Io Torishima
- Other Names: 硫黄島 (iou shima / iou jima), トカラ硫黄島 (Tokara iou shima)
- Japanese: 硫黄鳥島 (Iou Torishima)
Iô Torishima is an island in the Tokara Islands group, located to the south of the Satsuma peninsula of Kyushu, and west of Tanegashima. Though surrounded by islands which are administered as part of Kagoshima prefecture, Iô Torishima is administered as part of the city of Kumejima, Okinawa prefecture.
A major source of sulfur for the Ryûkyû Kingdom, the island's name literally means "sulfur bird island." It is also known simply as Iôjima ("sulfur island"), and as Tokara Iôjima, to distinguish it from the island of the same name famous for the Battle of Iwo Jima.
References
- Richard Pearson, Ancient Ryukyu, University of Hawaii Press (2013), 8.