Kyushu


Kyushu is the third-largest and most southerly of Japan's four main islands. In the past, it has been known as, and. The historical regional name Saikaidō referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. Kyushu has a land area of and a population of 14,311,224 in 2018.
There is a theory that Kyushu was in ancient times home to its own independent dynasty, where a unique, southern-influenced culture and tradition distinct from that of Honshu flourished.
In the 8th-century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region.

Geography

The island is mountainous, and Japan's largest active volcano, Mount Aso at, is on Kyushu. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso in central Kyushu. The island is separated from Honshu by the Kanmon Straits. Being the nearest island to the Asian continent, historically it is the gateway to Japan.
The total area is which makes it the 37th largest island in the world. It is slightly larger than Taiwan's total area of. The highest elevation is on Mount Kujū.
The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma.
Today's Kyushu Region is a politically defined region that consists of the seven prefectures on the island of Kyushu, plus Okinawa Prefecture to the south:
Kyushu has 10.3percent of the population of Japan. Most of Kyushu's population is concentrated along the northwest, in the cities of Fukuoka and Kitakyushu, with population corridors stretching southwest into Sasebo and Nagasaki and south into Kumamoto and Kagoshima. Except for Oita and Miyazaki, the eastern seaboard shows a general decline in population.
Politically, Kyushu is described as a stronghold of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Per Japanese census data, the Kyushu region's population with Ryukyu Islands has experienced a large decline since around 2000. However, the population decline in total is mild because of the relatively high birth rate of Ryukyuans both within the Ryukyuan lands and throughout the Kyushu region. In addition, the other prefectures in Kyushu also have exceptionally high TFRs compared to the rest of Japan.

Designated cities

  • Fukuoka
  • Kitakyushu
  • Kumamoto

    Core cities

  • Kagoshima
  • Kurume
  • Miyazaki
  • Naha
  • Nagasaki
  • Ōita
  • Saga
  • Sasebo

    Environment and agriculture

Parts of Kyushu have a subtropical climate, particularly Miyazaki Prefecture and Kagoshima Prefecture. Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, and soy; silk is also widely produced.
Besides the volcanic area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the northern part of the island, around Beppu. The springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile microorganisms, which are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.
There are two World Natural Heritage sites in Kyushu: Yakushima and Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island.

Economy

Kyushu's economy accounts for approximately 10% of Japan's total economic output, making it comparable to countries such as Iran, Norway, Austria, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand. It is the fourth largest economic region in Japan, following the three major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.
Kyushu's economy has a well-balanced industrial structure, ranging from primary industries such as agriculture, to secondary industries such as manufacturing, and tertiary industries such as retail, services, and tourism. Agricultural output in the region amounts to 1.8 trillion yen, and the region is a major domestic production center for the automobile and semiconductor industries. Kyushu also has a thriving healthcare industry, including medical and nursing care, and numerous research and manufacturing facilities in the fields of hydrogen, solar power, and other renewable energies. Furthermore, Fukuoka City, Kitakyushu City and Okinawa Prefecture have been designated as National Strategic Special Zones, which are expected to have an economic ripple effect on the entire Kyushu region through the creation of innovation in industry and the promotion of new entrepreneurship and start-ups.
Kyushu is a region with strong economic ties to Asia. For example, Asia accounted for 420 of the 539 overseas expansion cases of Kyushu-Yamaguchi companies from 2010 to 2019, and Asia accounted for 61.1% of Kyushu-Yamaguchi's total exports in 2019, 7.4 percentage points higher than the nation as a whole. As the logistics node between Japan and Asia, the ports of Hakata and Kitakyushu handle a large number of international containers. In addition, the number of cruise ship calls in 2019 was 772, with Kyushu accounting for 26.9% of the nation's total.
Kyushu is noted for various types of porcelain, including Arita, Imari, Satsuma, and Karatsu. Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals, automobiles, semiconductors, metal processing, shipbuilding, etc. The island of Tanegashima hosts the Tanegashima Space Center, which is the largest rocket-launch complex in Japan.

Transportation

Kyushu is linked to the larger island of Honshu by the Kanmon Railway Tunnel, which carries the non-Shinkansen trains of the Kyushu Railway Company, and the newer Shin-Kanmon Tunnel carrying the San'yō Shinkansen. Railways on the island are operated by the Kyushu Railway Company and West Japan Railway Company, as well as a variety of smaller companies such as Amagi Railway and Nishitetsu Railway. Kyushu Shinkansen trains operate between major cities on the island, such as Fukuoka and Kagoshima, with an additional route between and Nagasaki which has been in operation since September 2022. Kyushu is also known for its scenic train services, such as the Limited Express Yufuin no Mori and Limited Express Kawasemi Yamasemi.
The Kanmon Bridge and Kanmon Roadway Tunnel also connect the island with Honshu, allowing for vehicular transport between the two. The Kyushu Expressway spans the length of the island, linking the Higashikyushu Expressway and Ibusuki Skyline, connecting major cities such as Fukuoka and Kumamoto along the way. There are also many quiet country roads, including popular tourist routes such as the Nichinan coast road and the Aso Panorama Line in Kumamoto Prefecture. Bus services are available and cover 2,400 routes within Kyushu's cities, connecting many other destinations.
Several passenger and car ferry services connect both northern and southern Kyushu with main port cities on the main island of Honshu and Shikoku.
The island's main larger airport is served by Fukuoka Airport which provides most domestic and internationals flights. There are also smaller airports across island including Kumamoto Airport, Miyazaki Airport, Oita Airport, Saga Airport, Nagasaki Airport Kitakyushu Airport and Kagoshima Airport.

Education

Major universities and colleges in Kyushu:
Kyushu has maintained the strongest economic and cultural ties with Okinawa from ancient times to the present. Traces of Okinawan culture can be seen throughout Kyushu, and vice versa. Okinawan musical scales are often found in local folk songs, and there are many similarities in cuisine and language. Kyushu is also home to a unique traditional instrument called the gottan, which resembles the sanshin and shamisen. The region boasts a rich tradition of craftsmanship, with numerous traditional crafts such as Hakata-ori, Beppu bamboo crafts, Kurume Kasuri, and Sathuma Kiriko.

People

are known for being conservative even within Japan. In particular, men from Kyushu are often referred to as "Kyushu danji", evoking an image of being wild and strong. It is said that this term has existed since ancient times, originally used to inspire and encourage soldiers. Being from Kyushu is a source of great pride for its people. Thanks to this cultural spirit, Kyushu has preserved a rich variety of unique traditional cultures that continue to thrive today.

Food

The main features of Kyushu cuisine are the use of fresh ingredients nurtured by the region's geography, which is surrounded by the sea and blessed with rich nature, along with distinctive seasonings such as sweet soy sauce and barley miso, which differ from those used in Honshu.
Each region has its own culinary characteristics: seafood-based dishes are prominent in the north, while meat dishes are more common in the south.
  • Fukuoka – Hakata ramen, gameni, motsunabe, kashiwa-meshi, okyu-to
  • Saga – Tsunkī dago jiru, noppe jiru, funanko-gui, noppe jiru
  • Nagasaki – Nagasaki champon, sara udon, rokube, Omura-zushi
  • Oita – dango jiru, ami-meshi, kirasu-meshi, toriten, hocho
  • Kumamoto – Nankan-age maki-zushi, takana zuke, karashi renkon, dago jiru
  • Miyazaki – nishime, chicken nanban, na-dōfu, hiyajiru, hie-zushi
  • Kagoshima – keihan, abura-zōmen, satsuma-sumoji, buri-daikon, gane
  • Okinawa – goyā champurū, Okinawa soba, rafutē, kufājiushi