Tsuru Shima

It is a small, uninhabited island located in the Inland Sea of Japan, hidden from the land by the much larger Kakuijima, and approximately 6 km off the border of Hyōgo and Okayama prefectures.

It is roughly triangular with a craggy southeastern side and narrow sandy beaches divided by rocky outcrops on its southwestern and northern shores.

The unhewn headstones marking the graves of those who died can still be found on the hillside above the cliff at the southern tip of the island, along with a stone memorial and cross that have been erected by the local Catholic church.

Around the time of Japan’s entry into the Second World War the island was returned to private ownership and planted with Oranges, however the plantation later failed when the pine trees that acted as a windbreak were destroyed by a beetle infestation.

The former penal colony is now one of Bizen City's designated cultural heritage sites and a pilgrimage is held annually following part of the internees' route, or "the Journey", to the island.