Yonaguni Jima, A.K.A. ‘Japan’s Atlantis’
Melkov/Wikimedia CommonsThe terraces of Yonaguni Jima.
Beneath the ocean waves off the coast of Yonaguni, the southernmost of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, rest the remains of a massive ancient structure that stands out against the seafloor. Though at first glance, it simply looks like a giant mound, upon closer inspection, the stepped tiers seem to be part of an intricately carved monument similar to those found in Mesoamerica.
Today, this site is known as Yonaguni Jima, though some choose to call it “Japan’s Atlantis.”
The ruins are rumored to be the remains of a 5,000-year-old city that was wiped out by an earthquake and lost to history. In the center is a massive pyramid, but other features include what marine geologist Masaaki Kimura believes to be a castle, an arch, a stadium, temples, and large walls.
But if this truly was once an ancient civilization, nobody knows what it was. Any traces of it have seemingly been lost to time, and even the nature of its existence is up for debate. In fact, some experts, such as geologist Robert Schoch, don’t think the ruins were ever a city at all.
“I’m not convinced that any of the major features or structures are manmade steps or terraces, but that they’re all natural,” Schoch, who has dived to the site himself, told National Geographic in 2007. “It’s basic geology and classic stratigraphy for sandstones, which tend to break along planes and give you these very straight edges, particularly in an area with lots of faults and tectonic activity.”
When it comes to Yonaguni Jima, it’s hard to say anything for sure. But to many, those perfectly shaped steps could only be the remains of a sunken pyramid built by a great civilization and buried under the sea thousands of years ago.
