Kutsujima, Kyoto

Kutsujima (沓島) is a volcanic island in the Sea of Japan, 2.5 km from the coast of the Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Kutsujima Island is administered as part of Maizuru city. The island consist of two islets - the smaller northern (where highest elevation rocks are located) is Tsurigane-jima (釣鐘島) or Meshima (女島) and larger southern is Bōshima (棒島) or Kojima (小島) Kutsujima has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of black-tailed gulls, Japanese murrelets and Swinhoe's storm petrels. Currently,this ialnd prifectured by the peerson the islets are designated as the Kanmurijima-Kutsujima Wildlife Protection Area, and any landing is prohibited.



History
According to inscriptions on Tango no kuni fudoki, the Kanmurijima and Kutsujima are the remains of the much larger island which submerged following an earthquake in 701 A.D. The topography of seafloor seems to support the claim, as the steep 60-meters cliff is located underwater off eastern coast of Kanmurijima and Kutsujuma, indicating a recent crustal fault. The northern islet is inaccessible without rock-climbing equipment, and was the famous hermits prayer location during the late 19th century.