Kumamoto Metropolitan Employment Area 2010

is the capital

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

of 738,907 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 1,893 people per km². The total area is 390.32 km². had a population of 1,461,000, as of the 2000 census. , Kumamoto Metropolitan Employment Area has a GDP of US$39.8 billion. It is not considered part of the Fukuoka–Kitakyushu metropolitan area, despite their shared border. The city was designated on April 1, 2012, by government ordinance.

History

Early modern period

Shokuhō period

Katō Kiyomasa, a contemporary of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and '' daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the C ...

, was made ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' of half of the (old) administrative region of Higo in 1588. Afterwards, Kiyomasa built Kumamoto Castle. Due to its many innovative defensive designs, Kumamoto Castle was considered impenetrable, and Kiyomasa enjoyed a reputation as one of the finest castle-builders in Japanese history.

Edo period

After Kiyomasa died in 1611, his son, Tadahiro, succeeded him. In 1632, Tadahiro was removed by

Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, ...

and replaced with the Hosokawa clan. Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the third lord of Kumamoto, was the patron of the artist and swordsman Miyamoto Musashi File:Statue of Hosokawa Tadatoshi.jpg, Statue of Hosokawa Tadatoshi within Suizen-ji Jōju-en. File:Hosokawa clan.jpg,

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * An ...

of the Hosokawa clan. File:Hidari mitsudomoe.svg,

of Miyamoto Musashi born in Ōhara-chō province of Mimasaka. File:Tokugawa shogunate.jpg,

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

. , Statue of Miyamoto Musashi à Ōhara-chō.

Late modern period

Meiji period

The current administrative body of the City of Kumamoto was founded on April 1, 1889.

Showa period

On July 1, 1945, near the end of World War II, Kumamoto was bombed in an Allied air raid that destroyed one square mile, which was 20% of the city's area.

Contemporary history

After WWII

After the war, the Japanese Buddhist monk Nichidatsu Fujii decided to construct a Peace Pagoda atop Mount Hanaoka in the city to commemorate all those lost in war and to promote peace. Inaugurated in 1954, it was the first of over 80 Peace Pagodas built by Fujii and his followers all over the world.

Heisei period

On February 1, 1991, the towns of Akita, Kawachi, Tenmei, and Hokubu (all from Hōtaku District) were merged into Kumamoto. On October 6, 2008, the town of Tomiai (from Shimomashiki District) was merged into Kumamoto. On March 23, 2010, the town of Jōnan (also from Shimomashiki District) and the town of Ueki (from Kamoto District) were merged into Kumamoto.都道府県別市町村変更情報：福岡
." kokudo.or.jp. Retrieved on November 22, 2008. A series of earthquakes struck the area beginning April 14, 2016, including a tremor with moment magnitude 7.1 early in the morning of April 16, 2016.

Geography

Climate

Kumamoto has a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfa'') with hot, humid summers and cool winters. There is significant precipitation throughout the year, especially during June and July. The average annual temperature in Kumamoto is . The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Kumamoto was on 17 July 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 11 February 1929.

Area

Wards

Since April 1, 2012, Kumamoto has five wards ''(ku)'':

Surrounding municipalities

; Kumamoto Prefecture *

Uki Uki or UKI may refer to: *Uki Goñi, writer, journalist and musician *Uki, New South Wales, an Australian town *Uki, Kumamoto, a Japanese city *Uki Island in Solomon Islands * ''Uki'' (TV series), a pre-school animated television programme from Bel ...

* Kikuchi * Tamana * Uto * Yamaga * Kōshi *

Mashiki is a town located in Kamimashiki District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of March 2017, the town has an estimated population of 33,001 and a density of 500 persons per km². The total area is 65.67 km². Kumamoto Airport is located in Ma ...

* Kōsa * Kashima * Kikuyō *

Mifune Mifune () is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Toshirō Mifune (三船敏郎) (1920–1997), Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films *Jiro Mifune (born 1972), game designer *Mifune Chizuko (御船千� ...

* Gyokuto

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kumamoto in 2020 is 738,865 people. Kumamoto has been conducting censuses since 1920.

Government

Kazufumi Ōnishi has been the city's mayor since December 2014.

Working mother incident

In November 2017, Kumamoto politician

Yuka Ogata is a Japanese local politician and a member of the Kumamoto City Assembly. She was first elected in the 2015 local elections, winning 4,196 votes in the Higashi Ward of Kumamoto. Before entering public office, Ogata was an officer in the Yemen ...

was forced to leave the Kumamoto municipal assembly because she had brought her baby. The incident was reported by international media as an example of the challenges facing women in Japan.

Transportation

Kita-Kumamoto Service Area of Kyushu Expressway 2

Local public transport is provided by the Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau.

Airways

Airports

Kumamoto Airport is located in nearby

Railways

High-speed rail

On March 12, 2011, work on the shinkansen (high-speed bullet train) network was completed, establishing a direct high-speed rail link to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

via

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center ...

Hakata is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the locatio ...

station. ; Kyushu Railway Company（JR Kyushu） * Kyushu Shinkansen：- Kumamoto Station -

Conventional lines

The JR Kumamoto station provides rail links to Japan's extensive rail network. ; Kyushu Railway Company（JR Kyushu） * Kagoshima Main Line：- Tabaruzaka - Ueki - Nishizato - Sōjōdaigakumae - Kami-Kumamoto - Kumamoto - Nishi-Kumamoto - Kawashiri - Tomiai - * Hōhi Main Line： Kumamoto - Heisei - Minami-Kumamoto - Shin-Suizenji - Suizenji - Tōkai-Gakuen-mae - Tatsutaguchi - Musashizuka - Hikarinomori - ; Kumamoto Electric Railway * Kikuchi Line： Kami-Kumamoto - Kankanzaka - Ikeda Station - Uchigoshi - Tsuboigawa-kōen - Kita-Kumamoto -

Kamei Kamei ( 亀井, "turtle well") is a Japanese surname. *Japanese clan, Kamei clan People that have the name include: *Akiko Kamei, politician *Eri Kamei, member of Morning Musume *Fumio Kamei, documentary film director *, Japanese fencer * Hirotad ...

- Hakenomiya - Horikawa - * Fujisaki Line： Kita-Kumamoto - Kurokamimachi - Fujisakigū-mae

Tramways

Trams run to a few suburbs near the downtown area. ; Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau

Bus

A large bus terminus, called the Kotsu Centre, provides access to both local and intercity destinations.

Taxi

Several local taxi companies serve the Kumamoto metropolitan area and are the only 24-hour public transport in the city.

Roads

Expressways

Kyushu Expressway

Japan National Route

Japan National Route 3 is a major highway on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. It connects the prefectural capital cities of Kagoshima (Kagoshima Prefecture), Kumamoto (Kumamoto Prefecture), and Fukuoka (Fukuoka Prefecture), passing through Kurume as well. Its north ...

Japan National Route 57 * Japanese National Route Sign 0208

Japan National Route 208 * Japanese National Route Sign 0218

Japan National Route 218 National Route 218 is a national highway of Japan connecting Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, and Nobeoka, Miyazaki is a city located in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 119,521 and a po ...

Japan National Route 219 * Japanese National Route Sign 0266

Japan National Route 266 * Japanese National Route Sign 0387

Japan National Route 387 * Japanese National Route Sign 0443

Japan National Route 443 * Japanese National Route Sign 0445

Japan National Route 445 National Route 445 is a national highway of Japan connecting Chūō-ku, Kumamoto and Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto is a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on February 11, 1942. the city has an estimated population of 30,752 and a ...

Japan National Route 501 National Route 501 is a national highway of Japan connecting between Omuta, Fukuoka and Uto, Kumamoto in Japan, with total length has 47.1 km (29.3 mi). References 501 __NOTOC__ Year 501 ( DI) was a common year starting on ...

Seaways

Seaports

*Port of Kumamoto

Ferry

*Kyusyu Shosen：Kumamoto - Shimabara *Kumamoto-Ferry：Kumamoto - Shimabara *Korean Marine Transport：Kumamoto -

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

Education

Universities

* Kumamoto University * Prefectural University of Kumamoto * Kumamoto Gakuen University * Sojo University * Kyūshū Lutheran College *

Shokei College is a private university in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japa ...

Shokei Gakuin University is a private university in Natori, Miyagi, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, w ...

* Tokai University

Landmarks

Kumamoto Castle

The city's most famous landmark is Kumamoto Castle, a large and once extremely well fortified Japanese castle. The ''

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

'' (castle central keep) is a concrete reconstruction built in the 1970s, but several ancillary wooden buildings from the original castle remain. The castle was assaulted during the Satsuma Rebellion and sacked and burned after a 53-day siege. It was during this time that the tradition of eating '' basashi'' (raw horse meat) originated. ''Basashi'' remains popular in Kumamoto and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Japan, although these days it is usually considered a delicacy. Within the outer walls of Kumamoto Castle is the Hosokawa Gyobu-tei, the former residence of the Higo ''

''. This traditional wooden mansion has a fine Japanese garden located on its grounds.

Religious sites

The first of many peace pagodas around the world was erected by Japanese Buddhist monk Nichidatsu Fujii atop

Mount Hanaoka Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

beginning 1947. Inaugurated in 1954, it was the first of over 80 built by Fujii and his followers all over the world. Kumamoto is also the location of Takahashi Inari Shrine and Fujisaki Hachimangū.

Suizenji area

Kumamoto is home to Suizen-ji Jōju-en, a formal garden neighboring Suizenji Temple approximately 3 kilometers southeast of Kumamoto Castle. Suizenji Park is also home to the Suizenji Municipal Stadium, where the city's football team, Roasso Kumamoto, used to play regularly. The team now uses the larger KKWing Stadium in Higashi Ward.

Other notable sites

Miyamoto Musashi lived the last part of his life in Kumamoto. His tomb and the cave where he resided during his final years (known as

Reigandō is a cave that lies to the west of Kumamoto, Japan, that became a temporary home to the legendary rōnin, Miyamoto Musashi. From 1643, Musashi spent many of his last months in the cave, meditating and writing his ''Book of Five Rings''. The cave i ...

, or "spirit rock cave") are situated close by. He penned the famous ''Go Rin no Sho'' ('' The Book of Five Rings'') whilst living here. The downtown area has a commercial district centred on two shopping arcades, the Shimotori and Kamitori, which extend for several city blocks. The main department stores are located here along with a large number of smaller retailers, restaurants, and bars. Many local festivals are held in or near the arcades. Cultural venues include the

Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art opened in the precincts of Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, Japan in 1976. It is one of Japan's many museums which are supported by a prefecture. The permanent collection focuses on the art and crafts of Kumamoto Prefecture and also contains works by ...

and

Kumamoto Prefectural Theater is a centre for the performing arts in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. History It opened in 1982 and has two main spaces: a concert hall that seats 1,813 and a theatre that seats 1,183. Maekawa Kunio was the architect, with acoustical ...

Culture

Sports

Sports teams

;

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

* Hinokuni Salamanders of the baseball Kyusyu Asia League are based in Kumamoto. ; Football * Roasso Kumamoto in

J.League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successfu ...

is the local football club. ;

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

Kumamoto Volters is a Japanese professional basketball team in Kumamoto, Kumamoto. The team competes in the B.League. Volters hosted the B.League All-star Game in 2018. Roster Notable players *Paul Butorac *Josh Duinker * Joel James *Lamont J ...

of the basketball B.League are based in Kumamoto. ;

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Forest Leaves Kumamoto A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

of the

V.League（ V2）are based in Kumamoto. File:Fujisakidai Baseball Stadium Kumamoto.jpg, Kumamoto Fujisakidai Baseball Stadium File:Kumamoto kkw.JPG, Egao Kenko Stadium File:Kumamoto-pref synthesis gymnasium 1.jpg, Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium File:Kumamoto-city synthesis gymnasium 1.jpg, Kumamoto City Synthesis Gymnasium

Sporting events

The

Kumamoto Castle Marathon The is an annual marathon sporting event in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is border ...

is a yearly event in Kumamoto City. It was established in commemoration of Kumamoto becoming a

designated city A , also known as a or , is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19, of the Local Autonomy Law. Designated cities are delegat ...

in 2012. The city also hosted the

1997 World Men's Handball Championship The 1997 World Men's Handball Championship was the 15th team handball World Championship. It was held in Kumamoto, Japan and was the first World Championship not played in a European country. Russia won the championship. Qualification Venues ...

and the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship.

External relations

Twin towns/sister cities

Kumamoto City is twinned with the following cities.

International

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metr ...

, United States *

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, South West England, United Kingdom *

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the n ...

, Guangxi, People's Republic of China * Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (since 1992) * Helena, Montana, United States *

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States (since 1987) * Ulsan, South Korea (since 2010) * Kaohsiung, Taiwan (since 2017)

Notable people

* Aimer, pop singer and lyricist. * Chisato Moritaka, pop singer and lyricist. * Eiichiro Oda, manga artist, author of '' One Piece.'' * Go Shiozaki, Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, currently signed to the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion and Chairman of the Noah Wrestlers' Association. * Higonoumi Naoya,

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by ...

wrestler. * Inoue Kowashi, statesman. * Isao Yukisada, film director. *

Kaji Yajima was the founder of the Women's Reform Society and president of Japan's Woman's Christian Temperance Union. An educator, pacifist, and Christian activist, she vigorously advanced the cause for the education of women in Japan. Her name was usually ...

, educator, pacifist, president of the WCTU in Japan. * Masahiko Kimura, judoka. * Momoko Ueda, professional golfer. *

Noriko Kubo is a Japanese fencer. She competed in the women's individual and team épée events at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as ...

, Japanese female fencer. * Rie Kugimiya, voice actress. * Sayaka Hirota, Japanese badminton player. * Sayuri Ishikawa, enka singer * Seiki Yoshioka, Japanese professional wrestler * Shōdai Naoya, sumo wrestler. * Tochihikari Masayuki, sumo wrestler. *

Tadako Urata Tadako Urata (宇良田唯子) (3 May 1873 – 18 June 1936) was a Japanese physician, trained in ophthalmology in Germany. She and her husband ran a clinic in Tianjin, China, from 1912 to 1932. Early life and education Urata was born in Ush ...

, ophthalmologist *

Yōko Shimada was a Japanese actress, best known to Western audiences for her portrayal of Mariko in the 1980 miniseries ''Shōgun''. ''Shogun'' miniseries Shimada was the only female member of ''Shōgun''s massive cast of Japanese actors shown speaking En ...

, actress. * Yokoi Shōnan, scholar and political reformer. * Yuri Masuda, vocalist from the group

m.o.v.e Move (styled as M.O.V.E or m.o.v.e, and previously as move) was a Japanese band. The band consisted of record producer and Disc jockey, DJ t-kimura (), rapper motsu () and singer Yuri (Japanese singer), yuri (). t-kimura left the band in 2009. H ...

. * Yuki Fukushima, Japanese badminton player. *

Yuta Iwasada is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. Career Early career Yuta started his baseball career in 4th grade as an outfielder for the Wakaba Elementary School, and in ...

, Japanese baseball player.

References

External links

Kumamoto City official website

* * {{Authority control Cities in Kumamoto Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Port settlements in Japan Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan