Chūgoku region
Chūgoku region
| |
---|---|
Country | Japan |
Area | |
• Total | 31,922.26 km2 (12,325.25 sq mi) |
Population (1 October 2010)[1] | |
• Total | 7,563,428 |
• Density | 240/km2 (610/sq mi) |
Gross Regional Product | |
• Total | JP¥30.745 trillion US$282 billion |
Time zone | UTC+9 (JST) |
The Chūgoku region (Japanese:
History[edit]
Chūgoku literally means "middle country", but the origin of the name is unclear. Historically, Japan was divided into a number of provinces called koku, which were in turn classified according to both their power and their distances from the administrative center in Kansai. Under the latter classification, most provinces are divided into "near countries" (
Historically, Chūgoku referred to the 16 provinces of San'indō (
In Japanese, the characters
The city of Hiroshima, the "capital" of the Chūgoku region, was rebuilt after being destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, and is now an industrial metropolis of more than one million people.
From the founding of the Republic of China to the end of the WW2, China was called shina (
Overfishing and pollution reduced the productivity of the Inland Sea fishing grounds; and San'yo is an area concentrated on heavy industry. In contrast, San'in is less industrialized with an agricultural economy.
Geography[edit]
The Chūgoku region consists of the following prefectures: Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane, and Tottori. Okayama is also included, although only Bitchū Province was considered a Middle Country; Mimasaka Province and Bizen Province, the other two components of modern-day Okayama, were considered Near Countries. Kyūshū, Shikoku, and Kansai neighbor the Chūgoku region.
The Chūgoku region is characterized by irregular rolling hills and limited plain areas and is divided into two distinct parts by mountains running east and west through its center.
Demographics[edit]
The two largest metropolitan areas in Chūgoku region are Hiroshima and Okayama whose total population of the two metropolitan areas amount to 2.808 million as of 2020.[4][5] Their Urban Employment Area amounts to around 3 million people for the Chūgoku region. The rest of Chūgoku region is sparsely populated and very rural.
Per Japanese census data,[6][7] Chūgoku region as a whole has experienced a steady population decline since 1992 with some prefectures within the region experiencing the decline since 1985. The region reached a peak population of roughly 7.8 million in 1991.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1920 | 4,971,000 | — |
1930 | 5,341,000 | +7.4% |
1940 | 5,718,000 | +7.1% |
1950 | 6,797,000 | +18.9% |
1960 | 6,944,000 | +2.2% |
1970 | 6,997,000 | +0.8% |
1980 | 7,586,000 | +8.4% |
1990 | 7,746,000 | +2.1% |
2000 | 7,732,499 | −0.2% |
2010 | 7,563,428 | −2.2% |
2020 | 7,328,339 | −3.1% |
Cities[edit]
- Designated cities
- Core cities
- Kurashiki (population: 480,000)
- Fukuyama (population: 460,000)
- Shimonoseki (population: 260,000)
- Kure (population: 220,000)
- Matsue (population: 210,000)
- Tottori (population: 200,000)
- Other major cities
- Yamaguchi (population: 200,000)
Sightseeing[edit]
- Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroshima, Miyajima, Fukuyama, Onomichi
- Okayama Prefecture: Okayama, Kurashiki, Takahashi, Tsuyama, Niimi, Bizen, Tamano
- Shimane Prefecture: Tsuwano, Izumo, Matsue, Iwami Ginzan
- Tottori Prefecture: Tottori, Misasa, Daisen, Kurayoshi
- Yamaguchi Prefecture: Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Iwakuni, Hofu, Hagi, Akiyoshidai
Fiction[edit]
- Lian Hearn used a feudal Chūgoku (translated as the Middle Country) as the setting for her Tales of the Otori trilogy.
- In B. Ichi, Chugoku is referred to as "the land of martial arts".
See also[edit]
- Geography of Japan
- List of regions in Japan
- Names of China
- San'in region
- San'yō region
- Chūgoku dialect and Umpaku dialect
References[edit]
- ^ a b Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Statistics Bureau (26 October 2011). "
平成 22年 国勢調査 の概要 " (PDF). Retrieved 6 May 2012. - ^ "
県民 経済 計算 (平成 23年度 -令 和 2年度 )(2008SNA、平成 27年 基準 計数 )<47都道府県 、4政令 指定 都市 分 >". - ^ Chugoku Regional Tourism Promotion Association "Overview of Chugoku Region" Archived 2016-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, Chugoku Regional Tourism Portal Site: Navigate Chugoku. Accessed 15 September 2013.
- ^ Hiroshima metro
- ^ Okayama metro
- ^ Hiroshima 1995-2020 population statistics
- ^ Chūgoku region 1920-2000 population statistics
Bibliography[edit]
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Dolan, Ronald E.; Worden, Robert L., eds. (1992). Japan: A Country Study. Federal Research Division.
- Tony Gibb By Bike around Chugoku