    is a city in japan, located in fukuoka prefecture, in the north chikuzen region of the prefecture. the city was founded on april 1, 1981. as of april 1, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 94,660 and a population density of 791 persons per km 2. the total area is 119.66 kmÂ². efforts have been made to inculcate japan-south korea friendship, and also friendship with new zealand in recent years. == history == the origin of the name munakata is said to be from "minokatachi" or "minokata" from the enshrinement of three munakata goddesses, descended from susano-o and mentioned in the kojiki. the area has prospered from trade with china and korea from ancient times. it has a world heritage candidate (okinoshima) at munakata shrine. munakata shrine specifies itself as the territory of the god of kyÅ«shÅ« during the asuka period â ranging from onga in the east, south to wakamiya and miyata, and shingÅ« in the west. during the age of civil wars a daimyo with leading shinto priest and munakata ujisada of munakata shrine established tsutagadake castle (mount jo). through this, munakata, onga and kurate were protected from invasion by other daimyos such as tachibana dÅsetsu and the Åtomo clan. there are also ghost stories connected with the area since the yamada incident arose. on april 1, 2003, munakata absorbed the town of genkai (from munakata district to create the new and expanded city of munakata. on march 28, 2005, the village of Åshima (also from munakata district) was absorbed into munakata. in the earthquake on march 20, 2005, damage was done in various parts of the city. the quake registered just under five on the [[japan meteorological agency seismic intensity 
Cities_in_Fukuoka_Prefecture Munakata,_Fukuoka