Kobe (/ˈkoʊbeɪ/KOH-bay; Japanese: 神戸, romanized: Kōbe, pronounced[koꜜːbe]ⓘ), officially Kobe City (神戸市, Kōbe-shi), is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in the Kansai region, which makes up the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay. It is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.[2] The Kobe city centre is located about 35 km (22 mi) west of Osaka and 70 km (43 mi) southwest of Kyoto.
The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201.[3][4] For most of its history, the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from Kanbe (神戸, an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine).[5][6] Kobe became one of Japan's designated cities in 1956.
Tools found in western Kobe demonstrate the area was populated at least from the Jōmon period.[10]
The natural geography 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.[11] Some of the earliest written documents mentioning the region include the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201.[3]
As the port grew during the Kamakura period, it became an important hub for trade with China and other countries. In the 13th century, the city came to be known by the name Hyōgo Port (兵庫津, Hyōgo-tsu).[11] During this time, Hyōgo Port, along with northern Osaka, composed the province of Settsu (most of today's Kobe belonged to Settsu except Nishi Ward and Tarumi Ward, which belonged to Harima).
Hyōgo Port was opened to foreign trade by the Shogunal government at the same time as Osaka on January 1, 1868, just before the advent of the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration.[14] At the time of the opening of the city for foreign trade, the area saw intense fighting resulting from the civil war in progress. Shortly after the opening of Kobe to trade, the Kobe Incident occurred, where several western soldiers sustained wounds from gunfire by troops from Bizen. The region has since been identified with the West and many foreign residences from the period remain in Kobe's Kitano area.
This nishiki-e (colored woodcut) shows a foreign steamboat entering Hyōgo Port shortly after its opening to the West in the late 19th century.
Modern era
Kobe, as it is known today, 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 Shrine, and the name "Kobe" derives from kamube (神戸, later kanbe), an archaic name for those who supported the shrine.[5][6]
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, because U.S. policy is to never disclose whether any given warship is carrying nuclear weapons. This nonproliferation policy has been termed the "Kobe formula".[16][17]
On January 17, 1995, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred at 5:46 am JST near the city. About 6,434 people in the city were killed, 212,443 were made homeless, and large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city were destroyed.[18][19] The earthquake destroyed portions of the Hanshin Expressway, an elevated freeway that dramatically toppled over. In Japan, this earthquake is known as the Great Hanshin earthquake (or the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake). To commemorate Kobe's recovery from it, the city holds an event every December called the Luminarie, where the city center is decorated with illuminated metal archways.
The Port of Kobe was Japan's busiest port and one of Asia's top ports until the Great Hanshin earthquake.[20] Kobe has since dropped to fourth in Japan and, as of 2012, was the 49th-busiest container port worldwide.
Wedged 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.
Nishi-ku: The westernmost area of Kobe, Nishi-ku overlooks the city of Akashi and is the site of Kobe Gakuin University. This ward has the largest population, with 247,000 residents.[21]
Kita-ku: Kita-ku is the largest ward by area and contains the Rokko Mountain Range, including Mount Rokkō and Mount Maya. The area is well known for its rugged landscape and hiking trails. The onsen resort town of Arima also lies within Kita-ku.
Tarumi-ku: Tarumi-ku is a mostly residential area. The second-longest suspension bridge in the world, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, extends from Maiko in Tarumi-ku to Awaji Island to the south. A relatively new addition to Kobe, Tarumi-ku was not a part of the city until 1946.
Suma-ku: Suma-ku is the site of Suma beach, attracting visitors during the summer months.
Nagata-ku: Nagata-ku is the site of Nagata Shrine, one of the three "Great Shrines" in Kobe.
Hyōgo-ku: At various times known as Ōwada Anchorage or Hyōgo Port, this area is the historical heart of the city. Shinkaichi in Hyogo-ku was once the commercial center of Kobe, but was heavily damaged during World War II, and since, Hyogo-ku has lost much of its former prominence.
Chūō-ku: Chūō (中央) literally means "central" and, as such, Chūō-ku is the commercial and entertainment center of Kobe. Sannomiya, Motomachi and Harborland make up the main entertainment areas in Kobe. Chūō-ku includes the city hall and Hyōgo prefectural government offices. Port Island and Kobe Airport lie in the southern part of this ward.
Higashinada-ku: The easternmost area of Kobe, Higashinada-ku borders the city of Ashiya. The man-made island of Rokko makes up the southern part of this ward.
Chūō-ku, seen by night from Mt.Suwa observation deck
Panorama of Kobe from Mt.Suwa observation deck
Climate
Kobe has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) with hot summers and cool to cold winters. Precipitation is significantly higher in summer than in winter, though on the whole lower than most parts of Honshū, and there is no significant snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kobe is 17.0 °C (62.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,277.8 mm (50.31 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.6 °C (83.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 6.2 °C (43.2 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Kobe was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F) on August 5, 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) on February 27, 1981.
Climate data for Kobe (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1896−present)
As of September 2007, Kobe had an estimated population of 1,530,295 making up 658,876 households. This was an increase of 1,347 persons or approximately 0.1% over the previous year. The population density was approximately 2,768 persons per square kilometre, while there are about 90.2 males to every 100 females.[27] About thirteen percent of the population are between the ages of 0 and 14, sixty-seven percent are between 15 and 64, and twenty percent are over the age of 65.[28]
Approximately 44,000 registered foreign nationals live in Kobe. The four most common nationalities are Korean (22,237), Chinese (12,516), Vietnamese (1,301), and American (1,280).[28]
As of 2004[update], the city's total real GDP was ¥6.3 trillion, which amounts to thirty-four percent of the GDP for Hyōgo Prefecture and approximately eight percent for the whole Kansai region.[30][31]Per capita income for the year was approximately ¥2.7 million.[30] Broken down by sector, about one percent of those employed work in the primary sector (agriculture, fishing and mining), twenty-one percent work in the secondary sector (manufacturing and industry), and seventy-eight percent work in the service sector.[28]
The value of manufactured goods produced and exported from Kobe for 2004 was ¥2.5 trillion. The four largest sectors in terms of value of goods produced are small appliances, food products, transportation equipment, and communication equipment making up over fifty percent of Kobe's manufactured goods. In terms of numbers of employees, food products, small appliances, and transportation equipment make up the three largest sectors.[32]
There are over 100 international corporations that have their East Asian or Japanese headquarters in Kobe. Of these, twenty-four are from China, eighteen from the United States, and nine from Switzerland.[8] Some prominent corporations include Eli Lilly and Company, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble,[37]Tempur-Pedic, Boehringer-Ingelheim, and Toys "R" Us. In 2018, April, Swift Engineering USA, an American aerospace engineering firm established their joint venture in Kobe called Swift Xi Inc.
The city of Kobe directly administers 169 elementary and 81 middle schools, with enrollments of approximately 80,200 and 36,000 students, respectively.[45] If the city's four private elementary schools and fourteen private middle schools are included, these figures jump to a total 82,000 elementary school students and 42,300 junior high students enrolled for the 2006 school year.[28][46][47]
Kobe also directly controls six of the city's twenty-five full-time public high schools including Fukiai High School and Rokkō Island High School. The remainder are administered by the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education.[45][48] In addition, twenty-five high schools are run privately within the city.[49] The total enrollment for high schools in 2006 was 43,400.[28]
Kobe is home to eighteen public and private universities, including Kobe University, Kobe Institute of Computing and Konan University, and eight junior colleges. Students enrolled for 2006 reached 67,000 and 4,100, respectively.[28] Kobe is also home to 17 Japanese language schools for international students, including the international training group Lexis Japan.
The city is widely associated with cosmopolitanism and fashion, encapsulated in the Japanese saying, "If you can't go to Paris, go to Kobe."[50] The biannual fashion event Kobe Fashion Week, featuring the Kobe Collection, is held in Kobe.[51] The jazz festival "Kobe Jazz Street" has been held every October at jazz clubs and hotels since 1981.[52] It also hosts both a Festival, as well as a statue of Elvis Presley, the unveiling of which was heralded by the presence of former Prime Minister of JapanJunichiro Koizumi. Kobe is well known in Japan as being a city for the affluent, as many high-end stores and mansions line its streets.
Kobe also hosted the World Darts Federation World Cup in October 2017. The event was held in the Exhibition Hall in Port Island with over 50 countries competing.
A memorandum of understanding on the possible establishment of sister city relations in the future was concluded in 2019 with Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.[59]
^ ab"Number of foreign corporations with headquarters in Kobe passes 100." (Japanese) in Nikkei Net, retrieved from NIKKEI.netArchived July 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine on July 3, 2007.
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![Hyōgo Port in the 19th century[15]](File:Viewofkobe.PNG)
