Fukuoka [Prefecture] - Fukuoka

Japanese: 福岡[県] - ふくおか

A prefecture in the northern part of Kyushu. It faces Yamaguchi Prefecture across the Kanmon Strait. The prefectural capital is Fukuoka City. It covers an area of 4,986.40 ^km2 and has a population of 5,071,968 (2010). [History] It occupied the former Chikuzen and Chikugo provinces and the northern half of Buzen Province, and was the gateway to the influx of continental culture since ancient times. It was the region where rice paddy agriculture developed earliest in Japan. Some of the provinces in the Gishiwajinden are identified as being within the prefecture, and there was already contact with China in the 3rd century. Dazaifu, established during the Ritsuryo period, became the political and cultural center of Kyushu, and the outer port of Hakata prospered. In the Middle Ages, the Kyushu Tandai controlled the entire region, and there was also the Bun'ei-Kōan War. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Kyushu, the Kobayakawa clan, the Tachibana clan, and others were divided into fiefs, and in the Edo period, the Kuroda clan of the Fukuoka domain controlled the area. In 1871, the feudal domains were abolished and eight prefectures were established, and in 1876, part of the area was divided into Oita Prefecture, forming the current prefectural boundaries. [Nature] The Tsukushi Mountains, an extension of the Chugoku Mountains, are widely distributed, and faults have divided the area into several land masses and landslides with an average elevation of 400 to 800 meters. The northwestern coast is covered with basalt topography dating back to the Tertiary Period, and the eastern coast is covered with dissected lava plateaus. The lowlands are diluvial plateaus and alluvial lowlands, including the Nogata Plain in the Onga River basin, the Fukuoka Plain facing Hakata Bay, and the Tsukushi Plain, the largest in Kyushu, in the Chikugo River basin. There are extensive reclaimed lands along the Ariake Sea coast. The coasts of the Genkai Sea and Hibiki Sea are rich in variety, with small islands such as Oshima, Shikanoshima, and Nokonoshima, as well as Uminonakamichi and the Itoshima Peninsula, but the coast of the Suo Nada Sea is monotonous. Generally, it is warm, and most of the rainfall is concentrated in the inland areas during the rainy season and typhoons. Snowfall is rare. [Industry] The population composition by industry is 3.5% primary, 21.6% secondary, and 73.0% tertiary (2005), with the tertiary ratio being the highest in the country. The proportion of agriculture is decreasing year by year. In the Chikushi Plain in the south, rice and wheat are the main crops, but the proportion is decreasing, and instead, livestock farming and the cultivation and processing of vegetables, fruit trees, and flowers are increasing in proportion, and a shift to suburban agriculture is progressing. By product, wheat, eggplant, strawberries, persimmons, and kiwifruit are among the top producers in the country. The Yame region in the south is known as a producer of high-quality tea. The fishing industry was once one of the leading producers in the country, but it is facing a difficult situation, with a decline of about 80% in the 17 years from 1986 to 2003. The establishment of a 200-mile fishing zone has increased the importance of coastal fishing, promoting a shift to cultivation and aquaculture. The 2003 catch of 46,000 tons was 24th in the nation, and the landings at Hakata Port were 22nd in the nation. The production of nori (seaweed) cultivated mainly along the Ariake Sea is third in the nation. In mining, there are various coalfields, such as the Chikuho coalfield and the Miike coalfield, which were the top producers of coal in the nation until 1962 and contributed to the formation of the Kitakyushu industrial area. However, due to the downturn in the coal industry, most of the mines were closed, and the Miike mine in Omuta City, which was the last remaining mine, was also closed in 1997. The northern part of the prefecture is rich in limestone. In industry, the Kitakyushu industrial area, symbolized by iron and coal, has seen a marked decline in the material-based industries. Instead, the rise of transportation equipment, such as automobiles, in Kanda Town and Miyata Town (now Miyawaka City) is noticeable, but the growth of electrical equipment, including high-tech industries, is well below the national average, clearly showing the current difficult situation. Traditional industries such as Fukuoka's Hakata weaving, Kurume's Kurume kasuri, and Okawa's furniture are famous. The city is rich in tourist resources, such as cultural heritage sites such as the ruins of Dazaifu, Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, Munakata Shrine, Miyajidake Shrine, the remains of the Mongol Invasion Defense Ruins, and Ozuka Kofun, festivals such as Hakata Yamakasa, Dontaku, and Kokura's Gion Taiko, the Kanmon Straits, which are part of the Setonaikai National Park, the many scenic spots in the Genkai and Yaba-Hita-Hikosan Quasi-National Parks, the merchant town of Hakata, and the beautiful streetscape of Yanagawa. [Transportation] As the gateway to Kyushu, the area has a well-developed transportation network, including the Kagoshima-Chikuho-Nippo-Kyudai 4-line, the Sanyo-Kyushu Shinkansen, national highways 3 and 10, the Kyushu-Oita-Higashi Kyushu Expressway, and the various Nishitetsu lines that run through Fukuoka City. Fukuoka Airport is in Fukuoka City, and Kitakyushu Airport, which opened in March 2006, is in Kitakyushu City. Kitakyushu Port has been designated an important port.
→ Related topics Kyushu region

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Japanese:

九州地方北部の県。関門海峡を隔てて山口県に相対する。県庁所在地は福岡市。4986.40km²。507万1968人（2010）。〔沿革〕　かつての筑前国・筑後国２国と豊前(ぶぜん)国北半を占め，古来大陸文化流入の門戸をなし，日本で最も早く水田農業が発達した地域である。《魏志倭人伝》中の諸国のうち県内に比定されるものもあり，３世紀にはすでに中国と交流があった。律令時代に設置された大宰府(だざいふ)は九州一円の政治・文化の中心となり，外港の博多が繁栄。中世には九州探題が九州全域を支配し，また文永弘安の役があった。豊臣秀吉の九州統一後小早川氏，立花氏らが分封，江戸期には福岡藩黒田氏が支配した。1871年諸藩を廃して８県が置かれ，1876年一部を大分県に分けて現県域となる。〔自然〕　中国山地の延長にあたる筑紫(つくし)山地が広く分布し，断層により平均標高400〜800mのいくつかの地塊や地塁に分かれている。北西海岸には第三紀以後の玄武岩地形，東部には開析溶岩台地が広がる。低地は洪積台地や沖積低地で，遠賀(おんが)川流域の直方(のおがた)平野，博多湾に臨む福岡平野，筑後川流域の九州最大の筑紫平野などがあり，有明海沿岸には広い干拓地がある。玄界灘と響灘の沿岸には大島，志賀島，能古島などの小島や，海ノ中道，糸島半島などがあり変化に富むが，周防(すおう)灘沿岸は単調。一般に温暖で，雨量は内陸部に多く大部分が梅雨期と台風時に集中。積雪はまれである。〔産業〕　産業別人口構成は第１次3.5％，第２次21.6％，第３次73.0％（2005）で，第３次比は全国上位。農業の比重は年々低下している。南部の筑紫平野では米麦作が主体であるが，比重は低下傾向にあり，代わって畜産や野菜，果樹，花卉(かき)などの栽培・加工が比重を高め，都市近郊型農業への転換が進む。品目別では小麦，ナス，イチゴ，カキ，キウイフルーツなどが全国上位の生産量がある。南部の八女(やめ)地方は高級茶の産地として知られる。かつて水産業は全国有数の生産高をあげていたが，1986年―2003年の17年間で約８割の減少を記録するなど，厳しい状況に直面している。200カイリ漁業水域の定着は沿岸漁業の重要度を高め，栽培・養殖漁業への転換を促進している。2003年の漁獲量約4.6万tは全国24位，博多港の水揚は全国22位にある。有明海沿岸を中心にノリ養殖の生産量は全国３位にある。鉱業では筑豊炭田，三池炭田などの諸炭田があり，産炭量は1962年まで全国の首位を占め北九州工業地帯の形成に貢献したが，石炭産業の不振により大部分の炭鉱が閉山し，1997年最後まで残った大牟田市の三池鉱も閉山した。県北部には石灰石が豊富。工業は鉄と石炭に象徴される北九州工業地帯における素材型産業の地盤沈下が顕著。代わって苅田(かんだ)町や宮田町（現・宮若市）の自動車に代表される輸送機器の台頭が目立つが，先端技術産業を含む電気機器の伸びが全国平均を大きく下回り，現在置かれた厳しい状況を端的に示す。伝統工業である福岡の博多織，久留米の久留米絣(がすり)，大川の家具などは有名。大宰府跡，太宰府天満宮，宗像(むなかた)神社，宮地岳神社，元寇防塁跡，王塚古墳などの文化遺産，博多山笠，どんたく，小倉の祇園太鼓などの祭，瀬戸内海国立公園に属する関門海峡，玄海・耶馬日田英彦山両国定公園の多くの景勝地，商人の町博多，町並みの美しい柳川など観光資源に富む。〔交通〕　九州の門戸にあたるため鹿児島・筑豊・日豊・久大４本線，山陽・九州新幹線，国道３・10号線，九州・大分・東九州各自動車道をはじめ交通網が縦横に発達，福岡市を中心に西鉄各線が通じ，福岡市に福岡空港，北九州市に2006年３月，新たに開港した北九州空港がある。北九州港は重要港湾に指定されている。
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