Izena Village

Stones said to stop livestock digging.

Sho En birthplace, Mihoso-dokoro

Photo by Kugel (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Mekaru House

Recorded as Sho En's uncle's house,a red-tiled district head's home.

The village heritage site records this as Sho En's uncle's house, and the Mekaru family served for generations as Izena's district head. Past the gate stands a hinpun screen wall, and besides the main house and a detached guest room, the surrounding stone wall also survives. The building dates from a 1906 rebuild and was designated a national Important Cultural Property in 1977.

Rebuilt in 1906 (Meiji 39)
1977: national Important Cultural Property
Main house, annex and stone wall

02 ／ Izena Kami Asagi

The gap between roof and groundis only about 80 centimeters.

A kami asagi is a building where rites for bountiful harvests and catches are held; those of Izena, Nakada, Shomi and Jicchaku are prefectural tangible folk cultural properties. A roof sits directly on eight stone pillars, with no walls or floor. Bowing on entering is said to be among the reasons for the low gap.

Four districts' kami asagi, prefectural designation
Roof on eight stone pillars
Gap of about 80 cm

03 ／ Sakata and Kaimizu

Said to be named for backward-flowing water,the paddy was fed by a pond above.

Sakata is the paddy that led Sho En to leave the island. It stayed wet although higher than dried-out fields, said to be because the water flowed backward; the village heritage site records that seepage from a small natural pond above fed it. Kaimizu is the birthplace of the Kaimizu-bushi song, and has a park with a song monument.

Sakata: village historic site, 1992
Kaimizu: village historic site, 1982
A small natural pond above the paddy

Living here

An island village, about 55 minutes by ferry from Unten Port.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

Izena is a village made up of the main island, Izena Island, and three uninhabited islands, with no railway. Its gateway is Nakada Port. By the village timetable, the ferry Izena Shoen links it with Unten Port, in Nakijin village, in about 55 minutes, with two round trips a day. Though north of Okinawa Island, it belongs to Shimajiri District.

People living here: 1,322people
Area: 15.43km²
Households: 637households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 2 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —1 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Izena Village in Japan26.928°N 127.941°E

to UntenFerry Izena Shoen55min

Travel times follow 伊是名村公式『島へのアクセス』（https://vill.izena.okinawa.jp/about/access/ ・2026-10-07 に読んだ。更新日の表示なし）の運航時刻表。フェリーいぜな尚円伊是名（仲田港）⇔今帰仁（運天港）『運航時間約55分』。1便伊是名発9:00→運天着9:55・運天発10:30→伊是名着11:25、2便伊是名発13:30→運天着14:25・運天発15:30→伊是名着16:25。 (checked 2026-10-07). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 0 municipalities.

Territory of Izena Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

10.5km

Izena Village isthis kind of town.

01Mihoso-dokoro, the birthplace of King Sho En in Shomi, is a prefectural historic site where stones lie under large fukugi and kuba trees; by one account Sho En's umbilical cord is buried beneath one of them, and the nearby Sunjagaa well is said to be where he had his first bath
02Izena Tamaudun, a national Important Cultural Property, is the tomb of Sho Shoku, father of Sho En, and others; Izena Castle Site is a prefectural historic site; and a shell-bracelet burial about 3,000 years old from Gushikawa Island is a village folk cultural property
03The Jicchaku Tirukuguchi, an old song long sung and danced on the night of the harvest festival on the 11th of the 8th old-calendar month, is a village intangible folk cultural property, and the village heritage site says it is no longer performed on the main island of Okinawa but can still be seen on Izena and Iheya

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Izena Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗