Kumamoto Prefecture

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, Miyazaki Prefecture to the southeast, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south.
Kumamoto is the capital and largest city of Kumamoto Prefecture, with other major cities including Yatsushiro, Amakusa, and Tamana. Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyūshū on the coast of the Ariake Sea, across from Nagasaki Prefecture, with the mainland separated from the East China Sea by the Amakusa Archipelago. Kumamoto Prefecture is home to Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan and among the largest in the world, with its peak above sea level.
History
Historically, the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system. The current Japanese orthography for Kumamoto literally means "bear root/origin," or "origin of the bear." However, Man'yōgana-like phonetic transcriptions based on the kanji for "a ball, a sphere" (球 /ku/ ~ /kjū/) and "to polish, to grind, to brush (one's teeth)" (磨 /ma/) are used for the names of the Kuma River (球磨川) and Kuma District (球磨郡). The Kuma element also appears in the ancient Kumaso.
Geography
Kumamoto Prefecture is in the center of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands. It is bordered by the Ariake inland sea and the Amakusa archipelago to the west, Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture to the north, Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south.
Mount Aso, an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture. This volcano is located at the centre of the Aso caldera.
As of 31 March 2019, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as natural parks: the Aso Kujū and Unzen-Amakusa National Parks; Kyūshū Chūō Sanchi and Yaba-Hita-Hikosan Quasi-National Parks; and Ashikita Kaigan, Itsuki Gokanoshō, Kinpōzan, Misumi-Ōyano Umibe, Okukuma, Shōtaisan, and Yabe Shūhen Prefectural Natural Parks.
Cities
Fourteen cities are located in Kumamoto Prefecture:
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district:
Mergers
Demographics
the population was 1,748,134 inhabitants with a population density of . The prefecture ranks 23rd in Japan.
Economy
The largest motorcycle production facility in the world is located in Kumamoto.
In 2023, Mitsubishi Electric announced plans to spend 100 billion yen on a new semiconductor factory in Kumamoto, with a target start date of April 2026 to begin production.
Tourism
Mount Aso is one of the world's largest active volcanoes.
Kumamoto Castle
Suizenji Park
Tsūjun Bridge, the largest stone aqueduct in Japan is in Yamato
The prefecture has a mascot named "Kumamon", a black bear with red cheeks, who was created to attract tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened.
Education
Universities
National
Kumamoto University
Public
Kumamoto Prefectural University
Private
Kumamoto Gakuen University
Kyushu University of Nursing and Social Welfare
Kyushu Lutheran College
Kumamoto Health Science
Shokei Gakuin University
Sojo University
Heisei College of Music
Transportation
Rail
JR Kyushu
Kyushu Shinkansen
Kagoshima Line
Hohi Line
Hisatsu Line
Misumi Line
Kumamoto Electric Railway
Kumagawa Railroad
Minami Aso Railway
Hisatsu Orange Railway
Tramway
Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau
Road
Expressways and toll roads
Kyushu Expressway
South Kyushu Expressway
Kumamoto Amakusa Road
National highways
Route 3
Route 57
Route 208 (Kumamoto-Tamana-Arao-Ōmuta)
Route 212
Route 218 (Kumamoto-Takachiho-Nobeoka)
Route 219
Route 265
Route 266
Route 267 (Hitoyoshi-Isa-Satsuma-Satsumasendai)
Route 268
Route 324
Route 325 (Yamaga-Minamiaso-Takamori-Takachiho)
Route 387
Route 388 (Saiki-Nobeoka-Unomae)
Route 389
Route 442
Route 443
Route 445
Route 501 (Ōmuta-Arao-Udo)
Route 503
Ports
Ferry routes
Kumamoto-Shimabara
Nagasu-Unzen
Ushibuka-Kuranomoto (Nagashima)
Yatsushiro-Kamiamakusa
Reihoku-Nagasaki
Airport
Kumamoto Airport
Amakusa Airport
Sports
These sports teams are based in the prefecture:
Professional:
Roasso Kumamoto - Men's football and J League Second Division
Blaze Kumamoto - Men's association football
Mashiki Renaissance Kumamoto - Women's association football
Amateur:
Kumamoto Golden Larks - regional baseball
The Kumamoto Prefecture hosted the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship, having previously hosted the 1997 World Men's Handball Championship.
Sister cities
Kumamoto Prefecture is the 'sister state/prefecture' of Montana in the United States.
Kumamoto has a sister city located in Texas named San Antonio, which holds an annual fall festival 'akimatsuri' for its Japanese citizens. In 2015 the mascot, 'Kumamon' visited as an honorary ambassador during the festival located at the Japanese Tea Gardens.
Notable people
Jun Kunimura, a popular Japanese actor
Tetsu Komai, a Hollywood actor
Kazuaki Kiriya, a filmmaker
Kimeru, a pop artist
Miku Kobato, founder and vocalist of Band-Maid
Kunio Nakagawa, Japanese Army general
Yuri Masuda, singer
Shodai Naoya, Sumo wrestler
Tomiko Van, singer, vocalist of Do As Infinity
Eiichiro Oda, manga author, creator of One Piece
Yuki Midorikawa, manga author, creator of Natsume's Book of Friends and Hotarubi no Mori e
Tetsuya Noda, contemporary artist
Katsuhiro Ueo, drifting driver
Ichiki Tatsuo, journalist and defector in the Indonesian National Revolution
Madoka Hisagae, female Japanese fencer
Hitomi Tanaka, pornographic actress
Kenta Matsumoto, vocalist and bassist of WANIMA
Koushin Nishida, guitarist of WANIMA
Kouki Fujiwara, drummer of WANIMA
Notes
References
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 58053128
External links
National Archives of Japan ... Kumamoto map (1891)
Kyushu region
Prefectures of Japan