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 def ...

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, Kumam ...

, located on the island of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

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, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. On January 1, 2005, the town of Notsuharu (from Ōita District) and the town of Saganoseki (from Kitaamabe District) were merged into Ōita.

Demographics and geography

Ōita is the most populous city in Ōita Prefecture. As of March 31, 2017, 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 a ...

of 478,491, with 216,853

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 950 persons per km². The total area of the city is 502.39 km². The city is bordered by City of Beppu to the northwest, City of Yufu to the west, City of Taketa to the southwest, City of Bungo-ōno to the south, and City of Usuki to the southeast. The north of the city faces

Beppu Bay is an arm of the western end of the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. Beppu Bay is located on the northeast coast of Kyushu in Ōita Prefecture. The city of Ōita lies on its southern coast and the city of Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on t ...

and the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...

Economy

During the 1960s and 1970s, an

industrial region {{Unreferenced, date=October 2010 Industrial region or industrial area refers to a geographical region with extremely dense Industrial sector, industry. It is usually heavily urbanization, urbanized. Brazil *ABCD Region, sometimes called ABC (AB ...

was formed along the Beppu Gulf coast. Among the plants in the region were flagship plants of

Nippon Steel was formed in 2012 by the merger of the old Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. was established in 1970 by the merger of Fuji Iron & Steel and Yawata Iron & Steel. Nippon Steel is the world's third largest steel producer by volume as of 2019. ...

and

Showa Denko , founded in 1939 by the merger of Nihon Electrical Industries and Showa Fertilizers, both established by a Japanese entrepreneur Nobuteru Mori, is a Japanese chemical company producing chemical products and industrial materials. SDK's products ...

. In the 1970s,

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

and

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

built and expanded their plants in inland area. By then, the city emerged as a major production center of electronics products such as

LSIs The Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) was a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and registered charity formed in 2008 to support and improve achievement in the Further Education and Skills sector in England. The LSIS had a go ...

and

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...

s. The downtown and shopping districts are located to the north of

Oita Station Oita often refers to: *Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan *Ōita (city), the capital of the prefecture Oita or Ōita may also refer to: Places *Ōita District, Ōita, a former district in Ōita Prefecture, Japan *Ōita Stadium, a multi-use stadium ...

. Recently, however, the area has been gradually declining, because the main commercial areas have been dispersed due to the construction of big

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

s in the suburbs.

History

The Ōita area is historically known as , the capital of . During the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

(15th–16th centuries), the powerful

Ōtomo clan was a Japanese samurai family whose power stretched from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period, spanning over 400 years. The clan's hereditary lands lay in Kyūshū. Origins The first family head, Ōtomo Yoshinao (1172–1223), took ...

based in Funai and the area prospered as a key port of trade with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and Ming-dynasty China.

Ōtomo Sōrin , also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原義鎮) and Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Roman Catholicism (Christianity). The eldest son of , he ...

, a famous Christian ''

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

'', first introduced western culture. It was in Funai that the first western style hospital was built and the first Japanese choir was formed.

Climate

Ōita has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

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, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.

Landmarks and points of interest

that borders

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

is famous for wild monkeys, specifically the

Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...

. At the entrance to the Takasaki-yama park is the "Marine Palace" aquarium, also known as "Umi Tamago", or "Sea Egg". The

Ōita Stadium is a retractable roof, multi-purpose stadium in the city of Ōita in Ōita Prefecture on Kyushu Island in Japan. The stadium will be called from 1 January 2023 as an abbreviated form, by naming rights. It was formerly called as , due to spon ...

, also known as Big Eye or Kyushu Oil Dome, is situated along the city expressway. It is the home field of the

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 succe ...

football club

Oita Trinita is a Japanese football club currently playing in J2 League, having been relegated after the 2021 season after a three-year stint in J1 League. The club's home town is Ōita, Ōita, Ōita city, but the club draws support from Beppu, Ōita, Beppu, ...

and is used for large local events. In the middle of the city, there are many shops and department stores. Some major departmental stores include Tokiwa, Parco, Frespo Kasugaura, and D Plaza. There are also

s in the suburbs, such as Tokiwa Wasada Town and Park Place Oita. Outside the city, scenic spots include mountain plateaus, seaside villages and towns renowned for

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

(geothermal hot springs). Ōita is also famous for the intestines of

puffer fish Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfis ...

. ''

Toriten Toriten is a Japanese tempura style fried chicken. It originated food in Ōita Prefecture, and is very popular there. Any part of the chicken can be used. The meat is cut into small pieces, dipped in soy sauce, sake and garlic powder, rolled in ...

'' is another famous food in this city. JNR C55 53 is the locomotive on display in the park. (See JNR C55)

Transportation

The principal railway station of the city is

Ōita Station is a railway station located in Ōita, Ōita Prefecture, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The station opened on November 1, 1911. It has since undergone renovation, reopening in 2012 — the 'main' area of the station is ...

where

Nippō Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima via the east coast of Kyushu, passing through the pr ...

Kyūdai Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Kurume Station, Kurume in Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Station, Ōita in Ōita Prefecture. It is also known as the Yufu Kōgen Line. The ...

, and

Hōhi Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, southern Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects the west and east coasts of the island. The line originates at Kumamoto Station in Kumamoto and ends at terminal of Ōita Station ...

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...

gathers. The luxury ''

Aru Ressha The is a replica of a J. G. Brill Company two-car deluxe coach operated as an excursion train by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan since August 2015. Overview Details of the planned excursion train, provisionally called the "Sweets T ...

'' train was designed by

Eiji Mitooka is a Japanese industrial designer, illustrator, and managing director of the industrial design company . He also works as a design consultant for Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Biography Mitooka graduated from Okayama Technical High Sch ...

. It runs between Ōita and Hita and is in service to also revive tourism and the local economy. Buses are the primary mode of transportation in Oita, run by two main bus service companies. The Oita Bus Company operates bus routes in the city. The Oita Kotsu Company runs north of the city. For long-distance bus services, these two companies, as well as Kamenoi Bus Company operate bus routes from Oita to main place of Kyushu, such as

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 ancie ...

and

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

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

and more.

Oita Airport Oita often refers to: *Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan *Ōita (city), the capital of the prefecture Oita or Ōita may also refer to: Places *Ōita District, Ōita, a former district in Ōita Prefecture, Japan *Ōita Stadium, a multi-use stadium ...

is located nearby, at

Kunisaki is a small coastal city located in Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. It is located on the Kunisaki Peninsula facing the Seto Inland Sea. Mostly covered by forests and farmlands, the peninsula is dotted with temples. The modern city of Kunisaki w ...

, and used to be accessible via

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

, which takes about 30 minutes. However, this service has been suspended since late 2009. Other ways of accessing the airport is by bus, taxi or a private vehicle. The

Ōita Expressway is a Japanese expressway in Kyushu that travels from Tosu to Hiji, where it connects to the Higashikyushu Expressway. It runs through the southern half of Fukuoka Prefecture, and the northern half of Ōita Prefecture. The total length of Ōita ...

Higashikyushu Expressway The is one of the expressways of Japan from Kitakyūshū (and the bridge to Honshū) to east of Kagoshima linking with the Kyushu Expressway. It runs north to south, through the prefectures of Fukuoka, Oita, Miyazaki and the Kagoshima prefec ...

, National Route 10 and National Route 210 all run through the city. Many ships depart from the

Port of Oita A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, to places such as

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

, 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'' (), '' ...

Sports

Annual sporting events include: * Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon, which traces a path between Ōita and its neighbouring city of

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 competition has been held every year since 1952 and is classed as an

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

Silver Label road race.Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon
ARRS (2009-12-24). Retrieved on 2010-02-08. * The Kyūshū Ekiden, beginning in

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

and ending in

, the world's longest

relay race A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of Race track, racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in runni ...

Sporting events held in Oita include: *1966

National Sports Festival of Japan The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...

*2001

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which national ...

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

*2003, 2006, 2007

Kirin Challenge Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which national ...

*2005

J. League All-Star Soccer The J. League All-Star Soccer, called JOMO All-Star Soccer for sponsorship reasons, is an annual exhibition match organised by the Japan Football Association and J. League. It has been played each year since the inception of J. League in 1993. The ...

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

Sports teams and facilities

Education

Oita City operates all public elementary and junior high schools, while the prefecture operates the high schools.

National universities

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 Sea o ...

Prefectural universities

Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences is a public university in Ōita, Ōita, 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, while ...

Private universities

Nippon Bunri University is a private university in Ōita, Ōita, 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 ...

Beppu University is a private university in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. It has campuses at the cities of Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a population of 122,643Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University , commonly referred to as APU, is a university in Japan. Ritsumeikan APU was established in April 2000 in Beppu, Ōita, Japan. APU was created through the collaboration of three parties from the public and private sectors: Ōita Prefecture, Be ...

High schools

* Ōita Uenogaoka High School * Ōita Oginodai High School * Ōita Kōgyō High School * Ōita Shōgyō High School * Ōita Tsurusaki High School * Ōita Nishi High School * Ōita Higashi High School * Ōita Hofu High School (middle and high school) * Ōita Maizuru High School * Ōita Minami High School * Geijutsu Midorigaoka High School * Jōhō Kagaku High School * Tsurusaki Kōgyō High School

Notable people from Ōita

Mao Abe Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC ...

, singer-songwriter *

Takamasa Anai is a Japanese judoka. He began judo at the age of 5. He is Coached by former world champion and olympic silver medalist Shinichi Shinohara. He won the All-Japan Championships and took the bronze medal at the World Championships in 2009. His ...

, judo wrestler *

Yuya Ando is a professional baseball player from Ōita City, Japan. He is part of the starting rotation for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. Career In 2006, Ando pitched his first Shutout game against Yokohama BayStars. Ando joined the Japanese Oly ...

, baseball player *

Chiyotaikai Ryūji Chiyotaikai Ryūji (born April 29, 1976 as Ryūji Hiroshima in Chitose, Hokkaidō), is a Japanese former sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in 1992 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1997. He held the second highest rank of '' ...

, sumo wrestler *

Eri Fukatsu is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Haru'' and the best actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival for her performance in ''Villain''. She also received acclaim for her r ...

, actress *

Arata Isozaki Arata Isozaki (磯崎新, ''Isozaki Arata''; born 23 July 1931) is a Japanese architect, urban designer, and theorist from Ōita. He was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986 and the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. Biography Isozaki was ...

, architect *

Yūko Kotegawa is a Japanese actress from the city of Ōita. Biography Yūko graduated from high school in the city of Ōita. She placed first in the 1976 Miss Salad Girl contest (the runner-up was Yūko Natori). She landed a part in a Kanebo cosmetics com ...

, actress *

Atsuhiro Miura is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. He is not related to fellow footballer and who is also from Japan Kazuyoshi Miura. Club career Miura was born in Oita on 24 July 1974. After dropped out from Aoyama Gak ...

, football player * Daisuke Miyazaki, handball player *

Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He led the Japanese Socialist Party, and was responsible for changing its name to the Social Democratic Party (Japan), Social Democratic Party of Japan in 1996. Up ...

, 81st

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

Shigeichi Nagano __NOTOC__ was a Japanese photographer. He won the Ina Nobuo Award in 1986 and had a major retrospective at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in 2000. Life and work Nagano was born in Ōita City in Ōita Prefecture, and studied economi ...

, photographer *

Yūsuke Santamaria , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor and singer. Biography Santamaria appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2003 film '' Doppelganger''. He starred in Katsuyuki Motohiro is a Japanese film director. Filmography *''Odoru Daisosase ...

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...

Rino Sashihara is a Japanese tarento, singer, producer and actress. She is best known as a former member of idol groups HKT48, AKB48 and STU48, and was the theater manager for HKT48 and STU48. She was also a member of AKB48's unit Not Yet (band), Not Yet and i ...

HKT48 HKT48 (read "H.K.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. HKT48 is named after the Hakata-ku, Fukuoka city of Fukuoka Prefecture, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at ...

, former

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

Seiichi Uchikawa is a Japanese people, Japanese professional baseball player for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, Yokohama BayStars and Fukuoka S ...

, baseball player *

Naomi Zaizen is a Japanese actress. Filmography Films * (1989) * (1989) * '' Heaven and Earth'' (1990) * '' Best Guy'' (1990) * * (1991) * (1993) * (1994) * (1995) * (1997) * (1998) * ''Avalon'' (2001) * ''Ouran High School Host Club'' (2012) * ...

, actress * Misa Eto, former

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshimotozaka46, and ...

* Sosuke Genda, baseball player *

Kenichi Shinoda , also known as , is a Japanese Yakuza, the sixth and current ''kumicho'' (supreme kingpin, or chairman) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. Career Shinoda was born in Ōita, Kyushu.Shinobu Tsukasa , also known as , is a Japanese Yakuza, the sixth and current ''kumicho'' (supreme kingpin, or chairman) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. Career Shinoda was born in Ōita, Kyushu.Yakuza godfather, current ''kumicho'' of

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest ''yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest criminal organizations i ...

's largest

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

organization

Sister cities

* Aveiro, Portugal (1978) *

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

, China (1979) *

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, United States (1990) *

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China (1997) * San Cristóbal,

Táchira Táchira State ( es, Estado Táchira, ) is one of the 24 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,908. At the end of the 19t ...

, Venezuela * Vitória,

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

, Brazil *

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland

References

External links

Ōita City official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oita, Oita Cities in Ōita Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan