Jan 15, 2014 - 1 min read

Niijima: Shrine and Cemetery

The relics of an island used for 200 years for exile

By Hannah Bambra

Community writer

Buddhist statue with a dramatic mountainous background at the Exile Cemetery

Gates of the exile cemetery

Main edo-period structure of the Exile Cemetery

tombs, Exile Cemetery

green mountains behind old wooden entrance to Jusansha Shrine

Main edo-period element of the Jusansha Shrine

Jusansha Shrine

During the Edo period, academics, scholars and even Buddhist monks were exiled as political prisoners to Niijima. Behind the cemetery itself is Jusansha Shrine, hundreds of years old and erected in honour of the Izu island's 13 gods. Buddhism meets beaches as the island's unique and surreal exile cemetery and shrine provide an insight into the now relaxed surfer region in its bygone era.

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Hannah Bambra

By Hannah Bambra

Community writer

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Bonson Lam

Bonson Lam 10 years ago

An island of exile, like a message in a bottle from a time past.

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