is a cluster of four islands in the Inland Sea, off Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan. The four islands are , , , and . The islands form part of the Setonaikai National Park.
History The islands were used by Buddhist monks for Shugendō. The folklore of the region holds that Ennogyoja, the founder of shugendo, underwent training on the steep cliffs of Tomogashima in the seventh to eighth centuries. This gave rise to the nickname of "The island of shugendo (mountain asceticism)" for Tomogashima. The first mound of the Katsuragi 28 Shuku is located on Torajima ("Tiger Island").
Later, during the Meiji period, a brick fort and lighthouse were built. Also during this time gun batteries and other defences, along with various support facilities, were constructed to counter foreign warships. Tomogashima was a critical component of the Shusei Kokubō (守勢国防 - i.e. "Static Defence") policy of the 1870s and 1880s, which emphasised coastal defences. Access to the cluster by the public was strictly prohibited by the Imperial Japanese Army up to the end of World War II.Whispers of priests and warriors / Military past pervades Tomogashima island The Japan News by the Yomiuri Shimbun, July 14th, 2013.
Depictions in art Tomogashima is the subject of a scroll of 1661 in the Shōgo-in in Kyoto by Kanō Tan'yū as well as an anonymous work of 1798 in the British Museum. The island is the basis for the fictional Hitogashima Island in the Summer Time Rendering manga and anime series.
Climate
See also Tomogashima Lighthouse Setonaikai National Park Imperial Japanese Navy List of Army Fortresses in Japan
References
External links Views of Tomogashima (British Museum)