North - Hokubu

A district in Kita-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. Formerly Kita-cho. Incorporated into Kumamoto City in 1991. Except for the northeastern foot of Kinpo Volcano, which is made of volcanic rocks from the end of the Pleistocene (Pleistocene) epoch, at the western end, the plateau is mostly made up of terrace gravel layers on the Higo Plateau. The plateau is further divided into three plateaus, the eastern, central, and western, by the dissection of the Tsuboi River and the Iseri River, which run roughly north-south. The Kyushu Expressway runs along the eastern plateau, National Route 3 runs along the central plateau, and the JR Kagoshima Main Line runs along the dissected valley of the Iseri River, each in a north-south direction. Traditionally, the land was used to grow paddy rice in the river valley plains, and upland rice, wheat, and mulberry among the mixed forests on the plateau, but since the late 1960s, greenhouse cultivation has become widespread, and the area has become a producer of watermelons, melons, and vegetables. The former Kita-Kubu Town saw a remarkable influx of factories, offices, and even housing from Kumamoto City, and was gradually becoming a commuter town. Kamaoko Tomb is a decorated ancient tomb and a nationally designated historic site.

[Yamaguchi Morito]

"History of Kitabu Town" (1980, Kitabu Town)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

熊本県熊本市北区の一地区。旧北部町。1991年（平成3）熊本市に編入。西端部の更新世（洪積世）末期火山岩の金峰(きんぽう)火山北東山麓(ろく)を除けば、ほとんど段丘礫層(れきそう)の肥後台地からなる。さらに台地は、ほぼ南北に流走する坪井川と井芹(いせり)川の開析によって、東部、中部、西部の三台地に分断され、東部の台地上を九州自動車道が、中部の台地上を国道3号が、井芹川の開析谷をJR鹿児島本線が、それぞれ南北方向に走っている。河谷平地には水稲が、台地には雑木林の間に陸稲、麦、クワがみられるのが伝統的な土地利用であったが、昭和40年代後半から著しく普及したハウス栽培によってスイカ、メロン、野菜の促成栽培産地となっている。旧北部町は熊本市からの工場、事業所、さらに住宅の進出も目覚ましく、ベッドタウンとしての性格も強まりつつあった。釜尾古墳(かまおこふん)は装飾古墳で、国指定史跡である。

［山口守人］

『『北部町史』（1980・北部町）』

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