It reached a level of advancement higher than the rest of Japan. However, it went from thousands of inhabitants to zero in just three months. We invite you to learn the history of Hashima, the abandoned island that became a place of cult and mystery. First, don't forget that we have the audio of the video available in English, in case you want to recommend the content to someone who doesn't speak Spanish. Hashima Island is located in southern Japan. It is less than 4 kilometers from the coast, near the city of Nagasaki. The current scenario on the island is very strange. Dozens of huge abandoned buildings make up the landscape. Every so often, tourists come to the area to see first-hand a very strange place, which shows the passage and retreat of human beings. But what happened there, first for all those buildings to be built and then for them to be left abandoned, at the mercy of the intense waves in the area? The second half of the 19th century was key in the history of Japan. After several centuries of isolation, the country underwent very rapid industrialization. In just 50 years it achieved advances that took European countries several centuries. Hashima seemed to be a small island without much grace, like thousands of others that Japan has. However, something changed the equation: they discovered a vein of coal in the ocean subsoil. At that time, coal was the most widespread resource and was essential to underpin the country's development. The Mitsubishi company bought the island to be able to exploit the resource. Between 1885 and 1889 it installed two tunnels. They ran vertically and reached 200 meters underground. The following year, in 1890, the exploitation of coal began, which had an especially high quality. In three decades, Hashima went from being uninhabited to hosting some 3,000 people who worked in the mine. In this context, the company evaluated that it was in its best interest to build housing for workers on the island. In this way, they began to build huge buildings. In fact, in 1916 the first large reinforced concrete building in all of Japan was built. In addition, the following year the island had the tallest skyscraper in the country. Coal production grew steadily, even during the wars that Japan had with China and Russia. Even more so with World War II. Many can relate the year 1941 to the Japanese attack on the US base at Pearl Harbor: that same year coincided with Hashima's record coal production, as it reached 410,000 tons. Life on the island was not easy at all. The thing is that the people who lived there did not have much space, since the island has an area of 480 by 150 meters. Due to the shape it presents and the buildings that were built, Hashima is also known as Battleship Island, since it looked more like a warship than an island itself. Of course, there was no space for vegetation nor was there any space for recreation. Huge buildings, one next to the other, with endless stairs. At that time it was said that it was not necessary to use umbrellas on Hashima, since the entire island was covered with buildings that connected to each other. Yes, quite similar to what we knew with the Kowloon Walled City, another mega-crowded place that existed in Hong Kong. However, there was not only overcrowding on this small island, but other much darker issues. There were many crimes that the Japanese committed during those years and Hashima was the scene of some quite cruel ones. They brought Korean and Chinese prisoners and slaves to the island who performed forced labor in the mine, with very poor living conditions. Underground the temperature was 30 degrees and the humidity reached 95%. It is even believed that some 1,300 workers died. Some in the mines, due to the poor working conditions, and others due to malnutrition or extreme fatigue. This terrible story inspired a 2017 film called Battleship Island. There, a group of Korean miners try to escape from the island, that more than a workplace it seemed like a prison. Although it was inspired by Hashima, this film was not filmed there. On the other hand, the one that does have images taken at the location is the James Bond film released in 2012. These aerial images are of the Japanese island, and in fiction they correspond to the lair of the villain, who was played by Javier Bardem. Back in history, the island also went through periods of enormous advancement. The thing is that, after the war period, coal exploitation continued. The quality that was extracted was so high and the work so hard that the salaries were very high. In this way, workers arrived who sought to make an economic difference. And even managers and senior officials of the company also resided there. In the 1950s and 60s, electronic products were abundant on the island. Of course, there weren't many opportunities for leisure. In this way, it became the place with the most televisions and radios per capita in the country. That is to say, it was a place with high incomes in which technological advances abounded, despite the fact that there were no great amenities due to the geography of the island. Likewise, we sought to have more possibilities within the limits of Háshima. Restaurants, casinos, clubs, dozens of stores, a school, a gym, a hotel, a hospital, a tennis court, a post office, a brothel and even a police station were built. In those years the population record was reached. About 5,300 people resided in Hashima. Thus, the density reached 83,000 people per square kilometer. To have a parameter, Monaco is currently the most densely populated country and only reaches 18,000 people per square kilometer. Hashima quadrupled the density of the country that today has the highest mark. However, everything would change shortly after and very abruptly. Oil began to gain ground and displace coal as an energy source. Therefore, exploitation in a place as particular as Hashima was no longer so profitable. The company decided to transfer workers to other areas of Japan, since it did not make economic sense to continue there. On January 15, 1974, the closure of the mine's production was announced. Only three months later, in April of that year, the island would be deserted. No one would ever live there again. Homes and buildings were completely abandoned, exposed to strong winds and the salinity of the waves. In less than a century, more than 15 million tons of coal were extracted. Before the closure there were 12 ferry services per day transporting people and goods between Hashima and Nagasaki. From one moment to the next, they disappeared. There was no longer any reason to go to that island that looked like a warship. Time passed and Mitsubishi did not find many arguments to keep Hashima. For this reason, it transferred ownership of the island to the Nagasaki prefecture, which took charge of the place in 2005. At the same time, the possibility of visitors to the place was opened. At first only journalists and historians could go, and in 2009 the possibility of tourists being able to come was added, as is the case to this day. To give it greater historical value, Japan promoted Hashima to be declared a historical heritage site by UNESCO. It was achieved in 2015, as part of one of the sites where the industrial revolution of the Meiji era can be seen. However, Korea protested this initiative, since many people had been tortured there. Faced with this situation, both countries reached an agreement: Korea would support the declaration of interest but in exchange Japan would recognize that there was forced labor. Hashima is not the only city that was abandoned after a coal mine became unprofitable. A paradigmatic case is that of Pyramiden. It was a Swedish settlement that was sold to the Soviets in 1927. Coal was exploited there until its closure in 1998. Over time they also sought to invite tourists to the place. Pyramiden is located in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Not only was it one of the first places we discovered on this channel, but it also inspired one of the t-shirts we designed and launched. We leave you the link below in case you are interested in purchasing it. We thank you for having come this far and we invite you to join as a member of Un Mundo Inmenso. With a monthly contribution you will help us continue to grow. See you in the next video.
