Marginalia: Hashima (aka Gunkanjima or Battleship Island)
Island of 1000 ghosts
Marginalia is a series about enigmatic islands. They may be remote, isolated, and scarcely known, or they may be nearby, even in eye-shot of many. What they all have in common is that they exist beyond the edges of the ordinary. This is the second in the series. A new island story will be published every month or two. Subscribe to receive an alert when a new one is available.
The formal name for the island is Hashima. Due to its resemblance to a battleship, the more commonly used name is Gunkanjima (Battleship Island). (In Japanese, the suffixes shima or jima are used for islands.) Undersea mining of coal lasted about 100 years, during which time it became the most densely populated place on earth. In addition to frequent battering by typhoons, it has a controversial and ominous history of overcrowding, severe working conditions, and forced labor.
Location
Latitude: 32.6276° N
Longitude: 129.7385° E
Twenty km (12.43 mi) from Nagasaki Port, off the southwest coast of Japan.
Population
1959–5,259
1974 to present — 0
History and Setting
Hashima is one of 505 uninhabited islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. In 1810, the feudal lord of Saga (now Saga Prefecture) discovered coal on the island, but it wasn’t until the late 1800s (circa 1887) that mining became industrial in nature. Shortly after larger scale mining was underway, the island was purchased by Mitsubishi Corporation, after which construction of a seawall, industrial and residential buildings were erected.
As mining grew, so did the size of the island and its population. From 1893 to around 1930 six major expansions created by seawalls filled with material from the mine shafts, greatly increased the size of the island. The successive seawall constructions extended the shoreline from its original jagged features to the imposing semi-rectangular shape resembling a battleship, giving birth to its Gunkanjima nickname. It looked enough like a battleship to be torpedoed during WWII. The population continuously increased, reaching its highest level of 5,259 in 1959, becoming the most densely inhabited place on earth with 83,500 people sq/km (216,264 people per square mile).
As the size and population grew, it became a city, with apartment buildings, schools, a “town hall,” and hospital, as well as a Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple. The tallest apartment building was nine floors, but had no elevators. Shops, gardens, a swimming pool, a theater, and pachinko parlor provided diversion for miners and their families though it is not clear how much the miners were able to enjoy them.
Most apartments were small at 9.72 sq/m (about 104 sq/ft) for a family of four. Some apartments had and additional 7.29 sq/m (78.47 sq/ft) room. The rudimentary kitchen consisted of a small wood stove (later converted to electricity) and a sink. Unmarried men lived in a dormitory.
There was no freshwater source, so water had to be delivered by boat. This became infeasible when the population grew larger, so a pipeline from the mainland was laid.
There was no system for waste disposal, so garbage and sewage were discharged directly to the sea.
Mining conditions
Geothermal activity kept the mine at a sweltering 30–36ºC (86–97ºF) and the humidity above 90%. The mine operated 24 hours a day in three shifts of 800 miners each. While it would be logical to assume the shifts were eight hours long, given there were three shifts and they worked 24 hours a day, one source said that a normal shift during the war and for a period after, was 12 hours long.
There were four main shafts in the mine, reaching down to a depth of a kilometer (.62 mi). One of these shafts even eventually reached a neighboring island. The descending shaft was so steep (21 degree slope) that the miners had to sit leaning back in the 25 person elevator to keep from falling out.
Controversial History
The industrial exploitation of Hashima resources existed over the course of three periods in Japanese history: Meiji (1868–1912) Taishō (1912–1926), Shōwa (1926–1989), the two longer periods are times during which industrialization and hegemonic expansion occurred. Characterizations of the mining conditions and the quality of life on the surface vary greatly, depending on the source.
Mitsubishi Corporation owned Hashima from 1890–2002. During World War II, the mine lost many men to service in the military. This happened when Japan had an increasingly critical need for coal. Chinese prisoners of war and conscripted Koreans were forced to work in the mines. In addition to the extreme conditions in the mines, miners were subjected to brutality. Some jumped into the ocean and attempted to swim to the mainland. Many died. One Japanese source estimates that around 130 died, while a non-Japanese source estimated the number at 10 times that.
Historical Revisionism
It is probably safe to say that every country practices historical revisionism by way of glossing over, distorting, or excluding facts from their pasts. Japan’s history of using slave labor is well-known outside of its borders, but Japanese textbooks and official statements exclude or downplay its history.
In much the same manner, it must be acknowledged that the US continues to downplay its institution of enslavement by paying homage to Confederate generals with statues and naming institutions (e.g., schools, military bases) after them. Rather than being displayed as a symbol of shame in an interpretive presentation, the Confederate flag is part of the official flag of seven US states. In six states, one can request a “Sons of Confederate Veterans” license plate that incorporates a Confederate flag in its logo. US history officials and textbooks have sanitized enslavement by referring to enslaved people as “workers” or immigrants, even saying that they benefited by learning trades.
Japanese sources recounting Hashima’s history tend to omit any mention of its use of prisoners or war or conscripted labor. Discussions of the difficult conditions of the mines are limited to what all miners endured, mentioning only that they were able to bath on emerging. A Chinese source states:
Testimony from the survivors described what it might be like to live in the hellish conditions. Workers were compelled to work for at least 12 hours a day 1,000 meters beneath the sea level, where the unbearable temperature and humidity made it increasingly exhausting to continue working. Workers were provided with little water, gross and inadequate food and only an undergarment to wear while working. Any failure to meet the requirements would result in brutal beating and even killing. By contrast, above the sea level, the Japanese were enjoying their colorful and decent lives socializing, dancing and sightseeing, as if the workers were born slaves in another world.
This account is consistent with the conditions experienced by the author’s father, who worked as a WWII slave laborer in a Mitsubishi-owned copper mine when he was a prisoner of war in Japan. In 2015, Mitsubishi formally apologized for its use of approximately 12,000 prisoners of war as slave laborers.
Japan requested the inclusion of 22 industrial sites, including Hashima, in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. South Korea objected on the grounds that it would discount the experiences of survivors of forced labor. Negotiations resulted in an agreement wherein Japan would acknowledge its use of forced labor and include the information in its presentations of the island. Both nations agreed to work together in the development of World Heritage Sites in their respective countries. South Korea assented to Hashima’s inclusion.
Hashima was included as an item in UNESCO’s, Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining and included in its Tokyo based Industrial Heritage Information Centre (IHIC). Whether by design or merely identifying Hashima by the period under which it began, the IHIC refers to it as a Meiji era site, excluding the longest period of its activity under the Shōwa period, during which WWII took place.
In making a statement about Korean labor, a Japanese official said that the miners were not engaged in forced labor, rather they were “requisitioned to work against their will.” Subsequent statements by Japanese officials said that the English phrase “forced to work” translates as “ended up working.” South Korea denounced the statements as nonsense.
Japan’s UNESCO representative interviewed only one Korean regarding the conditions of Hashima, using his account as evidence that the experiences of non-Japanese on the island did not face difficulties experienced by the Japanese residents. He was unable to recount mine conditions and did not report that he experienced any discrimination. However, he was only a child at the time he was on Hashima. The representative maintained that everyone on the island lived harmoniously.
A 2021 investigation by UNESCO found that Japan had failed to live up to its agreement to include it’s use of forced labor in it’s interpretive center or publications on Hashima. There were some positive reactions within Japan. The largest newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, agreed with UNESCO findings. In spite of the Mitsubishi apology, the support of the Asahi Shimbun, and public demonstrations demanding accountability, no actions have been taken to address the issues of Hashima historical revisionism to date.
Hashima Today
The mine closed in 1974 and all its residents departed, leaving the buildings to decay. Some apartments have a ghostly appearance, with TVs, fans, cookware, shoes, and other items left by the former residents. Vegetation, in the form of trees, ferns, moss, and grasses has sprouted in the some open areas and on rooftops.
During several months of the year, a 50 minute boat ride takes tourists to Hashima, though entering any of the buildings is prohibited for safety reasons.
Several documentaries have been filmed on Hashima. The History Channel included it in the first episode of it’s Life After People series in 2009. Due to the island’s post-apocalyptic appearance, some movies, including Skyfall, have been filmed there. A year after the departure of the last remaining residents 1974, an automated lighthouse was built on the island.
Hashima Island, with its haunting ruins and complex history, stands as a stark reminder of the human and environmental costs of unbridled industrialism and obsession with maintaining the machinery of war. From its days as the world’s most densely populated place to its subsequent abandonment and decay, Gunkanjima embodies both the heights of industrial achievement and depths of human suffering. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it offers a unique opportunity to reflect on both pasts and ensure that the stories of all who lived and labored there are remembered. Today, the island’s eerie silence and crumbling structures invite contemplation on the impermanence of human endeavors and the enduring need for historical truth. As visitors take the short boat ride from Nagasaki, they are not just traveling to an abandoned island, but stepping into a potentially powerful narrative on the exploitation of human and environmental resources and an opportunity for redemption from that past.
© 2024 — Craig D. Lewis, All Rights Reserved
