is an island in southern Hiroshima Bay of the

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Located southeast of

Iwakuni is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan ruled ...

, it is part of the Kutsuna Islands within the

Bōyo Islands The are a group of 41 islands that belong to Yamaguchi and Ehime Prefectures in the Inland Sea. The largest by far is Suō-Ōshima, or Yashiro Island. List of islands The islands are categorized into the following groups: * Heigun-tō, 平� ...

group. The island covers and as of 2013 had a population of 184 residents. The highest point on the island is Mt. Kinzō. Economic activity on the island consists of fishing and cultivation of vegetables and citrus fruit. Hashirajima is connected to the port at Iwakuni Mondays through Saturdays by a high speed ferry. The island is best known for its association in World War II with the surrounding Hashirajima Anchoring Area, located south of the naval base at

Kure, Hiroshima is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan ...

. Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy that did not need dock repairs would anchor at Hashirajima, and it was also used as a staging area before fleet departures. It was also the site of the loss of the Japanese battleship , which suffered an internal explosion and sank there on 8 June 1943.

References

Imperial Japanese Navy Islands of Yamaguchi Prefecture Islands of the Seto Inland Sea {{Yamaguchi-geo-stub