Kumamoto Prefecture


Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,683,115 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" and "to polish, to grind, to brush " are used for the names of the Kuma River and Kuma District. 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

  • Kumamoto Castle
  • Mount Aso is one of the world's largest active volcanoes.
  • 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

  • Prefectural University of Kumamoto

    Private

  • Heisei College of Music
  • Kumamoto Gakuen University
  • Kumamoto Health Science
  • Kyushu Lutheran College
  • Kyushu University of Nursing and Social Welfare
  • Shokei Gakuin University
  • Sojo University

    Transportation

Rail

  • Hisatsu Orange Railway
  • JR Kyushu
  • *Hisatsu Line
  • *Hohi Line
  • *Kagoshima Line
  • *Kyushu Shinkansen
  • *Misumi Line
  • Kumamoto Electric Railway
  • Kumagawa Railroad
  • Minami Aso Railway

    Tramway

  • Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau

    Road

Expressways and toll roads

Ferry routes

  • Kumamoto-Shimabara
  • Nagasu-Unzen
  • Reihoku-Nagasaki
  • Ushibuka-Kuranomoto
  • Yatsushiro-Kamiamakusa

    Airport

  • Amakusa Airport
  • Kumamoto Airport

    Sports

These sports teams are based in the prefecture:
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