270px, Hōfu City Hall 270px, Aerial photograph of central Hōfu 270px, Hōfu Tenman-gu is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 114,846 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

of 610 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Hōfu is located almost in the center of Yamaguchi Prefecture, facing the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, 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 Ba ...

to the south. The Saba River, a first-class water system, flows from the northwest of the city toward the Seto Inland Sea. On the offshore side, the remains of former salt fields have been reclaimed to form a plain. In the Seto Inland Sea, five islands, Sabajima, Mukaishima, Nojima, Hirashima, and Okishima, belong to the city.

Neighbouring municipalities

Yamaguchi Prefecture *

Shūnan file:Tokuyama district Shunan city Aerial photograph.2008.jpg, 270px, Shūnan city center is a Cities of Japan, city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 137,019 in 6828 households and a population density o ...

* Yamaguchi

Climate

Hōfu has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is much higher in summer than in winter. The average annual temperature in Hōfu is . The average annual rainfall is with July 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 Hōfu was on 11 August 2013; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 22 January 2004.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hōfu in 2020 is 113,979 people. Hōfu has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

The area of Hōfu was part of an ancient

Suō Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of ancient Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Suō bordered on Aki Province, Aki, Iwami Province, Iwami, and Nagato Province, Nagato Provinces. Its abbreviated form na ...

, and the name "Hōfu" (防府) means "the capital (国府) of Suō Province (周防国)". The area has been settled since the

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

. During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, the Suō Kokubun-ji was located in Hōfu. In the

Edo Period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, it was part of the holdings of

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was based ...

. Following the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the area was divided into villages within Saba District, Yamaguchi, including the villages of Saba and Mitajiri with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The two villages merged to form the town of Hōfu on January 1, 1902. Hōfu was elevated to city status on August 25, 1936. The city's change over the past fifty years is shown in the animated film Mai Mai Miracle, with its story taking place in the year of 1955 (with flashbacks going 1,000 years further back).

Government

Hōfu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city council of 25 members. Hōfu contributes four members to the Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Yamaguchi 1st district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Hōfu was a port settlement and noted for its salt production in ancient times. In the early modern period, the area rapidly industrialized, with textile mills and large scale factories established on the site of the former salt farms and coastal areas. There are a large concentration of transportation-related industries in the area. In addition to the large

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

automobile factory companies such as Bridgestone, Kyowa Hakko Bio, and Tokai Carbon are in the city. The city is also home to an

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

training base.

Education

Hōfu has 17 public elementary school and ten public junior high schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private junior high school and two private high schools. The private Yamaguchi Junior College is located in the city.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , 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, ...

(JR West) - San'yō Main Line * - Hōfu Freight Terminal - -

Highways

San'yō Expressway * *

Sister cities

* Akitakata,

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

since July 16, 1971 *

Chuncheon Chuncheon (; ; literally ''spring river''), formerly romanized as Ch'unch'ŏn, is the capital of Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city lies in the north of the country, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River (Korea), Han R ...

, Gangwon-do,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

since October 29, 1991 *

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, since May 29, 1993

Local attractions

* Hōfu Tenman-gū *

Mōri Museum opened in Hōfu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, in 1966. It occupies part of the Former Mōri clan, Mōri Clan Main Residence, dating from the Meiji period, Meiji and Taishō period, Taishō periods, of which twelve component structures have bee ...

* Suō Kokubun-ji, National Historic Site * Tamanooya Shrine, ''ichinomiya'' of Suō Province

Sports

*Hofu Keirin venue

Notable people

* Gin Maeda, actor * Kamiyama Mitsunoshin, 11th Governor-General of Taiwan * Taneda Santōka, poet * Hiroki Yasumoto, voice actor

References

External links

Hōfu City official website

*
Oidemase Hōfu website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hofu, Yamaguchi Cities in Yamaguchi Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan