Shimonoseki city hallCaptured battery at Shimonoseki, 1864Kōzan-ji TempleBattle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185
Shimonoseki (Japanese:下関市,Hepburn:Shimonoseki-shi) is acity located inYamaguchi Prefecture,Japan. As of 30 June 2023[update], the city had an estimatedpopulation of 248,193 in 128,762 households and apopulation density of 350 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 716.18 square kilometres (276.52 sq mi). It is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in theChūgoku region in terms of population. It is nicknamed the "Fugu Capital" for the locally caughtpufferfish, and is the largest harvester of the pufferfish in Japan.[citation needed]
Akamagaseki city was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The city was renamed Shimonoseki on June 1, 1902.
On February 13, 2005, Shimonoseki absorbed the towns ofHōhoku,Kikugawa,Toyota andToyoura (all fromToyoura District) to create the new and expanded city of Shimonseki. Since October 1, 2005, the city has been designated as acore city by the Japanese government with increased local autonomy.[citation needed]
Shimonoseki is located at the westernmost point of Yamaguchi Prefecture and the westernmost point ofHonshu. It borders theSea of Japan to the west and theSeto Inland Sea to the south across theKanmon Straits. It is long in the north-south direction and has a fan shape that opens to the Seto Inland Sea. TheAsa River flows from the north to the central area, and the Ariho River flows from the northeast to the east, flowing southward into the Seto Inland Sea. The city hall is located on the west bank of the Ariho River mouth.
Shimonoseki has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 34 members. Shimonoseki contributes ten members to the Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of theYamaguchi 3rd district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.[9] Shimonoseki was represented byShinzo Abe, former Japanese Prime Minister, in thelower house between 1993 and 2022.
Having prospered as a port city, Shimonoseki has long had a thriving industry related to shipping, trade, and finance. It is still the center of the prefecture in terms of economy.
Shimonoseki has 41 public elementary school and 21 public junior high schools and one public high school operated by the city government. The city has nine public high schools operated by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private junior high school and five private high schools. The prefecture also operates four special education schools for the handicapped.
Shimonoseki is home to many festivals, held throughout the year. Of these, the most famous are the Shimonoseki Kaikyo Festival and Shimonoseki Bakan Festival.
ShimonosekiFugu Festival (February): Haedomari Market
^Kaempfer, Engelbert (1729).Histoire naturelle, civile et ecclésiastique de l'Empire du Japon. Tome 2 (translated by François Naudé) (in French).The Hague. p. 176.
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