Yamaguchi, city (1990 pop. 129,461), capital of Yamaguchi prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan. A great castle city from the 14th to 16th cent. and the site of many Buddhist temples and a mission established (1550) by St. Francis Xavier, it is now a commercial center. Yamaguchi prefecture (1990 pop. 1,556,286), 2,359 sq mi (6,110 sq km), has good lumber and agricultural resources, and fishing and stock-raising are important. Other industries include iron, steel, and coal.

Yamaguchi (山口, "mountain entrance/gateway") is the 15th most common Japanese surname. It can refer to:

Real people

• Adam Yamaguchi American television correspondent and producer at Current TV
• Billy Yamaguchi Famed Feng Shui Hairstylist and creator of hair product line.
• Eri Yamaguchi (born 1973), Japanese long-distance runner
• Erina Yamaguchi Japanese gravure idol
• Gogen Yamaguchi (1909 - 1989), Japanese karateka
• Goro Yamaguchi (1933 - 1999), world famous Japanese shakuhachi musician
• Hideko Yamaguchi, plaintiff foster mother in Sweden v. Yamaguchi, a famous international family law trial.
• Hitomi Yamaguchi (1923 – 1995), popular Japanese novelist and essayist
• Jun Yamaguchi, (born 1967) Japanese composer
• Kappei Yamaguchi, Japanese seiyū
• Kayo Yamaguchi (1899 - 1984), Japanese painter
• Keiji Yamaguchi, (creature technical director: Industrial Light & Magic)
• Koichi Yamaguchi, bicycle framebuilder
• Kosuke Yamaguchi, underwater hockey player/finswimmer
• Kristi Yamaguchi, Japanese American figure skater
• Makoto Yamaguchi (origami artist)
• Masakatsu Yamaguchi, plaintiff foster father in Sweden v. Yamaguchi, a famous international family law trial.
• Mayumi Yamaguchi (born 1975), Japanese seiyū
• Momoe Yamaguchi (born 1959), former Japanese pop singer, actress and idol
• Motohiro Yamaguchi (born 1969), Japanese football midfielder
• Noboru Yamaguchi (1901 - 1942), second kumicho, or Godfather, of the Yamaguchi-gumi
• Otoya Yamaguchi (1943 - 1960), Japanese ultranationalist best known for his assassination of Inejiro Asanuma
• Roy Yamaguchi, Japanese-American chef
• Ryōta Yamaguchi (born 1969), Japanese anime screenwriter
• Seigo Yamaguchi (1924 - 1996), Japanese aikidoka
• Shigehiro Yamaguchi, Japanese actor
• Shinji Yamaguchi, Japanese mangaka
• Takayuki Yamaguchi, Japanese seiyū
• Tamon Yamaguchi (1892 - 1942), Japanese Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
• Tomoko Yamaguchi (born 1964), Japanese actress and singer
• Taro Yamaguchi (born 1970), Japanese seiyū
• Wally Yamaguchi, Japanese professional wrestling personality, better known in the U. S. as the manager of Kai En Tai in World Wrestling Entertainment
• Yuki Yamaguchi, Japanese sprinter
• Yuriko Yamaguchi (born 1965), Japanese seiyū
• Yuriko Yamaguchi (born 1948), Japanese-American sculptor
• Yutaka Yamaguchi (born 1940), Japanese businessman and economist

Places

• Yamaguchi Prefecture, westernmost prefecture of Honshū island of Japan
• Yamaguchi-shi, city, capital of Yamaguchi Prefecture
• Yamaguchi-mura, village in Nagano Prefecture
• Yamaguchi Station, JR West railway station located in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Fictional Depictions

• Kumiko "Yankumi" Yamaguchi, character of Yukie Nakama in Gokusen
• Yamaguchi-sensei, doctor in the manga/anime series Fighting Spirit
• USS Yamaguchi was destroyed at the Battle of Wolf 359.

Other

• Yamaguchi Bank, major regional bank in Japan, primarily in the Yamaguchi prefecture
• Yamaguchi Broadcasting Co. (later named KRY), Japanese television and radio broadcasting company serving the city of Yamaguchi and Yamaguchi Prefecture.
• Yamaguchi-gumi, yakuza group
• Sweden v. Yamaguchi, a highly complex decision in international family law which touches on questions in law still unresolved over fifty years later.

See also

• Japanese name