Kumamoto Prefecture

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Lore & Background

Historically, the area was called Higo Province; the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system. The current Japanese orthography for Kumamoto literally means 'bear root/origin,' or 'origin of the bear.' However, Man'yōgana-like phonetic transcriptions based on the kanji for 'a ball, a sphere' (球) and 'to polish, to grind, to brush (one's teeth)' (磨) are used for the names of the Kuma River (球磨川) and Kuma District (球磨郡). The Kuma element also appears in the ancient Kumaso. Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyūshū on the coast of the Ariake Sea, across from Nagasaki Prefecture, with the mainland separated from the East China Sea by the Amakusa Archipelago.

Reader's Guide

Mount Aso, an extensive active volcano in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture, is one of the world's largest active volcanoes and a major tourist attraction. The largest motorcycle production facility in the world is located in Kumamoto. In 2023, Mitsubishi Electric announced plans to spend 100 billion yen on a new semiconductor factory in Kumamoto, with a target start date of April 2026. Tourism is bolstered by Kumamoto Castle, Suizenji Park, and the Tsūjun Bridge, the largest stone aqueduct in Japan, located in Yamato. The prefecture has a mascot named 'Kumamon', a black bear with red cheeks, who was created to attract tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. Kumamoto Prefecture hosted the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship, having previously hosted the 1997 World Men's Handball Championship. Its sister state is Montana in the United States, and its sister city is San Antonio, Texas.

Did You Know?

• The name Kumamoto literally means 'bear root/origin,' but the Kuma River and Kuma District use phonetic kanji for 'ball' and 'polish.'
• Mount Aso, at 1,592 metres above sea level, is the largest active volcano in Japan and among the largest in the world.
• The largest motorcycle production facility in the world is located in Kumamoto Prefecture.
• Tsūjun Bridge in Yamato is the largest stone aqueduct in Japan.
• Kumamoto Prefecture hosted the 1997 World Men's Handball Championship and the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship.