Haven for black-tailed gulls in Japan hits centennial mark

AOMORI, Japan >> It’s been 100 years since Kabushima island in Hachinohe, Aomori prefecture, was designated as a natural monument. Known as the nation’s largest breeding site for black-tailed gulls, the island has gone through tough times in recent years, including the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and the loss of a shrine due to a fire.

But local residents and others have worked hard to overcome these hardships, protecting and promoting the island. “We want to make this a place where birds and people can continue to coexist for the next 100 years,” said one local official.

Black-tailed gulls flock to Kabushima, a mere 4.5 acres of land, because sardines, squid and other food sources are abundant in the sea around it.

The island was designated a natural monument on March 8, 1922.

About 30,000 black-tailed gulls migrate to the island in February and March every year, laying eggs and raising chicks there. The birds depart around early August. Kabushima Shrine, at the summit of the island, is a popular sightseeing spot where visitors can view the birds from a nearby vantage point.

Kabushima suffered two catastrophes over the past 11 years. The first was the earthquake on March 11, 2011, when a 17-foot tsunami hit the island. A tourist information center was flooded and had to be demolished.

Thankfully, the Hachinohe government committed to building a new Kabushima Rest Area that same year.

“The disaster was a great shock; my home was also damaged. However, reconstruction progressed, and we can now welcome many tourists,” said Kenichi Sugimoto, head of the tourism association that operates the structure.

The second crisis came early in the morning of Nov. 5, 2015, when a fire destroyed Kabushima Shrine. Robes for its Shinto priests and all their implements for rituals were destroyed, devastating chief priest Toshio Nozawa, 71, and his wife, 71-year-old senior priest Toshiyo.

However, local residents and companies quickly offered donations for reconstructing the “shrine of black-tailed gulls.” Construction was conducted with care so as not to disrupt the birds as they laid their eggs and raised their young.

A new shrine was completed in 2020, about four years after the fire.