According to the creation myth in Shinto Awaji was the first of the ?yashima islands born from the two kami Izanagi and Izanami. Awaji constituted a province between the 7th and the 19th century, Awaji Province, and was a part of Nankaid?. Today the island consists of three municipalities, Awaji, Sumoto and Minamiawaji.
The Awaji Ningy?-J?ruri, an over 500-year-old form of traditional puppet theater or ningy?-j?ruri, daily performs several shows in the Awaji Ningy?-J?ruri Hall in Minamiawaji, Hy?go in the southern part of the island and is designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Japan. The Awaji puppets perform popular traditional dramas but have their origins in religious rituals.
Tadao Ando designed several structures on the island, amidst them the Hompuku-ji water temple and the Awaji Yumebutai, both located in Awaji, Hy?go.
In 1995, this island was the epicenter of the Kobe Earthquake which killed over 6,200 people
