User:Bamse/Shiwaku Islands
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The Shiwaku Islands (塩飽諸島, Shiwakushotō) or Shiwakujima (塩飽島) form an archipelago in the Japanese Inland Sea.
The group is situated between Okayama Prefecture and Kagawa Prefecture in the western Bisan Seto and consists of 28 islands of various sizes. On the Okayama side lie the Kasaoka Islands. The name derives from shioyaku (塩焼く) or shiowaku (潮湧く) both meaning boiling seawater to get salt.
戦国時代には塩飽水軍(しわくすいぐん)が活躍し、江戸時代は人名(にんみょう)による自治が行われたが、近年は過疎化が進んでいる。