Kinkasan

For other locations of the same name, see Mount Kinka (disambiguation).

Kinkasan

Native name: Japanese: 金華山
File:Kinkazan.jpg View from Oshika Peninsula
Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Coordinates
Archipelago	Oshika
Area
Coastline	25 km (15.5 mi)
Highest elevation	445 m (1,460 ft)
Highest point	Kinkasan
Country
Japan
Demographics
Population	6 (as of 2004)
Ethnic groups	Japanese

File:Koganeyama-jinja 2006-10-03.JPG

Koganeyama Shrine on Kinkasan Island, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Kinkasan (金華山, Kinkasan, or Kinkazan), is a small island in Miyagi Prefecture in north-eastern Japan. It is considered one of the Three Holiest Places of the Tōhoku region, along with Dewa Sanzan and Osorezan. It lies in the Pacific Ocean approximately one kilometer off the Oshika Peninsula.

According to legend, those who pay a visit to the shrine in the island three years in a row will have no financial difficulties for the rest of their lives.

Geography

Kinkasan is 9.5 km² (3.7 sq mi) in area, and its highest point is the pyramid-shaped Mount Kinka, which stands at 445 m (1,460 ft).

It can be reached by ferry from Ishinomaki.

History

There is a shrine on the island, called Koganeyama-jinja, which dates from the 8th century.

During the early Meiji period, Kinkasan Lighthouse designed by Richard Henry Brunton was completed in 1876.

Kinkasan was hit by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the island being one of the closest pieces of land to the epicenter at approximately 68 km (42 mi) away; only one or two minor islands are slightly closer.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons