- Kikai Island
is the historical island that
Shunkan ,Taira no Yasuyori , andFujiwara no Naritsune were exiled to following theShishigatani Incident in1177 . It belonged toSatsuma Province .According to a description in
Heike Monogatari :Boats rarely passed, and people were scare. Residents were dark colored and their words were incomprehensible. Men did not were eboshi, and women did not wear their hair down. There were no farmers or grain, not even clothing. In the center of the island was a tall mountain, and it was constantly in flames. Due to the large amounts of sulfur, the island was also known as "Sulfur Island".
In
1178 , Yasuyori and Naritsune are pardoned and return to the capital. However, Shunkan alone is not pardoned and remained on the island alone until death.The present location of Kikai Island is unclear, but it is believed to be one of the following:
*
Iōjima, Kagoshima : A bronze statue of Shunkan was erected in May,1995 . Part of theKikai Caldera .
*nihongo|Kikai Island|喜界島|kikai shima: Contains a grave and bronze statue of Shunkan. According toSuzuki Hisashi , the anthropologist who examined the grave, the excavated bones were long-faced cranial bones belonging to a noble suggesting that they belong to a high class person from outside the island.
*Iōjima, Nagasaki : Contains a grave of Shunkan.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.