Iwai-jima, Yamaguchi, Japan

Iwai-Jima or Iwaishima ( , "Prayer Island" [Herbert Plutschow; "Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature" [http://amscampus.cib.unibo.it/archive/00001773/01/Herbert_Plutschow.Space_and_travel.pdf] (Brill, 1990 ISBN 9004086285)] ) is an island of the Inland Sea. Bordered by Honshū (本州, ? literally "Main State") or Honshu the largest island of Japan, north-west of Shikoku(四国, Shikoku "Four Provinces"), and northeast of Kyūshū(九州, "Nine Provinces"). With a total altitude of 82 meters [Falling Rain.com - Iwaishima [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/JA/45/Iwaishima.html] ] , it lies at the south-eastern edge of the Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県, Yamaguchi-ken?) at coordinates +33° 46' 48.00" N, +131° 58' 12.00" E.

The name is derived from the ancient ritual of passing travellers [Herbert Plutschow; "Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature" [http://amscampus.cib.unibo.it/archive/00001773/01/Herbert_Plutschow.Space_and_travel.pdf] (Brill, 1990 ISBN 9004086285)] and is in fact home to a ceremonial fishing dance specific to the island [Hana Hou [http://www.hanahou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=626&MagazineID=39&Page=7] ] as noted in the crew journey log of the Hokule‘a [Polynesian Voyaging Society website [http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/welcome.html] ] on their journey from Micronesia to Japan.

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