Mukaishima, Hiroshima

Mukaishima
向島町
Town
Mukaishima bridge (Onomichi, Japan)
Country Japan
Prefecture Hiroshima
District Mitsugi
Area
 • Total 18.40 km2 (7.10 sq mi)
Population (2003)
 • Total 16,283
 • Density 880/km2 (2,300/sq mi)

Mukaishima (向島町, Mukaishima-chō) was a town in Mitsugi District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 16,283 and a population density of 884.95 persons per km². The total area was 18.40 km².

On March 28, 2005, Mukaishima, along with the town of Mitsugi (also from Mitsugi District), was merged into the expanded city of Onomichi.

From November 1942 until September 1945, 100 British POWs who had been brought to Japan on the Dainichi Maru hell ship were imprisoned in Mukaishima and forced to work at the Hitachi Zosen shipyard. Twenty-three of these prisoners died due to a combination of disease, malnutrition and lack of adequate clothing (despite the harsh winter conditions). A further 116 American POWs were imprisoned in the same camp from September 1944 that were brought over from the Philippines on the hell ship Noto Maru.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.