Japanese Island Name Generator

Almost every Japanese island name ends in a word for island. The character 島 is read -shima after most sounds (Yakushima, Tsushima, Naoshima), -jima when the preceding sound voices it (Miyajima, Sakurajima, Enoshima) and -to in formal or northern names (Rebunto, Rishirito, Okinawa Honto). Island groups take -shoto or -retto. The front half is usually a plain description: Oshima is big island, Kojima small island, Nakanoshima the island in the middle, Okinoshima the island offshore, Kuroshima black island and Aoshima green island, which is why the same names repeat in different prefectures.

Other islands are named for what lives or grows there (Takeshima for bamboo, Tobishima for flying fish), for a shrine or deity (Itsukushima, Benzaitenjima), for their position relative to a neighbor (Kamikoshikijima and Shimokoshikijima, Osakikamijima and Osakishimojima) or for a legend, such as Onogorojima, the first island the gods made, and Onigashima, home of the ogres in Momotaro. Okinawan and Ainu islands keep older forms: Iriomote, Hateruma and Yonaguni in the south, Rebun, Teuri and Yagishiri in the north.

The list mixes real islands from every region with invented names that follow the same rules, so you can pull a convincing setting for an anime, a novel, a One Piece-style map or a game without accidentally picking somewhere that already has a ferry timetable.