Kyushu

Kyūshū
Native name:
九州
October 2009 NASA satellite image of Kyushu
Kyushu region of Japan and the current prefectures on the island of Kyushu
Geography
LocationEast Asia
Coordinates33°N 131°E / 33°N 131°E / 33; 131
ArchipelagoJapanese Archipelago
Area36,782.37[1] km2 (14,201.75 sq mi)
Area rank37th
Coastline12,221 km (7593.8 mi)
Highest elevation1,791 m (5876 ft)
Highest pointMount Kujū[2]
Administration
Prefectures Fukuoka Prefecture
 Kagoshima Prefecture
 Kumamoto Prefecture
 Miyazaki Prefecture
 Nagasaki Prefecture
 Ōita Prefecture
 Okinawa Prefecture
 Saga Prefecture
Largest settlementFukuoka
Demographics
Population12,650,847 (as of June 2022)
Pop. density307.13/km2 (795.46/sq mi)
Ethnic groupsJapanese
Additional information
Time zone
Map

Kyūshū (九州, Kyūshū, pronounced [kʲɯꜜːɕɯː] , lit. 'Nine Provinces') is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands).[3][4] In the past, it has been known as Kyūkoku (九国, "Nine Countries"), Chinzei (鎮西, "West of the Pacified Area") and Tsukushi-no-shima (筑紫島, "Island of Tsukushi"). The historical regional name Saikaidō (西海道, lit. West Sea Circuit) referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. Kyushu has a land area of 36,782 square kilometres (14,202 sq mi) and a population of 14,311,224 in 2018.[5]

In the 8th-century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference island1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Kujū-san, Japan". Peakbagger.com.
  3. ^ "離島とは(島の基礎知識) (what is a remote island?)". MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original (website) on 2007-11-13. Retrieved 9 August 2019. MILT classification 6,852 islands(main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands)
  4. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kyūshū" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 588, p. 588, at Google Books
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference thoughtco was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Nussbaum, "Dazaifu" in p. 150, p. 150, at Google Books; Dazaifu