From top left: Katsurahama, Statue of Sakamoto Ryoma, View of Kōchi from Mt. Godai, Yosakoi Festival, Harimayabashi, Tosa Electric Railway,Kōchi Castle
Kōchi (高知市,Kōchi-shi;Japanese pronunciation:[koꜜː.tɕi,koː.tɕi̥ꜜ.ɕi],locally[koː.tɕi][2]) is the capitalcity ofKōchi Prefecture located on the island ofShikoku in Japan. With over 40% of the prefectural population, Kōchi is the main commercial and industrial centre and the "primate city" of the prefecture. As of 1 April 2023[update], the city had an estimated population of 311,224 in 163,479 households, and a population density of 1,000 persons per km2.[3] The total area of the city is 309.00 square kilometres (119.31 sq mi).
Kōchi is located on the southern coast of Kōchi Prefecture, facing the Pacific Ocean to the south. The city area can be divided into three distinct geographic sections. The urban centre lies at the head ofUrado Bay, in a narrowalluvial plain crossed by several rivers, notably theKagami River andKokubu River. The plain is bounded by mountains to the north and a range of hills to the south and west.
The northern mountains form the least densely populated part of the city, with the only settlement being along narrow river valleys. The highest point in Kōchi is Kuishi-yama at 1,176 metres (3,858 ft).
To the south of the city centre, Urado Bay cuts through the hills to its outlet into the Pacific Ocean. The land surrounding the bay and a small strip of the coastline form the third part of the city. This area, although hillier and less dense than the plain, is nevertheless a major location of housing and port-relatedindustry.
Kōchi has a very wethumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa), receiving twice as much rainfall as Shikoku's other chief citiesMatsuyama andTakamatsu. It is also the mosttyphoon-prone of Japan's major cities owing to its location directly exposed to the open Pacific Ocean from which the storms enter the country, and has twice received over 50 cm (20 in) of rainfall in a day from a typhoon.
Climate data for Kochi (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1886-present)
Per Japanese census data,[6] the population of Kōchi increased rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s before peaking around the year 2000 and going into decline.
As with all of Kōchi Prefecture, the area of Nahari was part of ancientTosa Province. The river plain now containing the city centre was originally settled as acastle town aroundKōchi Castle, the seat of thedaimyō ofTosa Domain. The castle site was chosen byYamauchi Kazutoyo in 1601 to replace the earlier seats of theChōsokabe clan who had previously ruled in province. The city takes its name from that of the castle. As the centre of administration for the province, and the prefecture which succeeded it, the town rapidly grew to become the largest settlement of the region.
During the time of theMeiji Restoration, Kōchi became famous as a centre of pro-imperial ideology, and later for incubating democratic andhuman rights movements. The city was incorporated on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system..
Tram service began in the city on May 2, 1904, and the city was connected to the nationalrail network on November 12, 1951.
Kōchi was selected as a target by the United States'XXI Bomber Command because of the city's status as a prefectural capital, and the fact that it was a centre for industry and commercial trade. On July 3, 1945, at 6:22 pm (JST) 129 aircraft took off to bomb Kōchi. 1060 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on Kōchi, destroying 48% of the built up areas of the city, killing 401 civilians and rendering over 40,000 homeless.[7]
Kōchi has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 42 members. The current mayor (since 2023) is Ryugo Kuwana.[8]
Kōchi contributes 15 members to the Kōchi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Kōchi 1st district and Kōchi 2nd districts of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
Kōchi has 39 public elementary schools, 17 public middle schools and one public high school operated by the city government, one private and one national elementary school, and five private combined middle/high schools. The city has eight public high schools administered by the Kōchi Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates one middle school and one combined middle/high school.
Kōchi is located on theJR Shikoku'sDosan Line connecting it to northern Shikoku, and via interchanges with theTosa Kuroshio Railway to the eastern and western parts of Kōchi Prefecture. JR's central station in Kōchi isKōchi Station.
The most visible form of transport within Kōchi is the tram service run byTosaden Kōtsū. Its three lines with historic cars service the major north–south and east–west axes of the city.
Kōchi Castle still exists in its pre-restoration form, and is one of the main tourist attractions. Other places of interest in the city centre are the Obiyamachi (帯屋町) shopping arcade, the regular Sunday street markets which are close to a kilometre in length, andHarimayabashi (はりまや橋), a bridge that featured in a famous Kōchi song about the forbidden love of a Buddhist priest.
Off Museum Road (Kenritsu Bijutsukandori) isThe Museum of Art, Kōchi, where the main collection is composed of expressionistic works related to Kōchi.[10]
At the mouth of Urado Bay, the remnants of Urado Castle (an earlier provincial seat) stand aboveKatsurahama, a famous beach with an aquarium and statue of the Kōchi heroSakamoto Ryōma.
Kōchi's most famous festival is theYosakoi which is held in August. Teams of dancers dance to traditional and modern songs at various places around Kōchi. The total number of dancers is in the thousands.
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