Ie, Okinawa

Ie (伊江村, Ie-son, Kunigami: Ii, Okinawan: Ii (伊江)) is a village located in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The village lies on the island of Iejima.

As of 2012, the village has an estimated population of 4,610 and the density of 200 persons per km². Ie is in a period of sustained population loss, and has the highest rate of population loss in Okinawa Prefecture. The total area of the village is 22.75 square kilometres (8.78 sq mi). Iejima Airport serves the village.

Geography

The Village of Ie covers the entirety of Ie Island, and is located to the northwest of Okinawa Island off the Motobu Peninsula. The village is connected to Okinawa via ferry service.

History

The Village of Ie was the site of intense fighting during World War II in the Battle of Okinawa. Ernie Pyle (1900 – 1945), a popular World War II-era American journalist and winner of the 1944 Pulitzer Prize was killed in Ie on April 18, 1945. Pyle was initially buried on the island, but is now interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.