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Daisen-Oki NP, Shimane
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In 1868, about 3,000 islanders drove out the Matsue domain’s officials and formed their own government, with separate council, executive and oversight bodies. The experiment lasted about 80 days.
Dōgo’s volcanic glass, obsidian, was prized for making sharp tools. Oki obsidian has been identified at a mainland Hyōgo site dating to about 30,000 years ago—a remarkable prehistoric sea crossing.
The Oki salamander lives nowhere beyond Dōgo. Its larvae live in streams yet have balancing organs associated with still-water salamanders—an unusual combination noted by Japanese biodiversity researchers.
In Oki traditional sumo, wrestlers face the same opponent twice: whoever wins the first bout must lose the second. The one-win-each custom, called “compassionate sumo,” helps keep island communities on good terms.
For traditional kanagi fishing, fishers peer through a glass-bottomed box from a boat and spear sazae sea snails on the seabed. The prized shellfish also go into sazae rice, a local dish served at festivals and gatherings.
Dōgo alone has more than 300 square burial mounds, including late-period tombs with passageways. Finds from one grave include beads thought to be made from local blue agate and crystal, plus a copper Buddhist bowl believed to have come from China.
Every June 5, horses carrying the local deities of 8 Dōgo communities gather at Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine. The festival’s horse-entry rite sends horse and handler surging up the shrine approach together.
Basalt on Dōgo’s east coast carries mantle xenoliths: fragments brought up from Earth’s upper mantle. Some contain yellow-green olivine, giving visitors a rare look at material that normally lies far beneath the surface.
On Dōgo’s mountain slopes, the Chichisugi cedar’s trunk divides into 15 stems 4–8 metres above the ground, with 24 breast-shaped, hanging roots. The surrounding forest also releases cool air from openings in the basalt.
At Dōgo’s Okutsudo Coast, northern maples, southern cheesewood, subalpine flowers and plants associated with continental climates grow close together. Why this unusual mix occurs is not fully understood.
Oki bull sumo is traditionally linked to retired Emperor Go-Toba, who was said to enjoy watching young bulls. The geographical twist: after his 1221 exile, he lived on neighboring Nakanoshima, not Dōgo.
Dōgo’s visitor demonstrations are deliberately called draws: no bull is declared the winner. At the island’s traditional tournaments, however, the contests are genuine and can last more than an hour.
Oki soba is made without a binder, so its buckwheat noodles can be short and delicate. Its distinctive broth is made from grilled mackerel, and the dish has traditionally been served at celebrations and family gatherings.
At Oki Kokubunji, the Renge-e mai preserves 7 masked dances. The full program is performed at the main festival; in the alternate year, the performance is reduced to just one piece, “Sleeping Buddha.”
A local legend says an immortal nun planted the Yaosugi cedar at Tamawakasu-mikoto Shrine and promised to return after 800 years. Another tale puts a serpent in its hollow, where its snores can be heard.
At Dōgo’s Fuse mountain festival, people gather vines from the mountain and wrap them around a sacred cedar at Ōyama Shrine. The rite grew from the community’s forestry livelihood and prayers for safe mountain work.
Candle Island was once attached to Dōgo as part of a headland. Waves cut away the surrounding rock, while cracks formed as the lava cooled helped shape the isolated pillar visitors recognize today.
At Dōgo’s Dangyō Falls, the water has a local reputation for bringing health and victory. Even today, people collect it before traditional annual events and shrine ceremonies.
A 2007 fire destroyed the masks and equipment used for Renge-e mai at Oki Kokubunji. Local performers and supporters recreated what was needed that same year, so the dance could continue.
