Women Forbidden: Japan’s Mysterious Okinoshima Island Laden with Treasures

Okinoshima (Japanese: 冲ノ島), a small island in Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, is considered a sacred site in Japan and has been off-limits to women to this day. Men are only allowed to set foot on the island after undergoing a purification ritual on May 27 each year. Recently, this highly religious island has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If successfully inscribed, it will become Japan’s 21st World Heritage Site.

Okinoshima is located in the Genkai Sea, about 60 kilometers off the coast of Kyushu. Aside from Shinto priests serving at the Okitsu Shrine (Okinoshima’s branch shrine of Munakata Taisha), there are no other residents on the island, making it essentially a “no-man’s land.” Legend has it that Tagorihime, the deity enshrined at Okitsu Shrine, was extremely jealous, which is why women have been banned from the island to this day. Men are only permitted to visit on May 27 each year, and before setting foot on land, they must strip naked and enter the sea to perform a purification ritual known as “misogi.” After leaving the island, visitors are required to adhere to strict rules and are forbidden from revealing any details about the island to others.

Moreover, according to the religious beliefs surrounding Okinoshima, the island itself is regarded as the physical embodiment of the goddess Tagorihime, and not even a single blade of grass or tree may be damaged or taken away. As a result, numerous precious ritual offerings left behind by sailors over the centuries remain undisturbed and continue to rest peacefully on the island. To date, 80,000 artifacts unearthed around the shrine ruins—including a Persian gold ring and a Korean glass cup—have all been designated as national treasures.

According to the Nikkei Chinese website, UNESCO has proposed including the “Munakata Taisha and Related Heritage Sites, including Okinoshima” in the list of World Cultural Heritage sites. The final decision will be made during the World Heritage Committee meeting in July. If successfully inscribed, Japan will have achieved World Heritage status for five consecutive years, and Okinoshima will become Japan’s 21st World Heritage Site.