View source for Iejima

{{Short description|Island within the Ryukyu Islands}}
{{Distinguish|Iwo Jima}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Iejima
| image_name       = Ie Island, Okinawa gsi-20180219.jpg
| image_caption    = Aerial view of Iejima
| image_size       = 260px
| map              = Japan
| map_caption      = Iejima in the [[Ryukyu Islands]] 
| native_name      = {{nobold|{{Nihongo||伊江島|Iejima}}}}
| native_name_link = Japanese language
| nickname         =
| location         = [[East China Sea]]
| coordinates      = {{coord|26|42|58|N|127|47|25|E|type:isle}}
| archipelago      =
| total_islands    =
| major_islands    =
| area_km2         = 23
| area_footnotes   = <ref name="e" />
| length_km        =
| width_km         =
| coastline_km     = 22.4
| highest_mount    = [[Mount Gusuku]]
| elevation_m      = 172
| country          = [[Japan]]
| country_capital                   =
| country_largest_city              = 
| country_largest_city_population   =
| country_leader_title              =
| country_leader_name               =
| population       = 4,610
| population_as_of = 2012
| density_km2      = 200
| ethnic_groups    = [[Ryukyuan people|Ryukyuan]], [[Japanese people|Japanese]] 
| additional_info  =
}}
[[File:Iejima from Ocean Expo Park.jpg|thumb|View of Iejima from Ocean Expo Park in [[Motobu]]]]
[[File:Okinawa Islands map.png|thumb|Iejima lies to the northwest of the main island of [[Okinawa Islands|Okinawa]]]]
{{Nihongo|'''Iejima'''|伊江島|Iejima|{{langx|ryu|Ii shima}}|lead=yes}}, previously [[Romanization of Japanese|romanized]] in English as '''Ie Shima''', is an [[island]] in [[Okinawa prefecture|Okinawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]], lying a few kilometers off the [[Motobu Peninsula]] on [[Okinawa Island]].<ref name="e" /> The island measures {{convert|20|km|mi}} in circumference and covers {{convert|23|km2|mi2}}.<ref name="e" /> As of December 2012 the island had a population of 4,610.<ref name="pop" /> [[Ie, Okinawa|Ie Village]], which covers the entire island, has a ferry connection with the town of [[Motobu, Okinawa|Motobu]] on Okinawa Island.

Iejima is generally flat.<ref name="e" /> The most notable geographic feature is a peak called [[Mount Gusuku]] ([[Kunigami language|Kunigami]]:''Tatchuu'') at a height of 172 meters.<ref name="e" /> The mountain resembles a [[volcano]] but is actually an erosion artifact.{{Explain|date=April 2023}} Alternately called "Peanut Island," for its general shape and [[peanut]] crop, or "Flower Island," for its abundant flora and more sizeable crop, Iejima draws tourists by ferry, especially during late April when the Ie Lily Festival begins.

== World War II ==
American troops from the [[77th Sustainment Brigade|77th Infantry Division]] landed on Iejima in April 1945 as part of the [[Battle of Okinawa]] and there was heavy fighting from April 16 until the island was secured on April 21. U.S. journalist [[Ernie Pyle]] was killed during the battle. There is a monument dedicated to his memory on the southern part of the island. Every year on the weekend closest to his April 18 death there is a memorial service.

Iejima, which was developed in conjunction with US bases on Okinawa, became a naval advance base. Its three airstrips were under Army control, but were used by [[Naval Air Transport Service]]. The naval base included 16,700 square feet of general storage and space, 7,475 cubic feet of cold storage space and 4,500 square feet of open storage. In addition to 700 lineal feet of wharfage, there were repair shops covering 5,500 square feet; hospital, 2,400 square feet; and quarters, 67,692 square feet.<ref name=Bases>{{Cite book|title=Building the Navy's Bases in World War II History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940–1946| publisher=US Government Printing Office|year=1947|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/building-the-navys-bases.html}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>{{rp|411}}

[[File:F4U_VMF-314_battle_damaged_on_Ie_Shima_1945.jpeg|left|thumb|A damaged [[Vought F4U Corsair]] on Iejima, 1945]]

Iejima, then called ''Ie Shima'' by US military and media, was the major starting point for the [[Surrender of Japan]]. It was the home of the [[413th Flight Test Group|413th Fighter Group]] which comprised the 1st, 21st and 34th Fighter Squadrons, the [[345th Bombardment Wing|345th Bombardment Group]], consisting of the 498th, 499th, 500th and 501st Squadrons, along with the 548th and 549th Night Fighter Squadrons of the 7th Fighter Command. All three groups were stationed there toward the end of the war.

The surrender preparations started on August 17, 1945, with the flight of two Japanese [[Mitsubishi G6M|Betty bombers]] to Iejima where the Japanese emissaries transferred to U.S. Army Air Force C-54s to complete their journey to [[Corregidor]] to meet with General [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s staff. [[B-25 Mitchell]]s of the 345th were assigned to escort the Japanese bombers from the Japanese mainland to Iejima, and [[P-38 Lightning|P-38s]] were assigned the duty of top-cover. Japanese officials ordered the remaining Japanese Air Force to shoot down their own bombers, because they believed that honor required that Japan should fight to the very last person. Instead of flying directly to Iejima, the two Japanese planes flew northeast, toward the open ocean, to avoid their own fighters. One of the Japanese delegates aboard remarked, after looking through a bullet hole in the side of the plane, that a squadron of fighters was approaching and he thought that their surrender mission had failed. However, the squadron of fighters were U.S. P-38 Lightnings assigned as top-cover. The 345th had been directed to send two B-25s as escorts. However, fully aware of the difficulty in communication with the Japanese and correctly anticipating the possibility of necessary deviation from plans, the 345th had dispatched three flights of B-25s so as to bracket the enemy's proposed flight path. This proved to be excellent planning, as only the second of the three flights intercepted the Japanese and the top-cover, off-course and headed on a route that would not have brought them to Iejima. Operating under orders to come no nearer than {{convert|1000|ft|m|0|order=flip|abbr=in}} to the Japanese planes, Major J.C. McClure found it impossible to keep the Japanese on the proper course flying abreast of them, so he pulled out well ahead of them to lead their formation. Seconds later he was surprised to find the Japanese tucked in tightly under his wings. To them it was the safest way to approach the island which had only days before been their target. The four planes arrived over Iejima in perfect show formation.

The Japanese emissaries continued on to the Philippines as planned, concluded the arrangements for the formal surrender scheduled to take place on September 2 in [[Tokyo Bay]], and returned to Iejima on August 18. As the Bettys were taxiing into place to receive their passengers for the return trip to Tokyo, one of them ran off of the runway and broke its landing gear, leaving it unable to continue the trip that day. The Japanese delegation split, with the less important delegates staying on Iejima overnight as the damaged plane was repaired, while the operable aircraft proceeded that evening. For some unexplained reason, that plane ran out of fuel some {{convert|130|mi|order=flip|abbr=in}} from their destination and was ditched in shallow water. The emissaries waded ashore and arrived in Tokyo the next day.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

== Farmers' movement ==
In 1955, the United States military embarked upon a wide-scale campaign to seize land from the farmers of Iejima. The campaign began in 1954 with a so-called survey project. After the island's farmers signed the papers, they realized that in fact they had agreed to their voluntary evacuation. In 1955, the American military landed on Iejima's southern beaches and seized the farmers' lands by force.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://apjjf.org/-Jon-Mitchell/3370/article.html|title=Beggars' Belief: The Farmers' Resistance Movement on Iejima Island, Okinawa—— {{!}} The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus|last=Journal|first=The Asia Pacific|website=apjjf.org|date=7 June 2010 |access-date=2018-08-31}}</ref>
[[File:Ie Village Agricultural Environment Inprovement Center 201910.JPG|thumb|Ie Village Agricultural Environment Improvement Center in 2019]]
Following this seizure, the residents of Iejima began a five decade campaign to oppose the American military. Led by Shoko Ahagon, they traveled throughout the Okinawan islands garnering support for their campaign. This Beggars' March took the islanders all over the prefecture where they were treated hospitably by their fellow Okinawans, but when they returned to Iejima and started to farm their land once more, the American military razed their crops and arrested the islanders.<ref name=":0" />

In the late 1950s, many residents of Iejima resorted to collecting scrap metal from the military bombing range. This was dangerous work resulting in the deaths or disfigurement of local men.<ref name=":0" />

== Present-day ==
[[File:View from gusukuyama.jpg|thumb|Eastward view of Iejima atop the 172-meter-tall [[Mount Gusuku]], the highest point of the island]]

The United States military maintains a small "auxiliary landing strip" on Ie; this [[airstrip]] is now a military training facility run by the [[U.S. Marine Corps]]. There is a detachment of twelve US Marines which operates the range. The jobs include Operation Scheduler, Range Warden, Crash / Fire / Rescue, and Motor Transportation. The north-west corner of the island that contains a {{convert|5000|ft|order=flip|abbr=in|adj=on}} coral runway, a simulated [[Landing helicopter dock|LHD]] deck, and a drop zone for parachute training.

The three runways that were in use when World War II ended still exist. The center one is now abandoned and is used as a thoroughfare for the locals to get from the north to the south side of the island. The eastern one is now used by a small civilian air carrier, and the western one is still unimproved and is part of the training range.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

==Cultural references==
The island is the setting of a traditional Okinawan drama where a sad girl by the name of Hando-gwaa fell in love with a man named Kanahi, Iejima's headman. When Hando-gwaa learned that Kanahi had already wed she climbed up to Tacchu Mountain and hanged herself with her long, black hair. One can find a statue of this woman in a garden that sits below Gusukuyama.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-17 |title=Exploring Okinawa: Tragic tale behind Handu-gwa statue |url=https://okinawa.stripes.com/travel/exploring-okinawa-tragic-tale-behind-handu-gwa-statue |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=Stripes Okinawa |language=en |archive-date=2023-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106101011/https://okinawa.stripes.com/travel/exploring-okinawa-tragic-tale-behind-handu-gwa-statue |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ie Shima Airfield]]
* [[Iejima Airport]] serves the island.

==References==
{{Reflist|2|refs=

<ref name="e">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Japan |title=Iejima |url=http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |access-date=2013-01-06 |year=2012 |publisher=Shogakukan |location=Tokyo |oclc=56431036 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |archive-date=2007-08-25 }}</ref>

<ref name="pop">{{cite web | url = http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/toukeika/estimates/2012/201212.pdf | script-title=ja:沖縄県の推計人口: 2012年12月 |trans-title=Population Statistics of Okinawa Prefecture: December 2012 | year = 2012 | publisher = Okinawa Prefecture | location = Naha, Okinawa Prefecture | access-date = Jan 6, 2012 | language = ja }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ie Island (Okinawa)|Iejima}}
*[http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/okinawa/chapter7.htm The Battle for Ie Shima] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703121518/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/okinawa/chapter7.htm |date=2011-07-03 }}
*[http://yellowairplane.com/34th/34th_PG41.html The True Story of the Japanese Surrender in WW2]
*[http://yellowairplane.com/Betty_Bombers/A1_Betty_Bomber_Index.html A Closer Look at the Japanese Betty Bombers]
*[http://yellowairplane.com/34th/A1_Fighter_Squadron_index.htm The 34th Fighter Squadron on Ie Shima]
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{{Coord|26|42|58|N|127|47|25|E|region:JP_type:isle_source:dewiki|display=title}}

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[[Category:Okinawa Islands]]
[[Category:Islands of Okinawa Prefecture]]