Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県,Yamaguchi-ken^[a]) is aprefecture ofJapan located in theChūgoku region ofHonshu.^[3] Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112km² (2,359sq mi). Yamaguchi Prefecture bordersShimane Prefecture to the north andHiroshima Prefecture to the northeast.

Yamaguchi Prefecture 山口県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	山口県
• Rōmaji	Yamaguchi-ken
View ofIwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture fromIwakuni Castle. The famousKintai Five Bow Bridge can be seen over theNishiki River.
Flag Symbol
Anthem:Yamaguchi kenmin no uta
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku (Sanyo)
Island	Honshu
Capital	Yamaguchi
Largest city	Shimonoseki
Subdivisions	Districts: 4,Municipalities: 19
Government
• Governor	Tsugumasa Muraoka
Area
• Total	6,112.30 km2 (2,359.97 sq mi)
• Rank	23rd
Population  (February 1, 2018)
• Total	1,377,631
• Rank	25th
• Density	225.43/km2 (583.9/sq mi)
GDP [1]
• Total	JP¥ 6,350 billion US$ 58.3 billion (2019)
ISO 3166 code	JP-35
Website	www.pref.yamaguchi.lg.jp/foreign/english/index.html
Symbols of Japan
Bird	Hooded crane (Grus monacha)
Fish	Japanese puffer (Takifugu rubripes)
Flower	Bitter summer mandarin blossom (Citrus natsudaidai)
Tree	Red pine tree (Pinus densiflora)

Yamaguchi is the capital andShimonoseki is the largest city of Yamaguchi Prefecture, with other major cities includingUbe,Shūnan, andIwakuni.^[4] Yamaguchi Prefecture is located at the western tip of Honshu with coastlines on theSea of Japan andSeto Inland Sea, and separated from the island ofKyushu by theKanmon Straits.

Yamaguchi Prefecture was created by the merger of the provinces ofSuō andNagato.^[5] During the rise of thesamurai class during theHeian andKamakura Periods (794–1333), the Ouchi family of Suō Province and the Koto family of Nagato Province gained influence as powerful warrior clans. In theMuromachi period (1336—1573),Ouchi Hiroyo, the 24th ruler of the Ouchi family conquered both areas of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The Ouchi clan imitated the city planning ofKyoto. They gained great wealth through cultural imports from the continent and trade withKorea andMing Dynasty China. As a result, Yamaguchi came to be known as the "Kyoto of the West," and Ouchi culture flourished.Sue Harutaka defeated the 31st ruler of the Ouchi clan. The Sue clan was then defeated byMōri Motonari, and the Mōri family gained control of theChūgoku region. Yamaguchi was ruled as part of theMōri clan domain during theSengoku period.Mōri Terumoto was then defeated byTokugawa Ieyasu in the battle ofSekigahara in 1600. He was forced to give up all his land except for the Suō and Nagato areas (current-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), where he built his castle inHagi. Mōri sought to strengthen the economic base of the region and increase local production with his Three Whites campaign (salt, rice, and paper).

After CommodoreMatthew Perry'sopening of Japan, clans from Nagato (also calledChōshū) played a key role in the fall of theTokugawa shogunate and the establishment of the new imperial government.Four years after theEdo Shogunate was overthrown and theMeiji government formed in 1868, the present Yamaguchi Prefecture was established. The Meiji government brought in many new systems and modern policies, and promoted the introduction of modern industry, though the prefecture was still centered on agriculture during this period. In theTaishō period, from 1912 to 1926, shipbuilding, chemical, machinery, and metal working plants were built in Yamaguchi's harbors in theSeto Inland Sea area. During the post-World War IIShōwa Period, Yamaguchi developed into one of the most industrialized prefectures in the country due to the establishment of petrochemical complexes.^[6]

As of April 1, 2012, 7% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated asNatural Parks, namely theSetonaikai National Park;Akiyoshidai,Kita-Nagato Kaigan, andNishi-Chūgoku Sanchi Quasi-National Parks; andChōmonkyō,Iwakiyama,Rakanzan, andToyota Prefectural Natural Parks.^[7]

For the purposes of development analysis, Yamaguchi is construed to be part ofNorthern Kyushu. Although Yamaguchi is not part of the island ofKyushu, it has become a functional satellite of theKanmon Straits metropolitan area.^[8]

Per Japanese census data,^[9][10] Yamaguchi prefecture has had negative population growth from 1955 to 1973 and 1985–onwards, today at edge of having less than 1940 population leaving elderly behind.

The most popular place for tourism isShimonoseki, which has theKarato Fish Market and a large fireworks festival in summer.

Another attraction is theKintai Bridge in the town ofIwakuni. This five-arched wooden structure is considered a symbol of Western Honshū. The area on the banks of the Nishiki river close to the bridge is considered among the best places in Japan forHanami, when groups of family and friends gather in early April to view cherry blossoms.

Hagi City is in the north of Yamaguchi. It is a very traditional city. The usual color of Japanese post boxes is red, but in Hagi they are painted green or brown. The Hagi Museum is modeled after a traditional samurai residence. The exhibits are detailed and realistic, and are changed every year. The permanent collection is data about Hagi's history and collections aboutTakasugi Shinsaku. Hagi also contains areverberatory furnace which has been designated a World Heritage Site.^[11]

Kawara soba (hot tile noodles) is a popular dish in Yamaguchi. It was developed during theSeinan Rebellion when soldiers cooked wild grass and meat on hot tiles. Today people in Yamaguchi create this dish by frying green tea noodles on a hot tile, and arranging a thin fried egg, stewed beef, green onions, and grilled liver on top.

Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park, which includes Japan's longest cave, the Akiyoshido (秋芳洞), is another popular destination.

•  
  Akiyoshi Plateau
•  
  Kintai Bridge inIwakuni

• Kintaikyo Festival in Iwakuni - held on April 29
• Nishiki River Water Festival in Iwakuni - held in August
• Iwakuni Festival in August
• Yokomichi Festival,Kintai Bridge November 19
• Yanai Goldfish Lantern Festival in August
• Yamaguchi Gion Festival on July 20 to 27
• Yamaguchi Tanabata Lantern Festival on August 6 to 7
• Hagi Era Festival in April
• Hagi Festival on August 2 to 3
• Shimonoseki Strait Festival on May 2 to 4
• Shimonoseki Firework Festival in August^{[citation needed]}

• Baiko Gakuin University (private)
• National Fisheries University (national)
• Shimonoseki City University (public)
• Tokyo University of Science, Yamaguchi (public)
• Ube Frontier University (private)
• University of East Asia (private)
• Yamaguchi Gakugei College (private)
• Yamaguchi Prefectural University (public)
• Yamaguchi University (national)
• Yamaguchi University of Human Welfare and Culture (private)

Two ferry services provide regular sea transport from theShimonoseki Port International Terminal:Kanpu Ferry provides round-trip service toBusan, South Korea; theOrient Ferry provides round-trip service toQingdao andShanghai, respectively.

• Kanpu ferry toBusan in South Korea regularly
• Gwangyang Beech toGwangyang in South Korea regularly
• Orient ferry toQingdao in China regularly
• Orient ferry toShanghai in China regularly

• Shunan-Kunisaki,Kyushu
• Yanai-Matsuyama,Shikoku

• Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport (to Haneda Airport (Tokyo) andNaha Airport (Okinawa))
• Yamaguchi Ube Airport (toHaneda Airport (Tokyo))

• Nishikigawa Railway
• West Japan Railway Company
  • Gantoku Line
  • Onoda Line
  • Mine Line
  • Sanin Line
  • Sanyō Shinkansen
  • San'yō Main Line
  • Ube Line
  • Yamaguchi Line

• Chūgoku Expressway
• Sanyo Expressway

• Hagi Misumi Road
• Kanmon Bridge
• Yamaguchi Ube Onoda Road
• Ogori Hagi Road
• Kanmon Road Tunnel

• Route 2
• Route 9
• Route 187 (Iwakuni-Tsuwano-Masuda)
• Route 188 (Iwakuni-Yanai-Hikari-Kudamatsu)
• Route 189
• Route 190
• Route 191
• Route 262
• Route 315 (Shunan-Hagi)
• Route 316
• Route 376 (Yamaguchi-Shunan-Iwakuni)
• Route 434
• Route 435
• Route 437
• Route 489
• Route 490
• Route 491

•  
  JR Shimonoseki Station
•  
  An event trainYamaguchi inJR Yamaguchi Line
•  
  Shimonoseki International Ferry Terminal
•  
  View ofKanmon Bridge from side ofShimonoseki

• Tree:Red pine tree (Pinus densiflora)
• Flower:Bitter summer mandarin blossom (Citrus natsudaidai)
• Bird:Hooded crane (Grus monacha)
• Fish:Tetraodontidae (Takifugu rubripes)
• Beast:Sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon)
• Mascot:Choruru

• Yamaguchi Shimbun

• KRY TV (NNN)
• NHK TV
• TSS TV/TNC TV (FNN)
• TYS TV (JNN)
• YAB TV (ANN)

• FMY (JFN)

• Aikawa Yoshisuke Japanese entrepreneur, businessman, politician, and founder of the Nissanzaibatsu
• Yanai Tadashi, Japanese businessman, founder and president ofFast Retailing, of whichUniqlo is a subsidiary^[12]
• Yamaguchi Harukichi, founder of theYamaguchi-gumi, born nearKobe but his entire family hailed from Yamaguchi.
• ViscountInoue Masaru, "father of the Japanese railways", member of theChōshū Five, the first Japanese students to study in England following theopening of Japan

• Anno Hideaki, film director known forNeon Genesis Evangelion. Filmed scenes ofShiki-Jitsu in his hometown ofUbe.
• Karyu, guitarist of the bandD'espairsRay. The band had a "homecoming" in Yamaguchi in 2007 and 2009.
• Michishige, a Japanese idol who is one of the sixth-generation members of Japanese idol groupMorning Musume
• Mikami Shinji, video game designer; the God-father of the survival horror genre of video games
• Mitsutada Yasunori, composer
• Sadamoto Yoshiyuki, a Japanese character designer,manga artist, and founding member ofGainax^[13]
• Sane Kairi, professional wrestler currently signed toWWE and formerWorld Wonder Ring Stardom employee
• Shaura, singer
• Tamura Atsushi of the comic duoLondon Boots Ichi-go Ni-go is fromShimonoseki
• Urushibara Yuki,manga artist, creator ofMushishi
• Utada Teruzane, music producer, manager and father ofHikaru Utada

• Shinzo Abe,Nobusuke Kishi, andEisaku Satō, post-war Prime Ministers (56, 57, 61, 62, 63, 90, 96, 97, & 98th). They form the nucleus of the modernSatō-Kishi-Abe politcal dynasty
• PrinceItō Hirobumi, first prime minister of Japan (and the 5th, 7th & 10th),genrō, and member of theChōshū Five
• Kan Naoto, 94th Prime Minister born inUbe^[14]
• PrinceKatsura Tarō, genro, Governor General of Taiwan, Minister of War, and the 11th, 13th, & 15th Prime Minister
• BaronTanaka Giichi, Army Minister, Foreign Minister, and the 26th Prime Minister
• CountTerauchi Masatake, gensui, Governor General of Korea, and the 18th Prime Minister
• PrinceYamagata Aritomo, genro, Army Chief of Staff, and the 3rd and 9th Prime Minister

• Abe Shintaro, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and General Secretary of the LDP. Father of Shinzo Abe
• MarquessInoue Kaoru, genro, Foreign and Finance Minister, member of the Chōshū Five
• Kido Takayoshi, one of theThree Great Nobles, architects of the Meiji Restoration
• Matsuoka Yōsuke, diplomat, Foreign Minister, architect of the WWII eraTripartite Pact
• Yoshimasa Hayashi serves asMinister for Foreign Affairs since November 2021. Born inShimonoseki

• BaronArichi Shinanojō, admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Chief of theImperial Japanese Navy General Staff
• BaronArisaka Nariakira, lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army, inventor of theArisaka Rifle
• CountHasegawa Yoshimichi, Imperial Japanese Armyfield marshal andGovernor General of Korea
• Iida Shojiro, a Japanese general during World War II who led the invasions of Thailand and Burma
• CountNogi Maresuke, general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and a prominent figure in theRusso-Japanese War
• Ōmura Masujirō, "Father of the modern Japanese Army"
• ViscountŌshima Yoshimasa, Japanese Army General and Governor-General ofKwantung
• Tanaka Raizo, a Japanese rear admiral during World War II
• BaronTsuboi Kōzō, Navy Vice Admiral, commandant of the Naval Academy, distinguished at theBattle of the Yalu

• Iwatani Mayu, professional wrestler currently signed toWorld Wonder Ring Stardom
• Ishikawa Kasumi, silver medalist in Women's Team Table Tennis at the London 2012 Olympics, is from Yamaguchi City
• Kawamura Yuki,NBA player currently signed to theMemphis Grizzlies
• Masateru Kaiketsu,sumo wrestler,ōzeki, and chairman of theJapan Sumo Association 2010–2012

Yamaguchi Prefecture has alliances with the following five districts.^[15][16]

•  Bình Dương Province, Vietnam (since 2014)
•  Krasnodar Krai, Russia (since 2017)
•  Pamplona,Navarre, Spain (since 1980)
•  Shandong Province, China (since 1982)
•  South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea (since 1987)

Since theMeiji Restoration in which lower-rank nobility fromChōshū played a major role, many politicians from Yamaguchi have held important positions in national politics. In the post-war era, the most prominent political family from Yamaguchi is theKishi-Abe/Satō prime ministerial dynasty, and Yamaguchi is leaning solidly towards theLiberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Since the electoral reform of the 1990s, Yamaguchi elects four members directly to theHouse of Representatives. Three of the new single-member districts have been held exclusively by Liberal Democrats as of 2013, the easternmost district borderingHiroshima was initially won byShinji Satō (Eisaku Satō's son) in 1996, but went toDemocratHideo Hiraoka in several later elections. Currently, following the 2021 general election, Yamaguchi's directly elected delegation to the lower house consists of former LDP vice presidentMasahiko Kōmura (1st district, 12th term), the chairman of the foreign affairs committee,Nobuo Kishi (2nd district, 2nd term, former two-term member of the House of Councillors), and the chairman of the House of Representatives rules committee (as of 190th Diet, January 2016),^[17]Yoshimasa Hayashi (3rd district, 1st term). The seat for the 4th district was held by former prime ministerShinzo Abe until hisassassination in 2022, and is currently vacant. For the proportional representation segment of the House of Representatives, Yamaguchi forms part of theChūgoku block.

In theHouse of Councillors, Yamaguchi is represented by two members, making it one of the currently 31 winner-take-all single-member districts. As of 2013, the two members areYoshimasa Hayashi (LDP, 4th term, up in 2019), agriculture minister in the 2nd Abe Cabinet, and following the April 2013 by-election to replace Nobuo Kishi,Kiyoshi Ejima (LDP, 1st term, up in 2016), former mayor of Shimonoseki city.

The current governor of Yamaguchi is formerMIC bureaucratTsugumasa Muraoka. He won thegubernatorial election in February 2014 with more than 60% of the vote against other two candidates, and succeededShigetarō Yamamoto who had been hospitalized since October 2013 and resigned in January 2014.

Elected governors of Yamaguchi have been:

1. Tatsuo Tanaka, 1947–1953 (2 terms, resigned mid-term to enter national politics), the son of pre-war prime minister BaronGiichi Tanaka
2. Tarō Ozawa, 1953–1960 (2 terms, resigned mid-term to enter national politics), Tanaka's son-in-law
3. Masayuki Hashimoto, 1960–1976 (4 terms), previously member of the House of Representatives from Yamaguchi for the LDP
4. Tōru Hirai, 1976–1996 (5 terms), previously Home Affairs Ministry bureaucrat and vice-governor of Yamaguchi under Hashimoto
5. Sekinari Nii, 1996–2012 (4 terms), previously Home Affairs Ministry bureaucrat and treasurer of Yamaguchi under Hirai
6. Shigetarō Yamamoto, 2012–2014 (1 term, resigned for health reasons), former LDP candidate for the House of Representatives in Yamaguchi's 2nd district

TheYamaguchi Prefectural Assembly [ja] has 47 members, elected in unified local elections in 15 electoral districts: 5 single-member districts, four two-member districts and six districts that elect each between four and nine members.^[18] In the2015 election, the LDP won a majority. Liberal Democrats form several parliamentary groups together with independents. As of June 8, 2015, the assembly is composed as follows: LDP 24 members, LDP Shinseikai 5, Kōmeitō 5, DPJ/Rengō no Kai 4, LDP Kensei Club 2,JCP 2,SDP/Citizens League 2, and the independent "groups"shinsei club,mushozoku no kai andkusa no ne have one member each.^[19]

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005).Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge:Harvard University Press.ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5;OCLC 58053128.

• Official Yamaguchi Prefecture homepageArchived 2011-09-28 at theWayback Machine

34°4′N131°30′E / 34.067°N 131.500°E /34.067; 131.500