Men Island - where anyone comes to stripped and purified

Okinoshima Island still maintains a law prohibiting women with many theories such as Shinto religion, menstrual periods that pollute sacred places or those that travel to the island very hard, so women and children cannot go.

Okinoshima , a remote island of the Genkai Sea in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, is the Shinto territory, and retains many ancient laws. There is a controversial law that "forbids women to step on the island".

The whole island is considered a sacred place. It is mainly the monks who work in the Okinoshima shrine, which is a bigger power than the Munakata Grand Shrine.

Images of tourists coming to the island and celebrating at the shrines.(Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Indiana).

Island rarely has visitors. Men were allowed to approach once a year on May 27, to attend a festival to "comfort the spirit" of Japanese and Russian soldiers who died in the battle of 1905. This occasion only recruited 200 man to come here.

Anyone who gets on the island must follow the following rules (without exception): Do not tell anyone about what the eyes see on the island, not take anything, whether it's a good grass or not a stone, immediately upon reaching the island, must purify the body at the sea (nude and swamp in the sea to the neck).

Monks today still carry out a ban on women, although there is still no sufficient explanation why this ban exists. Ryo Hashimoto, a Japan Times writer, said: "There are many reasons for banning women, but most think that menstruation will pollute the sacred place ." Shinto religion sees blood as impure, impure. Others said that if there were women coming to the island, the goddess worshiped here would have a rage.

Another reason is that the islands to the island are very dangerous , women must not go to protect themselves as well as the children often bring. Okinoshima is located on important trade routes between Japan and the Korean peninsula from the 4th to 9th centuries.

Over the centuries, Okinoshima has up to 100,000 items.

Seafarers often stop at the island to pray for the protection of the gods and make offerings with precious beads, mirrors and swords. Over the centuries, Okinoshima has up to 100,000 items, mainly gold rings, bronze jewelry, especially sankakuen shinjukyo (a triangular bronze mirror decorated with many animal shapes). 80,000 of them are national treasures. This is probably part of the reason Okinoshima island is listed on the UNESCO nomination list to be approved in July.

Many opposing opinions Okinoshima only accept men. A group following Hinduism last year called on UNESCO to refuse to consider the island as a legacy without removing the ban on women.

Although the island may be on the heritage list, many still believe it will never change. A representative at Munakata Taisha responded to Mainichi Daily: "We still keep our rules even if this place is a world heritage site and maintains strict control of visitors on the island."

According to Japan Times, Fukuoka authorities are considering a solution to build a center for visitors to learn about the island, not up here.