Kitakyushu (北九州市,Kitakyūshū-shi;Japanese pronunciation:[kʲi̥.ta.kʲɯꜜː.ɕɯː,kʲi̥.ta.kʲɯː.ɕɯꜜː.ɕi][2]) is acity located inFukuoka Prefecture,Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island ofKyushu, after the city ofFukuoka. It is one of Japan's 20designated cities, one of three on Kyushu, and is divided into sevenwards.
Sited at the northern tip of Kyushu, Kitakyushu was formed in 1963 from a merger of municipalities centered on the historic city ofKokura, and its name literally means "North Kyushu". It is located on theKanmon Straits, separating the island fromHonshu, across from the city ofShimonoseki inYamaguchi Prefecture. Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki are connected by numerous transport links including theKanmon Bridge and the Kanmon Tunnels (Roadway,Railway, andShin-Kanmon).
View of the city fromMount Sarakura, with the Kanmon Straits in the background.
The city of Kitakyushu was established on February 10, 1963, as anagglomeration of the five cities ofMoji,Kokura,Wakamatsu,Yahata, andTobata.[3] It was elevated to the status ofdesignated city on April 1 of that year, becoming the first such city outside of theTokyo,Osaka, andNagoya metropolitan areas.[4] At the time of its foundation, it had a population of more than one million people, and until it was overtaken by the city ofFukuoka in 1979, it wasKyushu's most populous city. Kitakyushu's current administrative, economic and transport hub is located inKokurakita-ku, the heart of the former Kokura city. It is centred aroundKokura station, which is served by theSan'yō Shinkansen high-speed railway, and is Kitakyushu's main shopping and entertainment district. The city's symbol mark is a flower with theChinese character "north" (北,kita) in the middle and five petals representing the each of its constituent cities.
Because of its proximity to theKanmon Straits, and by extension, the Japanese main island ofHonshu, Kitakyushu has long served as the gateway to Kyushu, and as a transport hub.[5] Kitakyushu is the starting point for Kyushu's railway and road network. In theEdo period, Kitakyushu was the northern terminus of theNagasaki Kaidō, a highway linkingNagasaki, the only port in Japan open to foreign trade under the policy ofsakoku, with Honshu.[6] During theMeiji period, railways were constructed from the 1880s, along with the ports of Moji and Wakamatsu.[5] Yahata, located on theDōkai Bay, was originally nothing more than a fishing village.[7] Its proximity to coal deposits in the surroundingChikuhō region, and good sea links to sources of iron ore inChina, led to it being chosen as the site for theYahata Steel Works, which opened in 1901. This was the hub of Japan's nascent steel industry, and the surrounding area on the coast of the Dōkai Bay andGenkai Sea emerged as the focal point of Japan's pre-Second World War industrialisation.[8] By 1913, Yahata was responsible for 85% of Japan's total steel output; the city's population grew from 6,652 in 1901 to 100,235 in 1920.[9] In recognition of the area's contributions to Japan's industrial history, several historical sites in the city, including the head office of the steel works, were recognised byUNESCO in 2015 as part of the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining".
The five cities that now constitute Kitakyushu developed in competition with each other during Japan's period of industrialisation, and each carried its own unique industrial profile.[10] With its railway and sea links, Moji, centred onMojikō station, was a hub for international trade and food processing. Kokura, an oldcastle town, was known for its defence industry. Wakamatsu's railway and port complex served as the largest coal shipment hub in Japan. Yahata was dominated by the steel industry. Tobata was home to coal-related industries, textile plants, and a fishing industry. While they vary in size, each of the former cities retains its own urban centre to this day.[10][7]
Kitakyushu's character as the heart of Japanese industry made it a target forstrategic bombing during theSecond World War. 75Boeing B-29 Superfortresses were despatched from mainland China to attack Yahata on June 16, 1944, in thefirst American bombing of the Japanese home islands.[11] Kokura was the primary target of the nuclear weapon "Fat Man" on August 9, 1945. MajorCharles Sweeney had orders to drop the bomb visually. All three attempts failed when he was unable to identify the target clearly due to clouds and smoke from Yahata, which had suffered air raids on the previous day. Additionally, a smoke screen was created by industrial workers burning barrels of coal tar and/or electric plant workers releasing steam.[12][13] The bomb was ultimately dropped on the city ofNagasaki, the secondary target, at 11:02 JST.
Extensive damage to industrial infrastructure during the war left the region in ruins, with residents suffering from malnutrition. Kitakyushu's industrial revival would come with the outbreak of theKorean War in 1950, when military demand for steel put production at the Yahata Steel Works into overdrive.[14] In the following years, Kitakyushu's development continued to be driven byheavy industry, such as steel and metalworking, and these industries helped driveJapan's post-war economic boom.[10] Like in other major Japanese cities, industrial development in Kitakyushu resulted in severe air and water pollution in the post-war period.[15] In the 1960s, the Dōkai Bay was known as the "Sea of Death" due to severe water pollution caused by industrial runoff, which meant that no living organisms were present in its waters.[16] Eventually this issue was overcome after activism by civic groups, such as theTobata Women's Association, which resulted in public-private co-operation to curb pollution.[15]
As heavy industries like steel began to decline in the 1970s due to factors such asthe two oil shocks and tighter environmental regulations,[17] Kitakyushu reoriented its economy toward the service sector.[18] While steel and other industries continued to play a central role in Kitakyushu's economy, the number of people employed in these sectors sunk during the latter half of the twentieth century: over the period from 1965 to 1988, 27,713 jobs were lost in the iron and steel sector alone.[19] With its history of overcoming pollution, Kitakyushu pivoted towards a new role as a centre for green industry,[20] and now proclaims itself an "environmental city".[21] The municipal government established theKitakyushu Film Commission to attract the film and television industries to the city, promoting a further diversification of its economy.[22] After a restructuring of the Yahata Steel Works byNippon Steel, part of the complex was redeveloped into a theme park calledSpace World, which opened in 1990. This project aimed to improve the city's image, and promote tourism.[23]
As a nexus of land and sea transport, Kitakyushu'stertiary (service) sector exceeded neighbouring Fukuoka's in scale until the end of the 1960s, and the regional branches of most Japanese companies, such as newspapers, banks, and trading firms, were located in the city.[24] At the time, Kitakyushu was the economic heart of Kyushu. It was its largest industrial city, and home to vibrantsecondary and tertiary sectors. This would change, however, with the modal shift from railway to air transport. Kitakyushu had no airport capable of handling largejet aircraft until the opening ofKitakyushu Airport in 2006; Fukuoka, on the other hand, has long been home to amajor airport within its city limits. Businessmen travelling from Tokyo head offices to Kyushu now found Fukuoka a more convenient locale;[24] when the San'yō Shinkansen opened withHakata as its terminus in 1975, Fukuoka's status as an economic centre was elevated even further. As an example, theYomiuri Shimbun moved its regional headquarters in western Japan from Kitakyushu to Fukuoka in 2004. While the regional branches of theAsahi andMainichi newspapers have retained their corporate registration in Kitakyushu, actual operations have been moved to offices in Fukuoka.
The city was subject to decades ofYakuza-related violence and crime, to the point that it became known in Japan as "the city of never-ending conflict" (修羅の国,shura no kuni).[25] A member of theKudo-kai group threw a hand grenade into a crowded Kokura nightclub in August 2003, an incident that sparked a concerted effort to root out the violent groups and suppress criminal activity in the city.[26] The number of criminal offences committed in Kitakyushu peaked in 2002, with 35,280 cases recorded in that year; by 2023, action taken by the local authorities brought the number of cases down by 87%, with only 5,109 recorded.[26]
Kitakyushu's population peaked at 1,680,000 in 1979; even at the height of thebubble economy during the late 1980s, its population had started to decline slightly.[27] With the Kitakyushu industrial area's decline in significance, the move towards a service economy, transfer of branch offices to Fukuoka, and the increasing concentration of people in areas with advanced educational facilities such as Fukuoka, Keihanshin, and Tokyo, Kitakyushu's population has continued to fall. In 2020, the city's ageing rate reached 30.6%, the worst of any designated city in Japan, and population decline is becoming a serious issue.[28] However, suburbs such asKanda andYukuhashi have seen population increases, and there has been some growth in the urban centre ofKokurakita-ku. Furthermore, in 2023 and 2024, the number of businesses moving to Kitakyushu exceeded those who chose Fukuoka, and its startup rate rose to the highest across Japan.[29]
As of 1 October 2018[update], the city had an estimatedpopulation of 945,595 and a total area of 491.95 km2 (189.94 sq mi).[30] The averagepopulation density is 1,922 persons /km2 (4,980/sq mi). It is now the country's 15th most populated city.[30] It has a much larger total area than that ofFukuoka which is only 343.39 km2 (132.58 sq mi).[30]
Kitakyushu is divided into sevenwards (ku), whose boundaries are based on those of the five municipalities that joined to form the city in 1963.In 1974, the original Kokura-ku and Yahata-ku were divided into Kokurakita and Kokuraminami, and Yahatanishi and Yahatahigashi respectively.[31]
Along with the forming the centre of its own metropolitan area,[34] Kitakyushu also comprises part of broader Kanmon region, which includes the city ofShimonoseki inYamaguchi Prefecture, on opposite side of theKanmon Straits.[35] It is also part of theFukuoka–Kitakyushu Greater Metropolitan Region, together with Fukuoka. The Fukuoka–Kitakyushu region is the 4th largest economic area in Japan, after Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Kitakyushu itself is the 13th largest city in Japan, and the 2nd largest in Fukuoka Prefecture, after the prefectural seat, Fukuoka.[36] Together with Fukuoka, it is designated as aNational Strategic Special Zone.[37] As of 2010, theGDP in Greater Kitakyushu, KitakyushuMetropolitan Employment Area was US$55.7 billion.[38][39]
Located at a strategic position on the south side of theKanmon Straits, Kitakyushu is an important transport hub for traffic betweenHonshu andKyushu and has a large port.
TheKitakyushu Airport opened on March 16, 2006. It is larger than the previousKokura Airport and supports 24-hour operations thanks to its location on an artificial island in theSeto Inland Sea. There are plans to connect the airport withKokura Station via a rail link. A new airline based in the city calledStarFlyer began operations when the airport opened. The airport has flights to Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo-Haneda.
The other nearby airport isFukuoka Airport which is located 82 km away from the city and that airport primarily connects to other major airports in Japan and the world.
Mojikō Station inMoji-ku is the northern terminus of the Kagoshima Main Line, the most important line in the JR Kyushu network.
A tram network operated by theNishi-Nippon Railroad known as the Kitakyushu Line once operated in the city; after dwindling passenger numbers in the 1970s the line was shut down in stages between 1980 and 2000. A railway using tram cars, theChikuhō Electric Railroad, runs betweenKurosaki-Ekimae andChikuhō-Nōgata stations, servingYahatanishi-ku and the neighbouring city ofNōgata.
The metropolitan area of Kitakyushu is covered by theKitakyushu Expressway, which has five routes serving the city, totalling 53 kilometres (33 mi) of four-lane expressways. Some of these expressways are elevated, especially around the city center. Route 1 serves the city center, while route 2 serves the port area. Route 3 is a short connector between routes 1 and 2, and route 4 is the longest of the Kitakyushu Expressway network, serving most of the city from north to south. Route 5 is a short link serving the inner port area.
In addition, Kitakyushu is bypassed by theKyushu Expressway, the main north–south route on the island of Kyushu. The newHigashikyushu Expressway begins in Kitakyushu and runs along the eastern coast of Kyushu. North of Kitakyushu, the Kyushu Expressway crosses the six-laneKanmonkyo Bridge and turns into theChūgoku Expressway, the second longest in Japan, serving western Honshu.
There are several bridges in Kitakyushu and between the city and other places. The largest ones are theKanmonkyo Bridge linking Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki (on Kyushu and Honshū respectively) via theKanmon Straits and theWakato Bridge linking the wards of Tobata and Wakamatsu. There are smaller bridges over theOnga River on the western border of the city.
Kokura Castle in central KokuraNight view of Kitakyushu from Mount Sarakura
Kokura Castle (小倉城,Kokura-jō) was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki in 1602. It was the property of the Ogasawara clan (from Harima) between 1632 and 1860. The castle was burnt down in 1865 in the war between the Kokura and Choshu clans.
Hiraodai (平尾台; lit. Flat Tail Plateau) karst plateau and Mount Adachi (足立山,Adachi-san) in Kokura Minami ward andMount Sarakura (皿倉山,Sarakura-san) andKawachi Dam (河内貯水池,Kawachi-chosuichi) in Yahata Higashi ward are noted walking areas with fine scenery.
The limestone outcroppings on Hiraodai are said to resemble grazing sheep, so the plateau, the highest in Kyushu at 400–600 meters, is also known as the Yogun Plain.Some of the limestone caverns are open to the public.[48] The area contains the Sugao and Nanae Waterfalls. Sugao is about 20 meters. Nanae means "seven stages".
The Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) opened in May 1997 by formerJapan Foundation chief curator Nobuo Nakamura and Akiko Miyake. The centre has shown works of internationally renowned artists such asMaurizio Cattelan andAnri Sala, and runs an internationally acclaimed studio programme for emerging artists.
The 1958 comedyRickshaw Man is based on a local folk hero of Kokura called Muhomatsu or "Wild Pine" and has been called the Japanese "Desperado". He is celebrated in the Kokura Gion Yamagasa festival. Toshiro Mifune plays thetaiko drum in this movie.
Kitakyushu is featured in the late 2012Call of Duty: Black Ops II game developed byTreyarch and published byActivision as a DLC map calledMagma. In the map the city has been abandoned due to a volcanic eruption, and parts of the city are completely covered in lava.
The Rising Sun International Film Festival (RSIFF) has taken place in Kitakyushu each November since 2020, with screenings taking place in the Brick Hall and the Kitakyushu Beer and Brick Museum in Moji in its first two editions. It features many Asian and Japanese premieres.[49][50] For the third edition in 2022, another venue was added, the Tanga Table inKokura,[51] and in 2023, screenings were also held at the Theater Enya in the city ofKaratsu, with special guest, Hong Kong actressStephy Tang, presented with a special Award for Career Achievement.[52]
As of 2025[update] the festival takes place in both Kitakyushu at the Brick Hall and Karatsu at Theater Enya over four days in November, and offers several awards in various categories of films.[53]
It has been designated as an intangible cultural asset of Fukuoka Prefecture. People spin highly decorated "battle floats" as they pull them through the streets.[54]
Tobata Gion (July)
People carry yamagasa (tiered floats decorated with flags by day and lanterns by night) on their shoulders.
Kokura Gion (July)
People pullyamagasa parade floats along the street.
All the Gion festivals date back about 400 years. They were instituted to celebrate surviving an epidemic.[55]
Moji Minato Festival (May)
This port-city festival involves colourfully costumed people pulling floats through the streets.[56]
Wakamatsu Minato Festival (July)
This port-city festival celebrates fire, drums, andkappa (mythical amphibious creatures who love cucumbers).[57]
Wasshoi Hyakuman Festival (August)
TheWasshoi Hyakuman Natsumatsuri brings all the festivals together for a grand parade and finale near City Hall inKokura Kita ward. Kitakyushu was formed by the merging of Kokura, Yahata, Wakamatsu, Moji, and Tobata. As a result, the city began, on its tenth anniversary, to combine these local festivals into one. On the 25th anniversary, it was renamed Wasshoi Hyakuman because the city population had reached one million.
Green Park Flea Market (monthly, except August and December)
The novelistMori Ōgai lived inKokura for years and his house is open to the public inKokura Kita ward. He wroteKokura Nikki (Kokura Diary) here. It is a ten-minute walk fromKokura Station.
^"五区から七区へ"(PDF).市政だより (in Japanese). City of Kitakyushu. January 15, 1974. p. 4. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on September 7, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 13, 2025.
^"会社概要." StarFlyer. Retrieved on December 20, 2010. "本社 〒800-0306 福岡県北九州市小倉南区空港北町6番 北九州空港スターフライヤー本社ビル"
^"Company Profile." StarFlyer. Retrieved on May 26, 2009. Location Shin-Kokura Bldg., 2-2-1 Komemachi Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyusyu-shi Fukuoka 802-0003 JPN
^"会社概要." StarFlyer. March 24, 2008. Retrieved on December 20, 2010. "本社 〒802-0003 福岡県北九州市小倉北区米町二丁目2番1号 新小倉ビル JR小倉駅より徒歩10分."
^Mishima, Kohei (2016). "専属的な受託生産企業の発生と存続のメカニズム ―自動車産業におけるトヨタとトヨタ九州の委託生産関係―" [The mechanism of exclusive contractor firms' formation and existence: a contract manufacturing relationship between Toyota and Toyota Kyushu in the automotive industry].Akamon Management Review (in Japanese).15 (2). Global Business Research Center:79–87.doi:10.14955/amr.150201.ISSN1347-4448.
^姉妹・友好都市の紹介 [Introduction of sisters · friendship cities].City of Kitakyushu (in Japanese). Archived fromthe original on September 6, 2019. RetrievedJanuary 25, 2015.
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