Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture 鹿児島県 | ||
---|---|---|
Prefecture | ||
Japanese transcription(s) | ||
• Japanese | 鹿児島県 | |
• Rōmaji | Kagoshima-ken | |
| ||
Country | Japan | |
Region | Kyushu | |
Island | Kyushu | |
Capital | Kagoshima | |
Government | ||
• Governor | Yūichirō Itō | |
Area | ||
• Total | 9,132.42 km2 (3,526.05 sq mi) | |
Area rank | 10th | |
Population (December 1, 2010) | ||
• Total | 1,703,406 | |
• Rank | 24th | |
• Density | 186.52/km2 (483.1/sq mi) | |
ISO 3166 code | JP-46 | |
Districts | 8 | |
Municipalities | 43 | |
Flower | Miyamakirishima (Rhododendron kiusianum) | |
Tree |
Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) | |
Bird | Lidth's jay (Garrulus lidthi) | |
Website |
www |
Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県 Kagoshima-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu.[1] The capital is the city of Kagoshima.[2]
Geography
Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers. The most important group is the Amami Islands. Surrounded by the East China Sea to the west, Okinawa Prefecture in the south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632 km of coastline (including the 28 islands). It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay (Kinkowan), which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Ōsumi. Its position made it a 'gateway' to Japan at various times in history. While Kyushu has about 13 million people, there are less than 2 million in this prefecture.
The prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the Kagoshima bay opposite Kagoshima city. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, punctuated by louder mini-eruptions on an almost daily basis. On active days in Kagoshima city an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. Major eruptions occurred in 1914, when the island mountain spilled enough material to become permanently connected to the mainland, and a lesser eruption in 1960. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for record daikon radishes, roughly the size of a basketball. Many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones. A crater lake in the southwestern tip of the prefecture, near the spa town of Ibusuki, is home to a rare species of giant eel.
As of March 31, 2008, 9% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Kirishima-Yaku and Unzen-Amakusa National Parks; Amami Guntō and Nichinan Kaigan Quasi-National Parks; and Akune, Bōnoma, Fukiagehama, Imutaike, Koshikijima, Ōsumi Nanbu, Sendaigawa Ryūiki, Takakumayama, and Tokara Rettō Prefectural Natural Parks.[3]
History
Kagoshima Prefecture corresponds to the ancient Japanese provinces Ōsumi and Satsuma, including the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands (Satsunan).[4] This region played a key role in the Meiji Restoration (Saigo Takamori), and the city of Kagoshima was an important naval base during Japan's 20th century wars and the home of admiral Tōgō Heihachirō. More recent incidents are the sinking of a North Korean spy ship (100 ton class) in 2001 by the Coast Guard, which was later salvaged and exhibited in Tokyo, and the abduction of an office clerk from a Kagoshima beach in 1978 by agents from the same country. This became known only recently under the Koizumi administration.
Economy
Most of the economic sector is focused in Kagoshima City and the surrounding area, corresponding to the extent of the former Satsuma Province. The eastern part of the prefecture, the former Ōsumi Province, is mostly rural and shows a general population decline.
The prefecture has strong agricultural roots, which are reflected in its most well-known exports: green tea, sweet potato, radish, Pongee rice, Satsuma ware and Berkshire pork ("kurobuta"). Kagoshima prefecture's production of bonito flakes is second only to that of Shizuoka. In addition it produces Japan's largest volume of unagi eels.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has several facilities within the prefecture, including the country's main launch facility on Tanegashima and the Uchinoura Space Center.
The prefecture's gross domestic product is approximately 4.834 trillion yen.
Region
The following is a list of Kagoshima Prefecture's cities, and its administrative districts with their constituent towns and villages:
Cities
Nineteen cities are located in Kagoshima Prefecture:
|
Districts
These are the towns and villages in each district:
Mergers
Sport and recreation
No major baseball or soccer club is based in the prefecture. A number of Kagoshima's ballparks play host to well-known teams:
- Kagoshima Prefectural Ballpark (鹿児島県立球場) Camp home of Chiba Lotte Marines
- Kagoshima Municipal Ballpark (鹿児島市営球場)
- Ibusuki Municipal Ballpark (指宿市営球場) Camp home of Kokutesu Swallows
- Yunomoto Ballpark (湯之元球場) Camp home of Yakult Atoms
- Kagoshima Prefectural Kamonoike Trackfield (鹿児島県立鴨池陸上競技場) Camp home of Júbilo Iwata
- Kagoshima Fureai Sportsland (鹿児島ふれあいスポーツランド) Camp home of Sagan Tosu
- Kagoshima Prefectural Kamonoike Trackfield (鹿児島県立鴨池陸上競技場) Camp home of Toshiba Fuchu Brave Rupas
The Kirishima-Yaku National Park is located in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Colleges and universities
- Kagoshima University
- National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya
- The International University of Kagoshima
- Kagoshima Immaculate Heart University
- Daiichi Institute of Technology
- Shigakukan University
- Kagoshima Prefectural College
- Kagoshima Immaculate Heart College
- Kagoshima Women's Junior College
- Daiichi Junior College of Infant Education
Science and technology facilities
Museums
- Bansei Tokkō Peace Museum
- Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots
- Museum of the Meiji Restoration
- Reimeikan, Kagoshima Prefectural Center for Historical Material
- Uenohara site
Transportation
Rail
Trams
Roads
Expressways and toll roads
- Kyushu Expressway
- Miyazaki Expressway
- Ibusuki Toll Road
- Minami-Kyushu Expressway
- Higashi-Kyushu Expressway(Hayato Road)
National Highways
- National Route 3 (Kitakyushu–Fukuoka–Kurume–Kumamoto–Minamata-Izumi-Satsuma Sendai-Kagoshima)
- National Route 10 (Kitakyushu-Nakatsu–Beppu–Saiki–Nobeoka–Miyazaki–Miyakonojo-Kagoshima)
- National Route 58 (Amami Island)
- Route 220 (Miyazaki-Nichinan-Shibushi-Kanoya-Tarumizu-Kirishima)
- Route 223
- Route 224
- Route 225
- Route 226
- Route 267 (Hitoyoshi-Isa-Satsuma Sendai)
- Route 268 (Minamata-Isa-Ebino–Kobayashi-Miyazaki)
- Route 269
- Route 270
- Route 328 (Kagoshima-Isa-Izumi)
- Route 389 (Ōmuta–Tamana–Unzen–Minamishimabara–Amakusa-Akune)
- Route 447 (Ebino-Isa-Izumi)
- Route 448
- Route 499
- Route 504 (Kanoya-Kirishima-Satsuma-Izumi)
Ports
- Kagoshima Port
- Domestic ferry route to Sakurajima, Kikai Island, Tokunoshima, Amami Island, Tanegashima, Yakushima, Yoron Island, Okinoerabu and Naha.
- High-speed craft route to Ibusuki, Tanegashima and Yakushima.
- International container hub port
- Shibushi Port
- Ferry route to Osaka, Tokyo, Naha and Amami Island
- International and domestic container hub port
- Naze Port
- Ferry Route to Osaka, Kobe, Kagoshima, Yakushima, Tanegashima, Tokunoshima and Naha.
- Yakushima Port
- Tanegashima Port
- Tokunoshima Port
Airports
- Kagoshima Airport
- Amami Airport
- Tokunoshima Airport
- Tanegashima Airport
- Yakushima Airport
- Okinoerabu Airport
- Yoron Airport
Notable people
- Isamu Akasaki, scientist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate
- Hajime Chitose, singer
- Yasuhito Endo, football player
- Kosuke Fukudome, MLB player
- GO!GO!7188, rock band
- Masazumi Harada, doctor
- Goyō Hashiguchi, artist
- Kazuo Inamori, industrialist turned philanthropist
- Junichi Inamoto, football player
- Takehiko Inoue, modern comic artist
- Shinobu Kaitani, modern comic artist
- Yuki Kashiwagi, AKB48 member
- Kunio Kato animator known especially for La Maison en Petits Cubes
- Yoichiro Kawaguchi, computer graphics artist
- Munenori Kawasaki, MLB player
- Kawasaki Shōzō, founder of Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- Sakura Miyawaki, HKT48 member
- Mika Nakashima, artist
- Yuya Osako, football player
- Jirō Sakagami, comedian
- Hiroyuki Sakai, Iron Chef cook
- Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer
- Nanami Sakuraba, actress
- Tokichi Setoguchi, composer
- Shimazu Nariakira, feudal lord
- Nabi Tajima, Japan's oldest person
- Saigō Takamori, samurai
- Ōkubo Toshimichi, statesman
- Tōgō Heihachirō, Admiral of the Fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy
- Seiji Tōgō, artist
Mythical creatures
Sister relations
- Miami, United States
- Naples, Italy
- Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, October 1989 duo-declaration
- Georgia, United States November 28, 1966 became a sister state
- Jiangsu, China
- Gifu Prefecture July 27, 1971 became a sister prefecture
See also
Notes
- ↑ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kagoshima prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 447, p. 447, at Google Books.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Kagoshima prefecture" at p. 447, p. 447, at Google Books.
- ↑ "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
References
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01753-6; ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kagoshima prefecture. |
- Kagoshima (prefecture) travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Official Kagoshima Prefecture website (English)
- National Archives of Japan ... Kagoshima map (1891)
|
|
Coordinates: 31°24′N 130°31′E / 31.400°N 130.517°E
|