Tsushima Island
island in Nagasaki, Japan
Tsushima (Japanese: 対馬, Hepburn: Tsushima) is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 1671 by the Ōfunakoshiseto canal and into three in 1900 by the Manzekiseto canal. These canals were driven through isthmuses in the center of the island, forming "North Tsushima" (Kamino-shima) and "South Tsushima" (Shimono-shima). Tsushima also incorporates over 100 smaller islands, many tiny. The name Tsushima generally refers to all the islands of the Tsushima archipelago collectively. Administratively, Tsushima is in Nagasaki Prefecture.
The island group measures about seventy by fifteen km (43 by 9 mi) and had a population of about 28,000 as of 2022. The main islands (that is, the "North" and "South" islands, and the thin island that connects them) are the largest coherent satellite island group of Nagasaki Prefecture and the eighth-largest in Japan. The City of Tsushima lies on Tsushima and is divided into six boroughs.
Geography
Tsushima is located west of the Kanmon Strait at a latitude between Honshu and Kyushu of the Japanese mainland.
The public source identifies “Tsushima Island” as island in Nagasaki, Japan. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Tsushima, Island and island.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tsushima Island”, the useful work is to connect “island in Nagasaki, Japan” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q52051. VIAF identifies the subject as 240800127. The Library of Congress control number is sh85138352. Authority coordinates are 34.417, 129.333. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1671, 1900 and 2022.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Tsushima Island”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Tsushima Island primary sources, Tsushima Island archive and Tsushima research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tsushima Island”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Tsushima Island” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.