Shibushi City Office Shibushi branch 200809

270px, Shibushi Port 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

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

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 28,889 in 15135 households, 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 100 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Shibushi is located in the eastern part of Kagoshima Prefecture, at the base of the

Ōsumi Peninsula image:Osumi Peninsula Kagoshima Japan SRTM.jpg, 261x261px, Satellite image of Ōsumi Peninsula The projects south from the Japanese island of Kyūshū and includes the southernmost point on the island, Cape Sata. Its east coast lies on the Pacifi ...

, and borders Miyazaki Prefecture. The south side of the city area faces Shibushi Bay.

Neighboring municipalities

Kagoshima Prefecture * Ōsaki * Soo Miyazaki Prefecture *

Kushima 270px, Toimisaki lighthouse is a city located in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 15,623 in 6950 households, and a population density of 53 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kushima ...

Miyakonojō is a city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 158,235 in 72394 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the largest city in the prefecture in t ...

Climate

Shibushi 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 mild winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, and is heavier in summer, especially the months of June and July. The average annual temperature in Shibushi 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 . Its record high is , reached on 16 August 2020, and its record low is , reached on 27 February 1981.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shibushi in 2020 is 29,329 people. Shibushi's population has been in slow decline since the census began in 1950, although it rebounded in the 1955 and 1975 censuses. As of 2020, the town's population is only 60% of what it was in the 1950s.

History

The area of Shibushi was part of ancient

Hyūga Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to modern Miyazaki Prefecture Hyūga bordered on Ōsumi to the south, Higo to the west, and Bungo to the north. Its abbreviated form name was , although it was als ...

, and developed as the port of Shimazu-shō, the vast ''

shōen A was a field or Manorialism, manor in Japan. The Japanese language, Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese language, Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to th ...

'' landed manor in Ōsumi,

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 ...

, and Hyūga that was opened at the end of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, and which evolved into

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a Han system, domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of ...

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 ...

. After 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 villages of Shibushi and Matsuyama were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Shibushi was raised to town status on July 1, 1913 and Matsuyama on April 1, 1958. The city of Shibushi was established on January 1, 2006, from the merger of the former town of Shibushi, with the towns of Ariake and

Matsuyama 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, in Japan and is also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243,541 h ...

(all from

Soo District is a district located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2008, the district has an estimated population of 14,713 and a density of 146 persons/km2. The total area is 100.82 km2. The district has one town: * Ōsaki History Th ...

Government

Shibushi 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 20 members. Shibushi, collectively with the town of Ōsaki contributes one member to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the

Kagoshima 4th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional re ...

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

Shibushi has a primary economy centering on agriculture, fishing, forestry and food processing.

Education

Shibushi has 16 public elementary schools and five public junior high schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Kagoshima Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school.

Transportation

Railways

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. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Nichinan Line The is a railway line in south-eastern Kyushu, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Minami-Miyazaki Station in Miyazaki, Miyazaki to Shibushi Station in Shibushi, Kagoshima. History The Miyazaki Prefectural Gover ...

: -

Highways

Higashi-Kyushu Expressway * *

Local attractions

* Shibushi Castle (

Historic Site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

)

Notable people from Shibushi

* Chiyomaru Kazuki, sumo wrestler * Chiyoōtori Yūki, sumo wrestler

References

External links

Shibushi City official website
{{Authority control Cities in Kagoshima Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Shibushi, Kagoshima