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Kyūshū

or Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku (九国 Nine States), Chinzei (鎮西 West of the Pacified Area), and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島 Island of Tsukushi). The historical regional name Saikaidō (西海道 West Sea Circuit) referred to Kyūshū and its surrounding islands.

Kyūshū has a population of 13,231,995 (2006) and covers 35,640 km².

Geography

The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 m, is on Kyūshū. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso, in central Kyūshū.

The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island: Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, and Satsuma.

Today’s Kyūshū Region (九州地方 kyūshū-chihō) is a politically defined region that consists of seven prefectures on Kyūshū and Okinawa Prefecture to the south:

The world’s 37th largest island by area, Kyūshū is smaller than Spitsbergen but larger than New Britain and Taiwan. By population, it ranks 13th, having fewer inhabitants than Borneo or Sulawesi, but more than Salsette or Cuba.

By population, the largest city on the island is Fukuoka with its 1.4 million inhabitants; Fukuoka is a major business center with a large international airport as well as one of the five stock exchanges in Japan. Kitakyūshū is a designated city and major center for heavy industries, populated by slightly less than a million. Kumamoto and Kagoshima are the island’s third and fourth largest cities with over half a million people each. Nagasaki has one of Japan’s oldest international ports, which was the only gateway to the outside world during the Edo period, from the mid 16th to the mid 18th centuries. Nagasaki is also famous for being hit by one of the atom bombs at the end of WWII.

Economy and climate

Parts of Kyūshū have a subtropical climate, particularly Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures. Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, and soy; silk is also widely produced. The island is noted for various types of porcelain, including Arita, Imari, Satsuma, and Karatsu. Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals and metal processing.