えられていました。
  

 There are also the remains of barracks, toilets and coal power station. Worthy of note is the Navy’s listening station ruins. During wartime, in the small concrete building, about 30 sailors served in three shifts and stayed visilant against enemies’ battleships and submarines around the clock. Their duty was to listen carefully to sounds which were collected by devices sunk in the sea and transmitted through cables.
  Their senior sailors had the authority to blow up mines in the sea in case those war ships approached. The listening post building has decayed over the years. Metal window frames were stolen during the Korean War in the 1950s when prices of scrap metal sored. Only the muting material covering the ceilings remains, suggesting this used to be a wartime facility. 
   Their senior sailors had the authority to blow up mines in the sea in case those war ships approached.
Tomogashima Island  友が島_d0360104_22171121.jpg
 聴音所の建物は年月を経て劣化していますが、天井に張られた防音材はまだ残っており、かつてここが軍事施設であった形跡を留めています。
 
 The listening post building has decayed over the years. Metal window frames were stolen during the Korean War in the 1950s when prices of scrap metal sored. Only the muting material covering the ceilings remains, suggesting this used to be a wartime facility.
Tomogashima Island  友が島_d0360104_22170901.jpg
  友が島は修験道の聖地としても有名です。修験道の創始者とされる役小角が虎島の2箇所の洞窟に納経したと伝えられています。近くの岩肌には17世紀に初代紀州徳川藩主頼宣の命により彫られた「五所の額」もあります。
  戦後、友が島は一般にも開放されました。珍しい植物が生い茂る島を自然動物園にする計画も持ち上がり、島外からシカ、リス、クジャク等が持ち込まれ放たれました。ハイキングコースを歩いていると、今でもこのような動物たちとひょっこり遭遇することがあります。


 Tomogashima has also been a sacred place for those who practice mountain ascenticism, or Shugendo. Enno Ozunu, who established the religion in the 7th century, is believed to have buried scriptures in two caves on Torashima (Tiger Island.) His statue stands on top of a cliff. In the 17th century, the names of five sacred places on Torashima were inscribed on the surface of a rock there. Every spring, a group of Shugendo followers come to Torashima and exercise rituals, including rock climbing.
  Tomogashima was open to the public after the war. The government aimed to turn the island, abundant with rare plants , into a natural zoo. Deer, squirrels and peacocks were brought in from outside and released. The animals can be sometimes spotted on hiking trails on the island. (Mayumi O)

by wakayamakiga | 2019-12-18 22:39 | Wakayama city /和歌山市 | Comments(0)

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