Kure, Hiroshima


Kure is a city in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 208,024 in 106,616 households and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area of the city is. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
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History

The area of Kure is part of ancient Aki Province, and the port of Kure was an important seaport for Hiroshima Domain in the Edo period.
The Kure Naval District was first established in 1889, leading to the construction of the Kure Naval Arsenal and the rapid growth of steel production and shipbuilding in the city. Kure was formally incorporated on October 1, 1902. From 1889 until the end of the Pacific War, the city served as the headquarters of the Kure Naval District.
Kure dockyards recorded a number of significant engineering firsts including the launching of the first major domestically built capital ship, the battlecruiser and the launching of the largest battleship ever built, the .
During the Pacific War, Kure acted as the Imperial Japanese Navy's single-largest naval base and arsenal. Most of the city's industry and workforce were employed in the service of the naval installations, munitions factories and associated support functions. In the later stages of the conflict Kure came under sustained aerial bombardment culminating in the bombing of Kure in June and July 1945.
From February 1946 until the end of Japan's postwar occupation in 1952, military establishments in Kure served as the operational headquarters for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.
Since 2005, Kure has attracted attention as a tourism center with the Yamato Museum hosting a 1:10 scale model of the Yamato alongside a waterfront JMSDF museum of Japanese naval history.
The city continues as a major maritime center hosting both the dockyards of Japan Marine United and numerous shore-based facilities of the JMSDF including training centers and a major hospital. The city serves as the home port of an Escort Flotilla, a Submarine Flotilla and the Training Squadron of the JMSDF Regional Kure District.

Historic timeline

Government

Kure has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 31 members. Kure contributes five members to the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Hiroshima 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

List of mayors of Kure (from 1903 to present)

#NameTerm startTerm endJapanese name
1Giichiro Sakuma4 February 19038 June 1903佐久間義一郎
2-3Kingo Arao27 August 190328 August 1911荒尾金吾
4-5Toshio Sawahara28 November 19116 July 1917沢原俊雄
6Kentaro Amano17 August 191716 August 1921天野健太郎
7Kahei Shundo2 February 192216 June 1925春藤嘉平
8Masaharu Hashimoto24 April 192511 March 1927橋本正治
9Toichi Katsuta13 June 192725 November 1930勝田登一
10Hideo Sasaki25 November 193021 December 1932佐々木英雄
11Atsumu Watanabe26 December 193212 May 1935渡辺伍
12Katsutaro Matsumoto13 June 19351 September 1936松本勝太郎
12-13, 15Jinjiro Mizuno4 May 1937
14 January 1946
13 December 1941
15 November 1946
水野甚次郎
14Noboru Suzuki11 June 194210 January 1946鈴木登
17-18Jyutsu Suzuki5 April 194721 March 1954鈴木術
19-20Kenichi Matsumoto18 April 195431 October 1961松本賢一
21-24Yoshito Okuhara19 November 196118 November 1977奥原義人
25-28Ari Sasaki19 November 197718 November 1993佐々木有
29-31Shinya Ogasawara19 November 199318 November 2005小笠原臣也
32-34Kazutoshi Komura19 November 200518 November 2017小村和年
35Yoshiake Shinhara19 November 2017Present新原芳明

Geography

[file:Kure City Hall 2021-03 ac (2).jpg|right|270px|thumb|Kure City Hall]
Kure is located south-east of Hiroshima city and faces the Seto Inland Sea. Surrounded by steep hillsides to the north, the two major commercial and industrial centers of the city are bisected by Mount Yasumi. The city is next to the Setonaikai National Park. As well as densely populated urban and industrial centers, the city also incorporates sparsely inhabited outlying islands such as Kurahashi-jima, Shimo-kamagari, Kami-kamagari and Toyoshima.

Adjoining municipalities

Hiroshima Prefecture

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kure has been declining for the past 40 years.

Climate

Kure has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year and is heaviest in summer.

Economy

Education

Colleges and Universities

Primary and secondary education

Kure has 37 public elementary schools, 25 public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the city government, and seven public high school operated by the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private middle school and three price high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the disabled.

Transportation

Railway

JR West - Kure Line
  • - - - - - - - - - - - -

Highways

*

Sister cities

, Kure has sister city agreements with the following cities.

Sister cities

Friendship cities

Friendship ports

Local attractions

Museums

  • Irifuneyama Memorial Museum
  • JMSDF Kure Museum, nicknamed Iron Whale Museum
  • Kurahashi-cho Nagato Museum of Shipbuilding History
  • Kure Municipal Museum of Art and Museum Avenue
  • Rantokaku Art Museum
  • Sannose Gohonjin Art and Culture
  • Yamato Museum

Shrines

  • Kameyama Shrine

Historical places

Parks and gardens

Mountains

Beaches

  • Kajigahama Beach
  • Romantic Beach Karuga

Festivals

  • Kure Port Festival
  • Kure Fireworks above the Sea
  • Kameyama Shrine Festival

Notable people from Kure

Musicians

Authors

Sports

Politicians