Kagoshima Prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県, Kagoshima-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands.[1] Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto Prefecture to the north and Miyazaki Prefecture to the northeast.

Kagoshima Prefecture

鹿児島県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese鹿児島県
 • RōmajiKagoshima-ken
Flag
Symbol
Country Japan
RegionKyushu
IslandKyushu
CapitalKagoshima
SubdivisionsDistricts: 8, Municipalities: 43
Government
 • GovernorKōichi Shiota
Area
 • Total9,187.01 km2 (3,547.12 sq mi)
Area rank10th
Population
 (January 1, 2020)
 • Total1,599,779
 • Rank24th
 • Density170/km2 (450/sq mi)
ISO 3166 codeJP-46
Websitewww.pref.kagoshima.jp/foreign/english/index.html
Symbols
BirdLidth's jay (Garrulus lidthi)
FlowerMiyamakirishima (Rhododendron kiusianum)
TreeCamphor laurel
(Cinnamomum camphora)

Kagoshima is the capital and largest city of Kagoshima Prefecture, with other major cities including Kirishima, Kanoya, and Satsumasendai.[2] Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southernmost point of Kyūshū and includes the Satsunan Islands group of the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture's mainland territory extends from the Ariake Sea to Shibushi Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast, and is characterized by two large peninsulas created by Kagoshima Bay. Kagoshima Prefecture formed the core of the Satsuma Domain, ruled from Kagoshima Castle, one of the most important Japanese domains of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration.

History
Main article: History of Kagoshima Prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture corresponds to the ancient Japanese provinces Ōsumi and Satsuma, including the northern part of the Ryukyu Islands (Satsunan).[3] This region played a key role in the Meiji Restoration (Saigō 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.

Demographics

The two main ethnic groups of Kagoshima Prefecture are the Japanese and the Ryukyuans (Amami Islands).

Geography

Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu on the Satsuma Peninsula and Ōsumi Peninsula. This prefecture also includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest of Kyushu 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 (1,635 mi) 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 31 March 2019, 13% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Amami Guntō, Kirishima-Kinkowan, Unzen-Amakusa, and Yakushima National Parks; Koshikishima and Nichinan Kaigan Quasi-National Parks; and Akune, Bōnoma, Fukiagehama, Imutaike, Ōsumi Nanbu, Sendaigawa Ryūiki, Takakumayama, and Tokara Rettō Prefectural Natural Parks.[4][5]

  • Jōmon Sugi in Yaku Island
  • Mangrove native forest in Amami Island
  • A crane observation centre in Izumi crane migration grounds
  • Ohara style folk dance in Kagoshima Ohara Festival in November
  • Sand bath style in Ibusuki Spa

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, Berkshire pork ("kurobuta") and local Black Wagyu beef. 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. Kagoshima is also Japan's largest beef and pork producing prefecture.

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.

Municipalities
Map of Kagoshima Prefecture
     City      Town      Village

The following is a list of Kagoshima Prefecture's cities, and its administrative districts with their constituent towns and villages:

Cities
See also: List of cities in Kagoshima Prefecture by population
Kagoshima from space
Sakurajima and Kagoshima City
Makurazaki
Amami City
Tarumizu

Nineteen cities are located in Kagoshima Prefecture:

Districts

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Mergers
Main article: List of mergers in Kagoshima Prefecture

Sport and recreation
Shiranami Stadium.

Kagoshima Rebnise, a professional basketball team, was founded in 2003 and currently competes in the second division of the national B.League. Kagoshima United FC, a soccer team, was founded in 2014 and competes in the J3 League. Although no major professional baseball teams are based in the prefecture, a number of Kagoshima's ballparks have hosted the spring training camps of Nippon Professional Baseball teams:

The Kirishima-Yaku National Park is located in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Colleges and universities

Science and technology facilities

Museums

Transportation
Kagoshima-Chuo Station
Kagoshima City Tram

Rail

Trams

Expressways and toll roads

National Highways

Ports

Airports

Notable people

Mythical creatures

Sister relations

See also

Notes
  1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kagoshima prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 447, p. 447, at Google Books.
  2. Nussbaum, "Kagoshima prefecture" at p. 447, p. 447, at Google Books.
  3. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
  4. 自然公園都道府県別面積総括 [General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. 自然公園 [Natural Parks] (in Japanese). Kagoshima Prefecture. Retrieved 12 August 2019.

References

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