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Kobe

Kobe - World’s biggest city

Kobe (神戸市, Kōbe-shi?) is the capital city of Hyōgo and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1.5 million. The city is located in the and is part of the Keihanshin (京阪神, Keihanshin?) metropolitan area. Kobe is classified as one of Japan’s seventeen designated cities.The city of kobe has a whale exibit in the kyong chin exibit.

Originally known by the name Ōwada Anchorage (大輪田泊, Ōwada-no-?), earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta by Empress Jingū in 201 A.D.[1][2] For most of its history the area was never a single political entity, even during the Period, when the port was controlled directly by the Shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from “kanbe” (神戸, kanbe?), an archaic title for supporters of the city’s Ikuta .[3][4] Kobe became one of Japan’s designated cities in 1956.

Kobe was one of the first cities to open for trade with the West following the end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a . While the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake diminished much of Kobe’s prominence as a port city, it remains Japan’s fourth busiest container port.[5] Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Kobe Steel, as well as over 100 international corporations with Asia or Japan headquarters in the city such as Procter & Gamble and Nestlé.[6][7]

The city is the point of origin and namesake of as well as the site of one of Japan’s most famous hot spring resorts, Arima Onsen.
Contents
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* 1 History
o 1.1 Origins - Meiji Era
o 1.2 Modern era
* 2
o 2.1 Wards
* 3 Demographics
* 4 Economy
o 4.1 Major companies and institutes
* 5 Transportation
o 5.1 Rail
o 5.2 Road and Air
* 6 Education
* 7 Culture
* 8 Sports
* 9 Sister cities and sister ports
* 10 Gallery
* 11 References
* 12 External links

[edit] History
This Nishiki-e (Colored woodcut) shows a foreign entering Hyōgo Port shortly after its opening to the West in the late 19th century.
This Nishiki-e (Colored woodcut) shows a foreign entering Hyōgo Port shortly after its opening to the West in the late 19th century.
Hyōgo Port in the 19th century
Hyōgo Port in the 19th century[8]
The Bund in Kobe around 1890
The Bund in Kobe around 1890

[edit] Origins - Meiji Era

Stone artifacts and tools found in demonstrate that the area was populated at least from the Jōmon period.[9] The natural of the area, particularly of Wada Cape in Hyōgo-ku, led to the development of a port, which would remain the economic center of the city.[10] Some of the earliest written documents mentioning the region include the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta by Empress Jingū in 201 A.D.[1]

During the Nara and Heian periods, the port was known by the name Ōwada Anchorage (大輪田泊, Ōwada-no-?) and was one of the ports from which imperial embassies to China were dispatched.[2][9] The city was briefly the capital of Japan in 1180 when Taira no Kiyomori moved his grandson Antoku to Fukuhara in present-day Hyōgo-ku.[9] The returned to Kyoto after about five months.[2] Shortly thereafter in 1184, the Taira fortress in Hyōgo-ku and the nearby Ikuta became the sites of the Genpei War battle of Ichi-no-Tani between the Taira and Minamoto clans. The Minamoto prevailed, pushing the Taira further west.

As the port grew during the Kamakura period, it became an important hub for trade with China and other countries, and in the 13th century, the city came to be known by the name Hyōgo Port (兵庫津, Hyōgo-tsu?).[10] During this time, Hyōgo Port along with composed the province of Settsu. Later, during the Edo period, the eastern parts of present-day Kobe came under the jurisdiction of the Amagasaki Domain and the western parts under that of the Akashi Domain, while the center was controlled directly by the shogunate.[11][12] It was not until the abolition of the han system in 1871 and the establishment of the current system that the area became politically distinct.

Hyōgo Port was one of the first ports to open for trade with Western countries following the Meiji Restoration and the end of the policy of seclusion in 1868.[13] The region has since been identified with the West, and many foreign residences from the period remain in Kobe’s Kitano area.[14]

[edit] Modern era
Damage caused by the Great Hanshin Earthquake
Damage caused by the Great Hanshin Earthquake

Kobe was founded on April 1, 1889, and was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance. The history of the city is closely tied to that of the Ikuta , and the name “Kobe” derives from “kanbe” (神戸, kanbe?), an archaic name for those who supported the .[3][4]

During the course of World War II, Kobe was bombed with incendiary bombs by B-29 bombers on March 17, 1945, causing the death of 8,841 residents and destroying 21% of Kobe’s urban area (see Bombing of Kobe in World War II). It is this incident that inspired the well-known Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies and the book by Akiyuki Nosaka on which it was based.

Following continuous pressure from citizens, on March 18, 1975, the Kobe City Council passed an ordinance banning vessels carrying nuclear weapons from Kobe Port. This effectively prevented any U.S. warships from entering the port, policy being not to disclose whether any warship is carrying nuclear weapons. This nonproliferation policy has been termed the “Kobe Formula”.[15][16]

On January 17, 1995 an earthquake measuring at 7.3 on the Richter magnitude scale occurred at 05:46 am JST near the city. Nearly 4,600 people within the city were killed, 240,000 were made homeless and large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city were destroyed.[17][18] The earthquake destroyed portions of the Hanshin Expressway, an elevated freeway which dramatically toppled over. Within Japan, the earthquake is known as the Great Hanshin Earthquake (or the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake). To commemorate Kobe’s recovery from the 1995 quake, the city holds an event every December called the Luminarie, where the city center is decorated with illuminated metal archways.

Kobe was Japan’s busiest port and one of Asia’s top ports until the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred.[19] Kobe has since dropped to the fourth in Japan and thirty-eighth busiest container port worldwide (as of 2005).[5]

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Port of Kobe at twilight.
Port of Kobe at twilight.

Wedged in between the coast and the mountains, the city of Kobe is long and narrow. To the east is the city of Ashiya, while the city of Akashi lies to its west. Other adjacent cities include Takarazuka and Nishinomiya to the east and Sanda and Miki to the north.

The landmark of the port area is the red steel Port Tower. A giant ferris wheel sits in nearby Harborland, a notable tourist promenade. Two artificial islands, Port Island and Rokko Island, have been constructed to give the city room to expand.

Away from the seaside at the heart of Kobe lie the Motomachi and Sannomiya districts as well as Kobe’s Chinatown, Nankinmachi, all well-known retail areas. A multitude of train lines cross the city from east to west. The main transport hub is Sannomiya Station, with the eponymous Kobe Station located to the west and the Shinkansen Shin-Kobe Station to the north.

Mount Rokko overlooks Kobe at an elevation of 931 meters. During the autumn season, it is famous for the rich change in colors of its forests

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