Key Takeaways
- Okinoshima island is a sacred, World Heritage-listed site in Japan that is off-limits to women due to its deeply rooted Shinto religious tradition.
- The island is home to a collection of 80,000 votive offerings, including national treasures and artifacts, which were deposited there by envoys between Japan and the East Asian mainland between the 4th and 9th centuries.
- The exclusion of women from the island is based on the Shinto belief that menstrual blood is "impure" and the Buddhist tradition of viewing women as inferior.
- Japan’s gender taboo is rooted in its religious traditions, with women banned from many sacred sites, including Okinoshima, for thousands of years.
- The World Heritage Committee granted Okinoshima its listing in 2017, despite the island’s exclusion of women, citing its Outstanding Universal Value and cultural significance.
Introduction to Okinoshima Island
Okinoshima island is a small, 97-hectare island located approximately 60 kilometers from Munakata city in Kyushu’s Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The island is shrouded in taboos, rich in ancient treasures, and boasts thousands of years of history. It is one of the few locations in Japan that has been largely untouched since the ninth century. Until 2017, only 200 men were permitted to visit the island for a single day each year for its annual On-Site Grand Festival. The men had to observe strict religious prohibitions, including purification rituals performed naked in the waters surrounding the island, and were not allowed to remove any objects from the island.
The Island’s History and Significance
Okinoshima island is home to a collection of 80,000 votive offerings, including national treasures and artifacts, which were deposited there by envoys between Japan and the East Asian mainland between the 4th and 9th centuries. These offerings include a pure gold ring believed to come from the royal tomb in Gyeongju on the Korean Peninsula. The island is also home to several Shinto shrines, including the Okitsugu shrine, where rituals are performed to venerate the spirits believed to inhabit the island. The island’s committee website states that the island is surrounded by taboos, and many people refrain from uttering its name, instead referring to it as the "island whose name cannot be spoken".
The Exclusion of Women
The exclusion of women from Okinoshima island is based on the Shinto belief that menstrual blood is "impure". This belief, combined with the Buddhist tradition of viewing women as inferior, has led to the island being off-limits to women for thousands of years. Professor Kaori Okano, a professor of Asian studies and Japanese at La Trobe University, explains that the Shinto belief in the impurity of menstrual blood is rooted in the idea that blood is somehow unclean and impure. She also notes that the Buddhist tradition brought a more permanent view of women’s inferiority to Japan, which has contributed to the exclusion of women from the island.
The World Heritage Listing
The World Heritage Committee granted Okinoshima its listing in 2017, despite the island’s exclusion of women. The committee cited the island’s Outstanding Universal Value and cultural significance, including its collection of votive offerings and its importance as a sacred site in Shinto tradition. However, Professor Okano questions whether the committee should have granted the listing while women are still banned from the island. She argues that the listing legitimizes the gender-specific practice of excluding women from the island and that it is a form of systemic exclusion.
Preservation and Access
Since 2017, the island has been occupied by a rotation of two dozen Shinto priests from the Munakata Taisha Shinto shrine. Public access without permission is a criminal offense, and only one priest occupies the island at any given time, working a ten-day roster rotation undertaking rituals and general maintenance. The island’s sanctity is preserved through the strict regulations and rituals performed by the priests. However, Professor Simon Kaner, a member of the international expert panel that assessed Okinoshima’s bid for World Heritage listing, notes that the gender exclusion is "an issue that’s recognised by the shrine authorities, and that’s why they decided to no longer allow the larger groups of men to go there anymore".
Conclusion and Implications
Okinoshima island is a unique and significant cultural site in Japan, with a rich history and importance in Shinto tradition. However, its exclusion of women raises important questions about gender equality and the preservation of cultural heritage. The World Heritage Committee’s decision to grant the island its listing despite the exclusion of women highlights the complexities and challenges of preserving cultural heritage while promoting gender equality. As Japan continues to grapple with its own gender issues, including its ranking of 118th out of 148 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index, the example of Okinoshima island serves as a reminder of the need to balance cultural preservation with social justice and equality.