History
According to the creation myth in Shinto Awaji was the first of the ōyashima islands born from the two kami Izanagi and Izanami. Awaji constituted a province between the 7th and the 19th century, Awaji Province, and was a part of Nankaidō. Today the island consists of three municipalities, Awaji, Sumoto and Minamiawaji.
The Awaji Ningyō-Jōruri, an over 500-year-old form of traditional puppet theater or ningyō-jōruri, daily performs several shows in the Awaji Ningyō-Jōruri Hall (人形浄瑠璃館?) in Minamiawaji, Hyōgo in the southern part of the island and is designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Japan. The Awaji puppets perform popular traditional dramas but have their origins in religious rituals.
Tadao Ando designed several structures on the island, amidst them the Hompuku-ji water temple (本福寺?) and the Awaji Yumebutai, both located in Awaji, Hyōgo.
In 1995, this island was the epicenter of the Kobe Earthquake which killed over 6,200 people.
Read more about this topic: Awaji Island
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