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THE LOST

UNDERWATER CITY OF YONAGUNI

AN INTERVIEW WITH JAPANESE GEOLOGIST DR. MASAAKI KIMURA
(Originally published in Ancient American Magazine Vol. 6 Issue. 39)

n March 25, the chief researcher of a large sunken structure in Japanese waters presented his ndings at a special conference sponsored by the Japan Petrograph Society. Masaaki Kimura, Ph.D., one of Japans foremost geologists with a world-class reputation, has been investigating the site over the last four years. He was one of three speakers at the Fukuoka conference describing recent discoveries in underwater archaeology. Other presenters including Professor Nobuhiro Yoshida, who discussed another Japanese sub-surface nd near the small island of Okinoshima, in the Korean Sea, and Frank Joseph, Ancient American editor; who spoke of his dive experiences at the so-called "Bimini Road," in the Bahamas. Dr. Kimuras researching is outlined in his new book, Submarine Ruins of Yonaguni. It features some of the most commonly asked questions about the site, and excerpts appear below to may be the most important discovery of this kind. Its signicance notwithstanding, virtually nothing about Yonaguni has appeared in the U.S. News media. As Professor Kimura makes clear, the man-made character of the drowned structure is no longer questionable. Precisely who built it, however, is still debated. However, a growing number of investigators, both in Japan and elsewhere, conclude that Yonaguni is at least related to stories of a formerly great kingdom known as Mu or Lemuria, which was engulfed by a natural catastrophe in the ancient past. Lemuria was supposed to have been the homeland of Asian, Polynesian and pre-Columbian American civilizations. In any case, the underwater nd promises to make its impact on our understanding of civilized origins.

Where is the structure located?

Its in Okinawa Prefecture, near the island of Yonaguni, in the sea about 100 meters off Arakawabana. Yonaguni is an almond-shaped island at the southwest tip of the Ryukyu chain, approximately ten kilometers long from east to west and four kilometers from north to south. Some 1,800 persons live there, making a living mainly from farming shing and the tourist business.

When was it discovered and by whom?

Local sherman knew of rumors that there was a curious rock structure submerged in the sea for the past half-century or so, but it wasnt recognized as a relic. In 1986, while conducting a diving survey to map diving spots in the Yonaguni area, Kihachiro Aratake started calling it "Iseki Point," based on his impression that somehow, it didnt seem to be a natural object. Then when an underwater survey team of the University of the Ryukyus began to study it, it became widely known.

What makes you believe that this structure is man-made, Yonag uni is a that it was made by people r elated to st t least long ago? ories of a
There are many indications of human involvement. There is something like a road carved around it. In the level rock faces, there are a large number of tool marks. There is a feature that seems to be a drainage canal extending from top to bottom. There are walls angled at a fairly

formerly gr eat kin known as M gdom Lemuria, w u or h engulfed by ich was an catastrophe atural in t ancient pas he t.

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accurate 90 degrees, or right angles, that extend over distances of some tens of meters at several locations. It is surrounded by a stairway-like structure, not just on the south side, but all around. The north side structure shows the strongest indication of having been man-made. Furthermore, one part of it is a stonework stairway.

Why is it underwater?
It was built on land, and then, because of global warming, the level of the oceans rose and left is submerged. Another factor to consider is crustal movements, but no concrete evidence of that has been discovered yet.

Are there any other submerged archaeological relics in the world like that one at Yonaguni?
There arent any just like it, in the sense of being carved out of an entire knoll or rocky out-crop. However, in bays and lakes throughout the world, there are many submerged archaeological artifacts. One good example is found at the Alexandria site, in the Mediterranean Sea. The Alexandria ruins date from a large scale earthquake that occurred some 1,200 years ago, when a whole city sank below the sea. Such sinking occurs because of either crustal movement or earthquake, as in the Alexandria case, or a rise in sealevel. Regarding Yonagunis relics, its quite likely that a rise in sealevel was the key element.

Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

When was it built?

It was probably built somewhere between six thousand and eight thousand years ago, probably even ten thousand or more years ago. At that time, sea-level was as much as forty meters lower than it is now.

How about elsewhere on Yonaguni Island? Is there anything that might be related to the underwater structure such as legends or records?
Yes, there is. On the northern part of the island in the area fronting the sea, there is an oral memory that "Long, long ago an island sank." Also, in the south west, there is a traditional belief, or cult, known as the Niraikanai, and in that tradition, stories are told of ancient continent sunk beneath the sea."

What shape is it?

It looks like a stepped pyramid with the top part removed, rather like a pedestal. At the base, the dimensions are about 250 meters along the north-south axis. Its a rectangular shape, and the height from the base to the apex is 26 meters. The based is submerged 25 meters below sea level, leaving the tip exposed about one meter above sealevel. How

was it made?

Is there any denitive proof that this structure is man-made?

Conclusive proof is being discovered in rapid succession. By this, I mean things that show human beings were active there. Among the evidence are traces of marks that show that men worked the stone. There are holes made by wedge-like tools still called kusabi in many locations throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Around the outside of the loop road there is a row of neatly stacked rocks as a stone wall, each rock about twice the size of a person, in a straight line.

Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

Using tools made from stone that doesnt fracture easily, holes could be drilled into the rock, and a wooden or stone wedge, like an arrow head, could be put in the hole to chip off the rock. This is one idea. We tend to think that people of that era, lacking metal tools, would be unable to cut stone. However, if you know the characteristics of the rock you are working, it can be comparatively easy to cut, or process.

Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

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Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

There are traces carved along the roadway that show some form of repairs were undertaken. The structure is continuous from under the water to land, and evidence of the use of re is present. Stone tools are among the artifacts found under water and on land. Stone tablets with carving that appear to be letters or symbols, such as what we know as the "plus-sign" and a V-shape were retrieved from the sunken structure. From the waters nearby, stone tools were found. Two are for known purposes, but the majority are not. At the bottom of the sea, a relief carving of an animal gure was discovered on a huge stone. In two

Suppose that the structure is acknowledged as a submerged artifact. What signicance would that recognition have? Human history, the history of civilization, would probably have to be rewritten to account for the existence of such stone construction on that large of a scale in East Asia, 10,000 years ago.

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Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

Comments on Yonaguni
Robert M. Schoch
I have visited the small island of Yonaguni on three separate occasions, making numerous dives each time, and also having an opportunity to explore the surface of the island thoroughly. Additionally, I have dived some of the other reputed man-made underwater ruins in the Okinawa area. In sum, I remain unconvinced that these underwater structures are primarily articial or man-made; I think they are due primarily to natural geological processes. However, as I have elaborate in my book Voices of the Rocks (R. M. Schoch with R. A. McNally, 1999) and elsewhere, the choice between natural and manmade is not necessarily a simple either/or issue. On Yonaguni Island are a number of very old tombs, artifacts, and other manmade structures that indicate ancient human habitation of the island. The architecture of some of the tombs is very similar to the natural structures, both above water and below the waves, found at Yonaguni. It is possible that humans were imitating nature in designing their tombs, and it is equally possible that the socalled Yonaguni Monument is a primarily natural feature that itself was somewhat modied by human hands. The ancient inhabitants may have partially reshaped or enhanced a natural structure to give it more the form they wished, perhaps as a structure unto itself or as the foundation for timber, mud, or stone structures that have since been destroyed.

Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

Photo courtesy of Robert Schoch

locations, implements that were conceivably used by people who lived there, such as tools struck from stone, very important evidence, have turned up one after the other. And the most convincing evidence is the next piece. Inscribed into Sanninu-dai, there is a large relief carving of a bird.