Gunkanjima: Japan's Abandoned Ghost Island

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

SLIDESHOW

Japan's Hashima Island, commonly called Gunkanjima (or 'Battleship Island'), was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility and housed thousands of workers in its heyday. When coal mining declined, operations at the facility ceased and the island was abandoned. (Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre)

Commonly known as Gunkanjima (or "Battleship Island"), Hashima Island floats off the coast of Nagasaki in Japan, surrounded by a concrete sea wall which gives it an armored warship appearance. The abandoned island's weathered silhouette is punctuated by crumbling concrete buildings and structures, ravaged by typhoons.
Populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility, Gunkanjima housed thousands of workers in its heyday. The tiny island had apartment buildings, a school, hospital, shrine, retail stores and restaurants and became the most densely populated place in the world per square meter with over 5,000 inhabitants in the 1950s. When coal mining declined, operations at the facility ceased and the island was abandoned in 1974.

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Today, Gunkanjima is a tourist attraction (sightseeing boat trips around the island are available) and backdrop for many films (it served as an inspiration for the villain's lair in the 2012 film "Skyfall"), the ultimate portrait of Japan's industrial ruins.
To protect against typhoon damage, concrete was used for Gunkanjima's structures. But as the buildings have not been maintained since the last inhabitants left, many have collapsed through the years, leaving the island riddled with rubble and decay, a ghost town in the middle of the sea.
In 2008, photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, fascinated by its architecture and history, started photographing the island and its ruins and continued to do so until 2012. Their photographic series, pictured above, captured the remnants of a once-thriving city, eerily frozen in time.
"We have been searching for monumental and unique architecture, and there are very few places in the world offering totally abandoned urban and historical examples," Marchand told Weather.com. "Gunkanjima offered the vision of a pioneer and prototypical city entirely dedicated to an industry whose principle of modernity drove it to ruin."

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Weather has contributed to the neglected island's deterioration, and it also caused problems for Marchand and Meffre.
"When we had our second trip to Gunkanjima in August 2012 we had to wait several days until the boat could land us as the sea was too agitated because of weather," said Marchand. "Nagasaki also has very high humidity, not the most comfortable condition to set the tripod and camera and shoot."
The photographers were also concerned about typhoons. "August is the start of the [typhoon] season in Japan," said Marchand. "When Gunkanjima was still inhabited and [a typhoon struck], people were trapped several days on the island without supplies."

For more on Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, visit their website. A book of their photos of Gunkanjima was recently published by Steidl. More information here.