Mine, Yamaguchi
Encyclopedia
is a city
Cities of Japan
||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 located in Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

History

The city was founded on March 31, 1954 by a merger of municipalities that departed from Mine District
Mine District, Yamaguchi
was a district located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.On March 20, 2008, the day before its dissolution, the district consisted solely of the towns of Mitō and Shūhō .-History:...

 (Mine-gun).

On March 21, 2008, the city merged with the rest of Mine District
Mine District, Yamaguchi
was a district located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.On March 20, 2008, the day before its dissolution, the district consisted solely of the towns of Mitō and Shūhō .-History:...

, which consisted of towns Mitō
Mito, Yamaguchi
was a town located in Mine District, Yamaguchi, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 6,270 and a density of 48.42 persons per km². The total area is 129.49 square kilometers....

 and Shūhō
Shuho, Yamaguchi
was a town located in Mine District, Yamaguchi, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 6,196 and a density of 53.89 persons per km²...

, while the newly merged city retained the name, Mine.

Yamaguchi Prefecture consisted of seven counties which were integrated into the two provinces of Suō
Suo Province
was a province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Suō bordered on Aki, Iwami, and Nagato Provinces....

 and Nagato
Nagato Province
, often called , was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces....

 in the 7th century. During the rise of the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 class in the Heian
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 and Kamakura
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....

 Periods (794–1333), the Ouchi family of Suō Province and the Koto family of Nagato Province gained influence as powerful warrior clans. In the Muromachi 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 of Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

. They gained great wealth through cultural imports from the continent and trade with Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 and Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 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 by Mōri Motonari
Mori Motonari
was a prominent daimyō in the west Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century.-Early years:Mōri Motonari was born under the name Shojumaru in a small domain of Aki province in 1497. He is said to have been born at Suzuo Castle, his mother's homeland...

, and the Mōri family gained control of the Chugoku region
Chugoku region
The , also known as the , is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. It has a population of about 7.8 million.- History :...

. Yamaguchi was ruled as part of the Mōri clan
Mori clan
The Mōri clan was a family of daimyō, descended from Ōe no Hiromoto and established themselves in Aki Province. Their name was derived from a shōen in Mōri, Aikō District, Sagami Province. The generation of Hiromoto began to name themselves Mōri.After the Jōkyū War, Mōri was appointed to the jitō...

 domain during the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

. Mōri Terumoto
Mori Terumoto
Mōri Terumoto , son of Mōri Takamoto and grandson and successor of the great warlord Mōri Motonari, fought against Toyotomi Hideyoshi but was eventually overcome, participated in the Kyūshū campaign on Hideyoshi's side and built Hiroshima Castle, thus essentially founding Hiroshima.Terumoto was a...

 was then defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
 was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara  in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...

 in the battle of Sekigahara 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 in Hagi
Hagi, Yamaguchi
is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan and was incorporated as a city on July 1, 1932. Formerly part of Abu District.On March 6, 2005, the former city of Hagi merged with the towns of Susa and Tamagawa, and the villages of Asahi, Fukue, Kawakami and Mutsumi to form the new city of Hagi.Iwami Airport...

. Mōri sought to strengthen the economic base of the region and increase local production with his Three Whites campaign (salt, rice, and paper).

After Commodore Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (naval officer)
Matthew Calbraith Perry was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy and served commanding a number of US naval ships. He served several wars, most notably in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854...

's opening of Japan, clans from Nagato (also called Chōshū) played a key role in the fall of the Tokugawa
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 shogunate and the establishment of the new imperial government.
Four years after the Edo Shogunate was overthrown and the Meiji 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 around agriculture during this period. In the Taisho period
Taisho period
The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...

, from 1912 to 1926, shipbuilding, chemical, machinery, and metal working plants were built in Yamaguchi's harbors in the Seto Inland Sea area. During the post-World War II Shōwa Period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...

, Yamaguchi developed into one of the most industrialized prefectures in the country due to the establishment of petrochemical complexes.

Attractions

  • Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park, which includes the and Japan’s longest cave, the , the latter of which is designated a Special Natural Monument. Akiyoshidai is served by a natural history museum, visitor center, rest house, youth hostel and park headquarters building, and is traversed by a scenic roadway and several walking trails. Events include a fireworks festival in July, a “Karst Walk” in November, and an annual burning off of dry grasses in February called “Yamayaki”.

  • Akiyoshido, . Towards the southern end of Akiyoshidai is the Akiyoshido cave
    Cave
    A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

    , named by Emperor Hirohito on May 30, 1926 when he was still crown prince
    Crown Prince
    A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

    . This spacious cave is up to 100 meters wide and has 8.79 kilometers of passages, making it the longest in Japan and one of the longest in Asia. At the present time an approximately one-kilometer-long section of the cave is open to the public as a sightseeing course, with a walkway and bridge system, entering at the cave's lowest point and exiting via an artificial elevator. This portion of the cave is also well decorated with a variety of large and colorful speleothem
    Speleothem
    A speleothem , commonly known as a cave formation, is a secondary mineral deposit formed in a cave. Speleothems are typically formed in limestone or dolostone solutional caves.-Origin and composition:...

    s.

Geology

The plateau consists of uplifted reef limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

s of Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...

 age, which were thickened by overfolding
Fold (geology)
The term fold is used in geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. Synsedimentary folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in...

 during the Akiyoshidai orogenic movement. Subsequent erosion has created an undulating karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

 landscape dimpled with many doline
Doline
Doline can refer to:* Doline , a village in the Kanjiža municipality, Serbia.* Sinkhole, a natural depression or hole in the surface topography caused by the removal of soil or bedrock, often both, by water....

s and countless limestone pinnacles up to two meters in height. Beneath the surface lie hundreds of caves, a few of them quite significant geologically.
Numerous fossils of Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

 age have been found in these caves, including those of the Japanese rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....

, Stegodon
Stegodon
Stegodon , is a genus of the extinct subfamily Stegodontinae of the order Proboscidea. It was assigned to the family Elephantidae , but has also been placed in Stegodontidae . Stegodonts were present from 11.6 mya to 4,100 years ago...

t elephant, Naumann elephant
Palaeoloxodon
Palaeoloxodon is an extinct subgenus of elephants, containing the various species of straight-tusked elephant. Its species' remains have been found in Bilzingsleben, Germany; Cyprus; Japan; Sicily; Malta; and recently in England during the excavation of the second Channel Tunnel. The English...

, Young tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

, and numerous other animals from the last interglacial period.

The area around Akiyoshidai was once heavily forested about 500,000 years ago. In the Jōmon period
Jomon period
The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...

, the area served as a hunting ground and the bottoms of sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...

s as vegetable fields. Numerous Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...

 artifacts have been recovered. As farming began in Japan, the local people eventually replaced the forested landscape with Japanese pampas grass
Pampas Grass
Cortaderia selloana, commonly known as pampas grass, is a tall grass native to southern South America, including the pampas after which it is named, and Patagonia....

 for feeding their animals and thatching houses. Repeated cycles of burning the grass have kept trees from growing back since.

Trains

  • West Japan Railway Company
    West Japan Railway Company
    , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...

    (JR Nishi Nihon) stations
    • Mine Line
      Mine Line
      The is a railway line of West Japan Railway Company between San'yō-Onoda and Nagato all within Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Due to heavy rainstorm flooding in July 2010, although repairs are underway, service on the whole Mine Line has been suspended for the foreseeable future .-Stations:All...

      • Atsu Station
        Atsu Station
        is a train station in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.- Surroudings :* Chūgoku Expressway Mine-Nishi I.C.* Mazda Mine Proving Ground - Adjacent stations :...

      • Shirōgahara Station
        Shirogahara Station
        is a train station in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

      • Minami-Ōmine Station
        Minami-Omine Station
        is a train station in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The station previously served the closed Ōmine Branch Line.- Adjacent stations :...

      • Mine Station
        Mine Station
        is a train station in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

      • Shigeyasu Station
        Shigeyasu Station
        is a train station in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

      • Ofuku Station
        Ofuku Station
        is a train station in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...


Prefectural symbols

  • Tree: Red pine tree
    Japanese Red Pine
    The Japanese Red Pine has a home range that includes Japan, Korea, northeastern China and the extreme southeast of Russia . This pine has become a popular ornamental and has several cultivars, but in the winter it becomes yellowish. The height of this tree is 20–35 m...

     (Pinus densiflora)
  • Flower: Bitter summer mandarin blossom
    Amanatsu
    is a yellowish orange citrus fruit, a group of cultivars of natsumikan , which were discovered in 1740 in the Yamaguchi prefecture of Japan. Natsumikan is about the size of grapefruit and oblate in shape. The fruit contains 12 segments and about 30 seeds.Natsumikan is grown commercially in Japan,...

     (Citrus natsudaidai)
  • Bird: Hooded crane
    Hooded Crane
    The Hooded Crane, Grus monacha is a small, dark crane. It has a grey body. The top of the neck and head is white, except for a patch of bare red skin above the eye...

     (Grus monacha)
  • Fish: Tetraodontidae (Takifugu rubripes)
  • Beast: Sika Deer
    Sika Deer
    The Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...

     (Cervus nippon nippon)

Famous people from Yamaguchi

  • Kido Takayoshi
    Kido Takayoshi
    , also referred as Kido Kōin was a Japanese statesman during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. He used the alias when he worked against the Shogun.-Early life:...

    , one of the two main architects of the Meiji Restoration
  • Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
    Shinzo Abe
    was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...

     represented first Yamaguchi's 1st then 4th district in the House of Representatives
    House of Representatives of Japan
    The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...

    ; his father represented Yamaguchi as well.
  • Atsushi Tamura
    Atsushi Tamura
    is a famous Japanese comedian from Hiko Island near Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.He and his partner, , form the known as . Though the two share the same surname, there is no family relation. The pair started their career by performing comedy on the streets of Tokyo.-Early life:Before...

     of the comic duo London Boots Ichi-go Ni-go
    London Boots Ichi-go Ni-go
    London Boots Ichi-gō Ni-gō are a Japanese comedy duo that originally performed manzai-style stand-up, but now are mainly known for their TV appearances and as hosts of a handful of off-the-wall variety shows...

     is from Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi.
  • Teruzane Utada
    Teruzane Utada
    is a Japanese music executive producer and attendant.He married Junko Utada and worked as her attendant. Their daughter and only child is the singer Hikaru Utada, one of Japan’s most successful pop music singers of all time. The couple have been married and divorced to each other seven times. He...

     music producer, manager and father of Utada Hikaru
    Utada Hikaru
    , known by her stage name Utada in America and Europe, is a Japanese-American singer, song writer, arranger, and producer. Since the release of her Japanese debut album First Love, which went on to become the best-selling album in Oricon history, Utada has had three of her Japanese studio albums...

     is from somewhere in Yamaguchi Prefecture, as mentioned on the latter's blog.
  • Sayumi Michishige
    Sayumi Michishige
    is a sixth generation member of the J-pop group Morning Musume and has the third longest tenure of any member in the group ....

    , a Japanese idol who is one of the 6th generation members of Japanese idol group Morning Musume
    Morning Musume
    , sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...

     was also born in Yamaguchi.
  • Raizo Tanaka
    Raizo Tanaka
    was a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during most of World War II. A specialist in the heavy torpedoes that were carried by all the destroyers and cruisers of the IJN, Tanaka mainly commanded destroyer squadrons, with a cruiser or two attached, and he was the primary leader of the...

    , a Japanese rear admiral during World War II. Tanaka was the commander of the Midway invasion force and later made famous for his efforts to keep Japanese forces on Guadalcanal in supply with the "Tokyo Express."
  • Prime Minister Naoto Kan
    Naoto Kan
    is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...

     was born in Ube
    Ube, Yamaguchi
    is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan on the Seto Inland Sea.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 179,000 and the density of 622 persons per km². The total area is 287.69 km².The city was founded on November 1, 1921....

     in 1946.
  • Karyu, guitarist of the band D'espairsRay is from Yamaguchi. The band had a "homecoming" live there in 2007 and 2009.
  • Harukichi Yamaguchi
    Harukichi Yamaguchi
    was the founder of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which grew to become Japan's largest and most powerful yakuza organization.Yamaguchi established the group in Kobe in 1915, and was its kumicho or Godfather until his death in 1925, when he was succeeded by his son Noboru Yamaguchi....

    , founder of the Yamaguchi-gumi
    Yamaguchi-gumi
    is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....

    ,born near Kobe but his entire family hailed from Yamaguchi.
  • Shintaro Abe
    Shintaro Abe
    was a Japanese politician from Yamaguchi Prefecture.He was the eldest son of member of Parliament Kan Abe and son-in-law of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. He was married to Yoko Kishi, daughter of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. His second son, Shinzō Abe, became Prime Minister of Japan on September...

    , former Minister of Foreign Affairs and General Secretary of the LDP.
  • Itō Hirobumi
    Ito Hirobumi
    Prince was a samurai of Chōshū domain, Japanese statesman, four time Prime Minister of Japan , genrō and Resident-General of Korea. Itō was assassinated by An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist who was against the annexation of Korea by the Japanese Empire...

    , a samurai
    Samurai
    is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

     of Chōshū domain, Japanese statesman, four time Prime Minister of Japan (the 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th), genrō
    Genro
    was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen, considered the "founding fathers" of modern Japan, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor, during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods in Japanese history.The institution of genrō...

     and Resident-General of Korea
    Resident-General of Korea
    When Korea was a protectorate of Japan, Japan was represented by the Resident-General.- List of Japanese Residents-General :#Itō Hirobumi#Sone Arasuke#Terauchi Masatake...

    .
  • Yasunori Mitsuda
    Yasunori Mitsuda
    is a Japanese video game composer, sound programmer, and musician. He has composed music for or worked on over 35 games, and has contributed to over 15 other albums...

    , Composers

External links

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