Kyushu

Kyushu

Native name: <span class="nickname" ">九州
Kyushu region of Japan and the current prefectures on the island of Kyushu
Geography
Location	East Asia
Archipelago	Japanese Archipelago
Area	35,640 km2 (13,760 sq mi)
Area rank	37th
Highest elevation	1,791 m (5,876 ft)
Highest point	Kujū-san[1]
Country
Japan
Prefectures	Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Ōita, Saga
Largest settlement	Fukuoka
Demographics
Population	13,231,995
Density	332.38 /km2 (860.86 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Japanese

Kyushu (九州, Kyūshū, lit. "Nine Provinces") ([kʲɯːʃɯː]) is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands.^[2] Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku (九国^?, "Nine States") , Chinzei (鎮西^?, "West of the Pacified Area") , and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島^?, "Island of Tsukushi") . The historical regional name Saikaidō (西海道, lit. West Sea Circuit) referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands.

In the 8th century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region.^[3]

As of 2006, Kyushu has a population of 13,231,995 and covers 35,640 square kilometres (13,760 sq mi).

Geography

The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 metres (5,220 ft), 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.

The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, and Satsuma.

Today's Kyushu Region (九州地方, Kyūshū-chihō) is a politically defined region that consists of the seven prefectures on the island of Kyushu (which also includes the former Tsushima and Iki as part of Nagasaki), and also Okinawa Prefecture to the south:

• Northern Kyushu
  • Fukuoka Prefecture
  • Saga Prefecture
  • Kumamoto Prefecture
  • Nagasaki Prefecture
  • Ōita Prefecture
• Southern Kyushu
  • Kagoshima Prefecture
  • Miyazaki Prefecture
• Okinawa Prefecture

The world's 37th largest island by area, Kyushu is smaller than Spitsbergen but larger than New Britain and nearby Taiwan. By population, it ranks 13th, having fewer inhabitants than Borneo or Sulawesi, but more than Salsette (Mumbai) or Cuba.

Economy and environment

Map of Kyushu region with prefectures

Parts of Kyushu have a subtropical climate, particularly Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures. Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, and soy; silk is also widely produced. The island 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, and metal processing.

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. Excepting Oita and Miyazaki cities, the eastern seaboard shows a general decline in population.

In 2010, the graduate employment rate in the region was the lowest nationwide, at 88.9%.^[4]

Besides the volcanic area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the northern part of the island, around Beppu. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.^[5]

Education

Major universities and colleges in Kyushu:

• National universities
  • Kyushu University - One of seven former "Imperial Universities"
  • Kyushu Institute of Technology
  • Saga University
  • Nagasaki University
  • Kumamoto University
  • Fukuoka University of Education
  • Oita University
  • Miyazaki University
  • Kagoshima University
  • National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya
  • University of the Ryukyus
• Universities run by local governments
  • University of Kitakyushu
  • Kyushu Dental College
  • Fukuoka Women's University
  • Fukuoka Prefectural University
  • Siebold University of Nagasaki
  • Nagasaki Prefectural University
  • Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences
  • Prefectural University of Kumamoto
  • Miyazaki Municipal University
  • Miyazaki Prefectural Nursing University
  • Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts
• Major private universities
  • Fukuoka University - University with the largest number of students in Kyushu
  • Kumamoto Gakuen University
  • Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
  • Seinan Gakuin University
  • Kyushu Sangyo University - Baseball Team won the National Championship in 2005
  • University of Occupational and Environmental Health
  • Kurume University

Transportation

The island is linked to the larger island of Honshu by the Kanmon Tunnels, which carry both the Sanyō Shinkansen and non-Shinkansen trains of the Kyushu Railway Company, as well as vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic. The Kanmon Bridge also connects the island with Honshu. Railways on the island are operated by the Kyushu Railway Company, and Nishitetsu Railway.

See also

Look up Kyushu or Islands in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Azumi people, an ancient group of people who inhabited parts of northern Kyūshū
• Geography of Japan
• Group Kyushu
• Hoenn, a fictional region in the Pokémon franchise which is based on Kyushu
• Kanmonkyo Bridge, that connects Kyūshū with Honshū
• Kyushu National Museum
• List of regions in Japan
• Kyushu dialects
  • Hichiku dialect, Hōnichi dialect and Kagoshima dialect

Notes

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

Regions and administrative divisions of Japan Regions Hokkaido Tōhoku Kantō Nanpō Islands Chūbu Hokuriku Kōshin'etsu Shin'etsu Tōkai Kansai Chūgoku San'in San'yō Shikoku Kyushu Northern Kyushu Southern Kyushu Okinawa Prefectures Hokkaido Hokkaido Tōhoku Aomori Iwate Miyagi Akita Yamagata Fukushima Kantō Ibaraki Tochigi Gunma Saitama Chiba Tokyo Kanagawa Chūbu Niigata Toyama Ishikawa Fukui Yamanashi Nagano Gifu Shizuoka Aichi Kansai Mie Shiga Kyoto Osaka Hyōgo Nara Wakayama Chūgoku Tottori Shimane Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Shikoku Tokushima Kagawa Ehime Kōchi Kyushu Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kumamoto Ōita Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa Sovereignty Movement Ryukyu independence movement Republic of Ainu

Coordinates: 33°N 131°E / 33°N 131°E / 33; 131