is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. Kyushu has a land area of and a population of 14,311,224 in 2018. In the 8th-century

Taihō Code The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis ...

reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region.

Geography

The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano,

Mount Aso 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 ...

at , is on Kyushu. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

s. The most famous of these are in

Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a population of 122,643

, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso in central Kyushu. The island is separated from

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...

by the

Kanmon Straits The or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating Honshu and Kyushu, two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshu side of the strait is Shimonoseki (, which contributed "Kan" () to the name of the strait) and on the Kyushu ...

. Being the nearest island to the Asian continent, historically it is the gateway to Japan. The total area is which makes it the 37th largest island in the world. It's slightly larger than

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

island . The highest elevation is on

Mount Kujū , located on the border of Kokonoe and Taketa in Ōita Prefecture, Japan, is the highest mountain in Kyushu Island, Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. It is part of the Aso-Kujū National Park. ...

. The name ''Kyūshū'' comes from the nine ancient provinces of

Saikaidō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. Saikaido was one of the main circuits of the Gokishichidō system, which was originally established during the Asuka period ...

situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo,

Hizen was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...

, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, and

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

. Today's is a politically defined region that consists of the seven prefectures on the island of Kyushu (which also includes the former Tsushima and

Iki IKI may refer to: * Internationales Kulturinstitut in Vienna * Iodine potassium-iodide, a chemical compound * Russian Space Research Institute originally known as IKI RAN * Iki Airport, IATA code Iki or iki may refer to: * Iki Island, a Japanese ...

as part of Nagasaki), plus Okinawa Prefecture to the south: *

Northern Kyushu is a subregion of Kyushu. This northern region encompasses the prefectures of Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Ōita. History Before 1963 it was called North Kyushu (''Kitakyūshū'', 北九州) until the city of Kitakyūshū was form ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, M ...

Nagasaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the northeast. N ...

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasa ...

Southern Kyushu is a subregion of the Kyushu region of Japan. This southern region encompasses the prefectures of Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and Okinawa. It has more of a subtropical climate than the rest of Kyushu. See also * Northern Kyushu * List of regions ...

** Kagoshima Prefecture **

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders ...

** Okinawa Prefecture

Population

Kyushu has 10.3percent of the population of Japan. Most of Kyushu's population is concentrated along the northwest, in the cities of

Fukuoka is the 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 of international commerce since anc ...

and Kitakyushu, with population corridors stretching southwest into

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

and south into

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

and

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

. Except for Oita and Miyazaki, the eastern seaboard shows a general

decline in population A population decline (also sometimes called underpopulation, depopulation, or population collapse) in humans is a reduction in a human population size. Over the long term, stretching from prehistory to the present, Earth's total human population ...

. Politically, Kyushu is described as a stronghold of the Liberal Democratic Party. Per Japanese census data, the Kyushu region's population with

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

(

and

Prefectures) has experienced a large population decline since around 2000. However, the population decline is mild mainly due to relatively high birth rate of

Ryukyuans The Ryukyuan people ( ryu, 琉球民族 (るーちゅーみんずく), Ruuchuu minzuku or ryu, どぅーちゅーみんずく, Duuchuu minzuku, label=none, ja, 琉球民族/りゅうきゅうみんぞく, Ryūkyū minzoku, also Lewchewan or L ...

both within the Ryukyuan lands (

and

) and throughout the Kyushu region. In addition, the other prefectures in Kyushu also have exceptionally high TFRs compared to the rest of Japan. The Ryukyuans are an indigenous minority group in Japan.

Designated cities

(population: 1,588,924) * Kitakyushu (population: 940,978) *

(population: 738,907)

Core cities

* Ōita *

* Miyazaki *

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area ...

Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 303,579 and a population density of 1,320 persons per km². The total area is 229.96 km². On February 5, 2005, the town of Kitano (from ...

* Saga

Environment and agriculture

Parts of Kyushu have a subtropical climate, particularly

Miyazaki prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders ...

and Kagoshima prefecture. Major agricultural products are

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

sweet potatoes The sweet potato or sweetpotato ('' Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young sho ...

, and

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

; also,

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

is widely produced. Besides the

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the northern part of the island, around

Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a population of 122,643

. The springs are the site of occurrence of certain

extremophile An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

s, which are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.

Economy

Kyushu is noted for various types of

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

, including Arita, Imari, Satsuma, and Karatsu.

Heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

is concentrated in the north around Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals, automobiles, semiconductors, metal processing, shipbuilding,

etc. ''Et Cetera'' ( or (proscribed) , ), abbreviated to ''etc.'', ''etc'', ''et cet.'', ''&c.'' or ''&c'' is a Latin expression that is used in English to mean "and other similar things", or "and so forth". Translated literally from Latin, means 'an ...

In 2010, the graduate employment rate in the region was the lowest nationwide, at 88.9%.

Education

Major universities and colleges in Kyushu: * National universities **

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. It was the 4th Imperial University in Japan, ranked as 4th in 2020 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings, one of the top 10 Design ...

– One of seven former "Imperial Universities" **

Kyushu Institute of Technology is one of the 87 national universities in Japan. Located in Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, it is dedicated to education and research in the fields of science and technology. It is earlier abbreviated to KIT and is now officially ab ...

** Saga University **

Nagasaki University is a national university of Japan. Its nickname is ''Chōdai'' (). The main campus is located in Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. History Nagasaki University was established in 1949 by incorporating several nation ...

Kumamoto University , abbreviated to ''Kumadai'' (熊大), is a Japanese national university located in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region of Japan. It was established on May 31, 1949, at which time the following institutions were subsumed into it; ...

Fukuoka University of Education (UTEF) is a national university in Munakata, Fukuoka, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1876, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. The present name was adopted in 1966. Associated primary schools * Fukuoka University o ...

Oita University is a national university in Ōita, Ōita 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 bordered on the west by the S ...

Miyazaki University is a national university primarily in the Kibana neighborhood of southern Miyazaki city, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The name is sometimes shortened to the abbreviation "UoM" or the portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a bl ...

Kagoshima University , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. History The university was established in 1949 consolidating the following schools because of educational reform in occupied Japan. * - e ...

** National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya **

University of the Ryukyus The , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university in Nishihara, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1950, it is the westernmost national university of Japan and the largest public university in Okinawa Prefecture. Located in the ...

* Universities run by local governments **

University of Kitakyushu The is a public university in Kitakyushu, Japan. The main campus is located next to Keibajomae (lit. Horse Racing course) station on the Kitakyushu monorail. The second campus is in the academic zone of Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu called Gakujut ...

** Kyushu Dental College **

Fukuoka Women's University is a public university in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1923, it was chartered as a university in 1950. Alongside Gunma Prefectural Women's University is a public university in Tamamura, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Es ...

Fukuoka Prefectural University is a public university in Tagawa, Fukuoka is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on November 3, 1943. As of October 1, 2018, the city has an estimated population of 48,241, with 24,537 households. Its total area ...

** Nagasaki Prefectural University **

Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences is a public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as op ...

Prefectural University of Kumamoto is a public university in the city of 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 t ...

** Miyazaki Municipal University ** Miyazaki Prefectural Nursing University **

Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts is a public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, a ...

* Major private universities **

Fukuoka University Fukuoka University is a private research university located in Fukuoka, Japan. The university has nine faculties with a total of around 20,000 students, 800 of whom are foreign. Its two campuses are in Nanakuma and Kitakyushu. Fukuoka Universit ...

– University with the largest number of students in Kyushu **

Kumamoto Gakuen University called Gakuendai (学園大) or Shōdai (商大), is a private Japanese university in Kumamoto, Japan. It was established in 1942, at which time Eastern Language Vocational College (東洋語学専門学校 ''Tōyō Gengo Senmon Gakkō'') wa ...

** Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University **

Seinan Gakuin University is a Baptist Christian university in Fukuoka, Japan. History It was founded in 1916 as an academy for boys by Rev. C. K. Dozier, a Baptist missionary from the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known ...

Kyushu Sangyo University was founded in 1960 in Fukuoka City, and currently has twenty departments and six graduate schools. It is a private university. Undergraduate Faculties and departments *Faculty of Economics **Department of Economics *Faculty of Commerce **Depar ...

– Baseball team won the Japanese National Championship in 2005 ** University of Occupational and Environmental Health **

Kurume University is a private university, established in 1928. Kurume University is located in Kurume ( Chikugo district), Fukuoka (on the island of Kyushu), Japan. History *1928 Kyūshū Medical School established. (A precursor of Kurume university) *1949 ...

Transportation

Kyushu is linked to the larger island of

by the Kanmon Railway Tunnel, which carries the non-

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

trains of the Kyushu Railway Company, and the newer Shin-Kanmon Tunnel carrying the

San'yō Shinkansen The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward cont ...

. Railways on the island are operated by the Kyushu Railway Company and

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

, as well as a variety of smaller companies such as Amagi Railway and Nishitetsu Railway.

Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima ( Kagoshima-Chuo St ...

trains operate between major cities on the island, such as

and

, with an additional route between and

which is in operation since September 2022. Kyushu is also known for its scenic train services, such as the Limited Express Yufuin no Mori and Limited Express Kawasemi Yamasemi. The

Kanmon Bridge The (Asian Highway Network ) is a suspension bridge crossing the Kanmon Straits, a stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the bridge is Shimonoseki (, which contributed ''Kan'' to the name of the s ...

and

Kanmon Roadway Tunnel In Japan, the carries National Route 2 under the Kanmon Straits. At the time of its construction, it was the longest undersea highway in the world. Kyushu Expressway spans the length of the island, linking the Higashikyushu Expressway and Ibusuki Skyline, connecting major cities such as

and

along the way. There are also many quiet country roads, including popular tourist routes such as the Nichinan coast road and the Aso Panorama Line in

. Bus services are available and cover 2,400 routes within Kyushu's cities, connecting many other destinations. Several passenger and car ferry services connect both northern and southern Kyushu with main port cities on the main island of Honshu (Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo) and

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyushu Kyushu region Islands of Japan Japanese archipelago