Kagoshima Prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture
鹿児島県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese 鹿児島県
 • Rōmaji Kagoshima-ken

Flag
Symbol
Country Japan
Region Kyushu
Island Kyushu
Capital Kagoshima
Government
 • Governor Satoshi Mitazono
Area
 • Total 9,132.42 km2 (3,526.05 sq mi)
Area rank 10th
Population (May 1, 2016)
 • Total 1,639,903
 • Rank 24th
 • Density 179.57/km2 (465.1/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.pref.kagoshima.jp/foreign/english/index.html

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]

History

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.

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 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.[4]

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

Map of Kagoshima Prefecture

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

Cities

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

Sport and recreation

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

Roads

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. ↑ "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 8 February 2012.

References

Coordinates: 31°24′N 130°31′E / 31.400°N 130.517°E / 31.400; 130.517

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