| Inujima | |
| Native Name: | 犬島 |
| Image Alt: | Island with forests, lakes, buildings, and quays |
| Country: | Japan |
| Country Admin Divisions: | Higashi-ku, Okayama, Okayama Prefecture |
| Population: | 47 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
is a Japanese island in the Seto Inland Sea, located near the coast of Okayama Prefecture. It is part of Higashi-ku, Okayama.[1]
, Inujima has a population of 47.[2]
A ferry service operates between Hōden and Inujima.[3]
A copper refinery was opened on the island in 1909, but this closed in 1919.[2] The brick-built refinery remained largely undemolished, and from 2008, it formed the centrepiece of a large-scale art project designed to stimulate tourism to the island.[4]
The is a rehabilitation project covering the entire island by the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation, a project of Benesse Corporation. It opened to the public in April 2008. The first phase of the project was to turn the old seirensho refinery into a model of contemporary architecture and art to recycle the Japanese industrial heritage. It was the coordinated efforts of the architect Hiroshi Sambuichi and Yukinori Yanagi who collaborated with the architect in his artwork, and the Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology at Okayama University.
The population of the island has changed over the years as follows.[2]
| Year | Population | Number of households | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1822 | 80 | 18 | |
| 1862 | 110 | 22 | |
| 1919 | 1,200 | 240 | |
| 1935 | 1,500 | 280 | |
| 1945 | 982 | 241 | |
| 1951 | 1,350 | 242 | |
| 1955 | 843 | 220 | |
| 1960 | 629 | 189 | |
| 1969 | 750 | 190 | |
| 1975 | 353 | 133 | |
| 1984 | 224 | 93 | |
| 1991 | 130 | 70 | |
| 1996 | 115 | 59 | |
| 2001 | 79 | 49 | |
| 2002 | 70 | 45 | |
| 2005 | 72 | 44 | |
| 2017 | 47 | 35 |