Ube, Yamaguchi
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270px, Tokiwa Park 270px, Aerial photo of Ube city center 270px, Majimegawa River and central Ube 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 159,256 in 80,010 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 560 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .


Geography

Ube is located on 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 ...
in southwestern Yamaguchi Prefecture. The city limits are the lower reaches of the Koto River system and the upper reaches of the Ariho River system, which flows through the central and western part of the prefecture from north to south. The urban area spreads out on the plains on both sides of the Koto River mouth and on the flat land along the coast, forming a densely populated area. Most of the flat land in the south was reclaimed by seabed coalfields, and the place names such as 'Unoshima' and 'Hamacho' are remnants of this. A gentle mountainous area spreads from the central part to the northern part of the city, and in recent years development has been promoted with the construction of
industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...
s and new residential areas. In addition, the Konan area in the western part of the city is mostly reclaimed land for the purpose of rice cultivation. The area used to be a rural area with extensive paddy fields, but the area is increasingly urbanized with condominium developments.


Neighbouring municipalities

Yamaguchi Prefecture * Mine * San'yō-Onoda * Yamaguchi


Climate

Ube 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 very warm summers and cool winters. The average annual temperature in Ube is 16.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1732 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.2 °C.


Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ube is as follows:


History

Ube is part of ancient
Nagato Province , often called , was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces. History Although the ancient capital of the province was Shimono ...
. The Kotozaki Hachiman-gu shrine dates from 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 the local Koto clan, a branch of the
Mononobe clan The was a Japanese aristocratic kin group (''uji'') of the Kofun period, known for its military opposition to the Soga clan. The Mononobe were opposed to the spread of Buddhism, partly on religious grounds, claiming that the local deities wo ...
dominated the area into the
Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...
. The area became part of the holdings of the
Ōuchi clan was one of the most powerful and important families in Western Japan during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate in the 14th to 16th centuries. Their domains, ruled from the castle town of Yamaguchi in the western tip of Honshu island, compris ...
in the
Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...
and subsequently part 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 ...
under the
Mōri clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power in Aki Province. Durin ...
under 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 ...
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
. The village of Ube (宇部村) was established within Asa District, Yamaguchi with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Ube was elevated directly to city status on November 1, 1921 in a rare direct elevation from village to city. From April to August 1945, 254 people were killed, 557 were injured, and 68 were missing due to eight air raids during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The scale of the air raid on July 2 was particularly large, and most of the central part of the city was destroyed by fire. In the air raid on July 29, three mock
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
s were dropped. Previously a
coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
town, the city has developed an effective policy to improve its environment. In particular it has combated the problem of
air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
and its success in doing so saw it being recognised by the
United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...
as among UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1997. On November 1, 2004, the town of Kusunoki (from Asa District) was merged into Ube. This brought the city to its current extent, together with previous municipal mergers ( Fujiyama in 1931, Kōnan in 1941, NishKiwa in 1943, Great Shōwa mergers/1954: Kotō, Futamatase, Ono, Higashi-Kiwa).


Government

Ube 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 28 members. Ube contributes five members to the Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the
Yamaguchi 3rd district Yamaguchi 3rd district (山口県第3区) is a single-member electoral district for the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. It is located in Western Yamaguchi Prefecture and in ...
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

Ube has a heavily industrialized economy centered on heavy industry and chemicals.
Ube Industries is a Japanese chemical industry, chemical company manufacturing chemicals, plastics, battery materials, pharmaceuticals, cement, construction materials, and machinery. The former company name is The company was founded in 1897 when Sukesaku W ...
is headquartered and has major plants in Ube. Also, petroleum refinery Solato, printer manufacturer Riso Kagaku, glass manufacturer Central Glass, semiconductor producer Renesas, pharmaceutical research and products company Kyowa Hakko Kirin, clinical laboratory research company Miraca Holdings are based in Ube.


Education


Universities

* Ube Frontier University (private) * Yamaguchi University (national) **Faculty of Engineering **School of Medicine


Primary and secondary schools

Ube has 24 public elementary school and 12 public junior high schools operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private junior high school and four private high schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The city formerly had a North Korean school, Ube Korean Elementary and Junior High School ( 宇部朝鮮初中級学校).ウリハッキョ一覧


. Chongryon. November 6, 2005. Retrieved on October 15, 2015.


Transportation


Airport

* Yamaguchi-Ube Airport


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 * -
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) - Ube Line * - - - - - - - - - - -
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) - Onoda Line * - -


Highways

* San'yō Expressway * Chugoku Expressway * * * *


Sister city relations

* -
Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, since November 21, 1980 * -
Weihai Weihai ( zh, t=, p=Wēihǎi), formerly Weihaiwei ( zh, s=, p=Wēihǎiwèi, l=Mighty Sea Fort, first=t), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport city in the easternmost Shandong province of China. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow ...
,
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
, China, friendship city since May 18, 1992 * -
Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (in ), or simply Castellón (), is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea. Th ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, since April 4, 2019


Local attractions

Ube publicizes itself as "a city of greenery, flowers, and sculptures". Tokiwa Park is the centerpiece of this
marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
, as it covers a large area near the center of the city and houses a large number of modern, mostly domestic sculptures on the shores of Lake Tokiwa. The sculptures can be found around the city. A sculpture competition is held biennially to provide new additions. A well-known attraction of the park was a
great white pelican The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or simply white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow ...
called "Katta-kun", so named after his parents who were from Kolkata, India. Hatched in the park in 1985, he became famous as he began visiting schools in the vicinity. Katta-kun died in 2008, but there are a number of pelicans still residing in an enclosure there. In addition to the pelicans there were many mute swans and black swans residing there until 2011, when they were culled after an outbreak of H1N5 avian influenza. Two new mute swans were introduced in 2017. There is a coal mining museum with a view over the city and airport.


Festivals

Ube holds two
festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
each year, one in May and the other in November featuring food stands and carnival games.


Notable people from Ube

* Norihiro Akimura, baseball player *
Hideaki Anno is a Anime, Japanese animator, filmmaker, Film producer, producer, and voice actor. His most celebrated creation, the Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), ''Evangelion'' franchise, has had a significant influence on the anime television industr ...
, animator and film director * Ayase, musician (
Yoasobi Yoasobi is a Japanese pop duo formed in 2019. It consists of musician and record producer Ayase (music producer), Ayase and singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta, under the moniker Ikura. With the slogan "novel into music", the duo originally released Y ...
) * Kazuo Hara, documentary film director * Hitomi Harada, voice actress and singer * Makiko Horai, volleyball player *
Naoto Kan is a Japanese former politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from June 2010 to September 2011. Kan was the first Prime Minister since the resignation of Junichiro Koizumi in 2006 to ...
, former prime minister of Japan * Masaki Kito, attorney at law * Shunsuke Kiyokiba, pop singer (formerly vocalist of
Exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
) * Aimi Kobayashi, pianist *
Sayumi Michishige is a Japanese singer, actress and model. She is a former sixth-generation member and former leader of the J-pop group Morning Musume. Following the departure of fifth-generation member Risa Niigaki on October 12, 2013, Michishige held the longe ...
, pop singer (former
Morning Musume , formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...
member) * Yuji Nakagawa, soccer player * Tomomi Nishimura, actress * Satomi', pop singer * Ryota Takasugi, soccer player *
Kishō Taniyama is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actor, singer and lyricist affiliated with Ken Production. He is also the vocalist and lyricist of the Japanese rock band Granrodeo under his stage name Kishow. He is the official Japanese dubbing voice ...
, voice actor * Daisuke Tomita, soccer player * Yoji Yamada, film director * Tadashi Yanai, founder and president of
Uniqlo ( ; ) is a Japanese casual wear designer and retailer. The company is a subsidiary of Fast Retailing, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. Clare Waight Keller is the creative director. History Men's Shop OS was founded in Ube, Yamaguchi. It was rebrand ...
* Sotaro Yasunaga, soccer player


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Yamaguchi Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan 1921 establishments in Japan Populated places established in 1921 Ube, Yamaguchi