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is a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in
Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...
, Japan. , the city had an estimated
population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 295,367 in 137,140 households, and a
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of 1309 people per km². The total area of the city is .


Geography

Kurume is located in the Chikugo Plain in southern Fukuoka Prefecture. The urban center is located approximately 40 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Fukuoka City, but due to the incorporation of surrounding municipalities in 2005, the city area has become approximately 32 kilometers east-west and approximately 16 kilometers north-south, making it a municipality with a long east-west direction. The
Chikugo River The flows through Kumamoto, Ōita, Fukuoka and Saga prefectures in Japan. With a total length of , it is the longest river on Kyūshū. It flows from Mount Aso and empties into the Ariake Sea. It is also nicknamed "Tsukushi Jirō". The upp ...
flows from the northeast to the southwest of the city. The boundary is drawn almost along the river, and there are only a few parts of the city where the Chikugo River runs through the city. From the southern part of the city to the southeastern part is a mountain range called the Minou Mountain Range, which includes mountains such as Mt. Takatori, Mt. Hatsushin, and Mt. Mino.


Neighboring municipalities

Fukuoka Prefecture * Asakura * Chikugo * Hirokawa * Ogōri * Ōkawa * Ōki * Tachiarai * Ukiha *
Yame 270px, Yame City Hall 270px, Iwatoyama Kofun is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,782 in 16050 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . ...
Saga Prefecture * Kanzaki * Miyaki * Tosu


Climate

Kurume has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Kurume is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Kurume was on 13 August 2018; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 25 January 2016.


Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kurume in 2020 is 303,316 people. Kurume has been conducting censuses since 1960.


History

The area of Kurume was part of ancient
Chikugo Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of southwestern Fukuoka Prefecture. Chikugo bordered on Higo and Chikugo to the southeast, and Chikuzen to the north and east, Bungo to the east and Hizen to t ...
, and the location of its ancient
provincial capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...
and the site of its ''
kokubun-ji The are Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). The official name for each temple was Konkomyo Shitenno Gokoku-ji (Konkōmyō Shitennō ...
'' and ''
ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...
''. During the
Edo Period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
the area was under the control of
Kurume Domain 270px, Arima Yorishige, final daimyo of Kurume Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Chikugo Province in modern-day Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Ja ...
, ruled for most of its history by the
Arima clan The is a Japanese samurai family. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)">DF 6-7 of 80">"Arima," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', pp. 2-3 DF 6-7 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5- ...
, who developed the '' jōkamachi">DF 6-7 of 80/nowiki> retrieved 2013-5- ...
, who developed the ''jōkamachi'' around Kurume Castle into a commercial center due to the clan's policy to promote industries. Bairin-ji, the clan’s family temple was also founded in the relative vicinity of the castle. After the Meiji restoration">Bairin-ji (Kurume)">Bairin-ji, the clan’s family temple was also founded in the relative vicinity of the castle. After the Meiji restoration, the city of Kurume was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. During the First World War from 1915 to 1919, over 1,000 German and about 50 Austro-Hungarian soldiers (Prisoners of War) after surrendering at Tsingtao, were allocated to an internment camp in Kurume, which was the largest such camp in Japan. It is a widely accepted historical fact that these prisoners were treated fairly and according to international conventions, as “fellow soldiers”. It is well documented that in Camp Kurume it was allowed to organize various sport activities, musical concerts and theatre performances. The pictures of such activities show POWs in good physical shape and often in good spirits. The cultural and other exchanges between the Western and Japanese soldiers, as well as local people made a long lasting impact on both the cultural and industrial development of the city. The prisoners’ work and skills contributed to the development of the local rubber industry which served as a basis for the now world-famous tyre manufacturer Bridgestone. Kurume was a garrison town for the Imperial Japanese Army and from 1922, a center for the rubber and chemical industries. During World War II, on August 11 1945, and just a few days after the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Kurume air raid (consisting of 53 B-24 bombers operating from US airfields in Okinawa and using M76 incendiary bombs) left 212 people dead and much of the urban center destroyed. The city area continued to expand throughout the post-war period by annexing surrounding villages and towns. On April 1, 2001, Kurume was designated as a special city and on April 1, 2008, it became a
core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...
. On February 5, 2005, the town of Kitano (from Mii District), the towns of Jōjima and Mizuma (both from
Mizuma District is a Districts of Japan, district located in Fukuoka Prefecture,Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fukuoka-ken" in . Japan. As of 2003 statistics and counting the decrease in size and population due to the Kurume, Fukuoka, Kurume merger, the ...
), and the town of Tanushimaru (from Ukiha District) were merged into Kurume.


Government

Kurume has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
city council of 36 members. Kurume, together with the city of Ukiha contributes five members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the
Fukuoka 6th district Fukuoka 6th district (福岡県第6区, ''Fukuoka-ken dai-rokku'' or simply 福岡6区, ''Fukuoka-rokku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan located in Fukuoka Prefecture. Areas covered ...
of the
lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
of the
Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
.


Economy

Kurume is a regional commercial center. In terms of industry, the city is the birthplace of
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...
and is an important production base as the group's original plant remains located here. There are also many factories of various manufacturers of rubber processed products. In recent years, the light vehicle engine factory of Daihatsu Kyushu, a subsidiary of Daihatsu Motor Corporation, and the press parts manufacturing factory of Topre Kyushu, a subsidiary of Topre, have expanded into the area, playing a role in the consolidation of the automobile industry in northern Kyushu.


Traditional products

Traditional products of Kurume are ''
kasuri is the Japanese language, Japanese term for fabric that has been woven with fibers dyeing, dyed specifically to create patterns and images in the fabric, typically referring to fabrics produced within Japan using this technique. It is a form of ...
'', or woven indigo-dyed cloth; ''
tonkotsu is a ramen dish that originated in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and is a specialty dish on the island of Kyushu. The broth for tonkotsu ramen is based on pork bones, which is what the word means in Japanese. It is prepared by boiling t ...
'' ''
ramen is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...
'' (pork-bone broth noodles); and trays and bowls made from , a composite made from
lacquered Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...
bamboo.


Education


Universities

* Kurume Institute of Technology * Kurume Shin-Ai Women's College * Kurume University *
Kurume University Hospital
* St.Mary's College


Primary and secondary education

Kurume has 45 public elementary schools and 17 public junior high schools and two high school operated by the city government and six public high schools operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private combined elementary/junior high school and four private high schools. The city operates one and the prefecture operates two schools for the handicapped.


Transportation


Railways

-
Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima (Kagoshima-Chuo Sta ...
: -
Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojiko Station, Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it ...
: - -
Kyūdai Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Kurume Station, Kurume in Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Station, Ōita in Ōita Prefecture. It is also known as the Yufu Kōgen Line. Th ...
: - - - - - - - -
Nishitetsu Tenjin Ōmuta Line The is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. It is the main line of the private railway company Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu). The line connects Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) StationUntil December 31, 2000, Nishitetsu Fukuo ...
* - - - - - - - - -
Nishitetsu Amagi Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu), which connects Kurume and Asakura in Fukuoka Prefecture. Stations History The opened a gauge line electrified at 600 V DC from M ...
* - - - - - -


Highways

*
Kyushu Expressway (Asian Highway Network ) is one of the Expressways of Japan from Kitakyūshū (and the bridge to Honshū) to west of Kagoshima linking with the Higashikyushu Expressway and the Ibusuki Skyline. It runs through the prefectures of Fukuoka, the e ...
* * * * * *


Sister cities

Kurume is twinned with the following cities. * Kōriyama, Fukushima, Japan *
Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...
, United States *
Hefei Hefei is the Capital city, capital of Anhui, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or ''metro'') area is made up of four u ...
,
Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...
, China


Local attractions

* Bairin-ji, a main Zen Buddhist temple in Kyushu * Kōra taisha, ''ichinomiya'' of Chikugo Province * Kurume Castle *
Kurume Suitengū is a Shinto shrine located in Kurume, Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. This shrine is the headquarters for all Suitengū Shrines in Japan. It is dedicated to four deities: * Amenominakanushi * Antoku * Kenrenmon-in * Nii No Ama "Suiten" is the ...
* Naritasan Kurume Bunin * Zendō-ji, the head temple of the Jōdo Buddhist sect in Kyushu.


National Historic Sites

* Ankokuji Burial Jar Cluster * Chikugo Kokufu ruins * Kōra-san Kōgoishi * Kurume Domain Arima Clan Cemetery * Nichirinji Kofun * Ontsuka - Gongenzuka Kofun * Shimobaba Kofun *
Takayama Hikokurō (15 June 17474 August 1793) was a Japanese samurai and historian, and one of the early proponents of the ''sonnō jōi'' movement which became highly influential during the Bakumatsu period in the events leading to them Meiji restoration. He wa ...
Grave * Tanushimaru Kofun Cluster * Urayama Kofun


Notable people born or raised in Kurume

In chronological order of birth year: *
Tanaka Hisashige was a Japanese businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and rangaku scholar who was prominent during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period in Japan. In 1875, he founded what became the Toshiba Corporation. He has been called the "Thomas Edi ...
(1799-1881) Engineer and Inventor who started the company which became Toshiba. *
George Shima George Shima (1864 – March 27, 1926) was a Japanese American businessman in California who became the first Japanese American millionaire. At one point, he produced about 85% of the state's potato crop, which earned him the nickname "The Potato ...
(1864–1926), "Potato King" of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.Kim, Hyung-chan. (1999). *
Hiroshi Yoshida was a 20th-century Japanese painter and woodblock printmaker. Along with Hasui Kawase, he is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin-hanga style, and is noted especially for his landscape prints. Yoshida made numerous trips around ...
(1876–1950), Japanese traditional painter and woodblock printmaker. *Sakamoto Hanjiro (1882–1969), Western-style artist. * Shigeru Aoki (1882–1911), Western-style artist. *
Shōjirō Ishibashi was a Japanese businessman who founded the Bridgestone Corporation, the world's largest maker of tires, in 1931 in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. the company was named after its founder: in the Japanese language, ''ishi'' means "stone" and ...
(1889–1976), founder of
Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning 'stone bridge' in ...
, which originated in Kurume as traditional footwear manufacturers, producing the sock-like shoe (''
jika-tabi are a style of footwear with a divided toe, originating in Japan. They are similar to socks in both appearance and construction. Though they can be worn with traditional thonged footwear such as and , are mostly designed and made to be wor ...
'') used by farmers; they found that by coating the bottom of ''
tabi are traditional Japanese socks worn with thonged footwear such as zori, dating back to the 15th century. History Japanese are usually understood today to be a kind of split-toed sock that is not meant to be worn alone outdoors, much like re ...
'' with rubber, farmers could be protected from the invasion of parasitic worms that live in rice paddies. * Takashima Yajuro (1890–1975), Western-style painter who established his own style of realism. * Harue Koga (1895–1933), eclectic avant-garde artist and poet. *
Susumu Fujita was a Japanese film and television actor. He played the lead role in Akira Kurosawa's first feature, '' Sanshiro Sugata'', and appeared in other Kurosawa films including '' The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail'' (as Togashi, commander of the ...
(1912–1990/91), actor. *
Leiji Matsumoto was a Japanese manga artist, and creator of several anime and manga series. His widow Miyako Maki is also a manga artist. Matsumoto was famous for his works such as ''Space Battleship Yamato'' and ''Galaxy Express 999''. His style was chara ...
(1938–2023),
manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...
, anime character designer and
animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...
. *
Seiji Sakaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan red and white belt in judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the Nati ...
(1942–present), Japanese
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
and
judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
*
Ryo Ishibashi is a Japanese actor and lead singer of the Japanese rock band ARB. He is known around the world for his roles in the Japanese horror films '' Suicide Club'' and '' Audition.'' He is also recognized in America for his role as Nakagawa in '' Th ...
(1956–present), actor. *
Seiko Matsuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer-songwriter, known for being one of the most popular Japanese idols of the 1980s. Since then, she has continued to release new singles and albums, go on annual summer concert tours, perform at wi ...
(1962–present), singer and actress. *
Fumiya Fujii is a Japanese musician, actor and former lead singer of The Checkers born in Kurume. His younger brother is Naoyuki Fujii, a musician and former sax player for The Checkers. His eldest son is Fuji TV announcer Kōki Fujii. He formerly belonge ...
(1962–present), lead vocalist of
The Checkers (Japanese band) The Checkers (Japanese: チェッカーズ) was a very popular Japanese band in the 1980s. They were a pop icon of their time as kids copied hair styles and fashion of the band members. The band was formed in Kurume-city, Fukuoka Pref. by Toru ...
. *
Izumi Sakai , known professionally as , was a Japanese pop singer and core member of the group Zard. As Sakai was the only member in the group for the majority of the 16 years which it was active, Zard and Sakai may be referred to interchangeably. She was ...
(1967–2007), lead vocalist of
Zard (stylized as ZARD) were a Japanese pop rock group, originally with five members, with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as its only constant member. Izumi Sakai was also the band's core member. Zard's work was sold under the record label B-Gram Reco ...
; born in Kurume, but raised in
Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
. *
Rena Tanaka is a Japanese actress and TV personality. In 1999, she won the Japanese Academy Award for "Best Newcomer" for her performance in ''Give It All''; in 2001, she received a "Best Actress" nomination for '' First Love''. Selected filmography Fi ...
(1980–present), actress. * Kanikapila 7 piece Pop Band. *
Leo Ieiri is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Her song "Sabrina" was used as the third ending song of the anime television series '' Toriko'' and her song "Silly" was used as the theme song for the television adaption of popular novel "Nのために" (" ...
(1994–present), singer, songwriter.
Leo Ieiri is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Her song "Sabrina" was used as the third ending song of the anime television series '' Toriko'' and her song "Silly" was used as the theme song for the television adaption of popular novel "Nのために" (" ...
* Haruka Noma (2002-present), known as Hal-Ca, guitarist and vocalist of heavy metal/hard rock band
Asterism (band) Asterism (stylized as ASTERISM) is a Japanese rock band formed in Fukuoka in 2014 by brothers Mio (drums) and Miyu (bass) and Hal-ca (guitar). The band has toured the United States, South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Singapore, and Jap ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Fukuoka Prefecture