Kobe

Kobe
/koh"bee/; Japn. /kaw"bee"/, n.
a seaport on S Honshu, in S Japan. 1,367,392.

* * *

City (pop., 2000 prelim.: 1,493,595), west-central Honshu, Japan.

It is situated on Ōsaka Bay and occupies a narrow shelf of land between mountains and the sea. With neighbouring cities Ōsaka and Kyōto, it is the centre of a major industrial zone. Until the Meiji Restoration it was only a fishing village, but it grew rapidly in the late 19th century. It was severely bombed during World War II and was entirely rebuilt after 1945. It suffered a major earthquake in 1995. Kōbe is an important Japanese port and a centre of shipbuilding and steel production; it is the seat of Kōbe University.

* * *

Japan
 city and capital of Hyōgo ken (prefecture), west-central Honshu, Japan. Kōbe, its neighbouring city Ōsaka, and nearby Kyōto are the centres of the Keihanshin Industrial Zone, the second largest urban and industrial agglomeration in Japan.

      A brief treatment of Kōbe follows. For full treatment, see Ōsaka-Kōbe metropolitan area.

      Kōbe is situated at the eastern end of the Inland Sea on Ōsaka Bay, about 20 miles (30 km) west of Ōsaka. The city is confined to a narrow shelf of land between the Rokkō Mountains to the north and the sea to the south. Kōbe's climate is temperate, with cool winters and hot, humid summers; annual rainfall is about 54 inches (1,360 mm). The area is subject to typhoons in September that occasionally are disastrous. On January 17, 1995, Kōbe was struck by a powerful earthquake that damaged or destroyed about 100,000 buildings in the metropolitan area and left more than 5,000 people dead.

      The street pattern of Kōbe reflects its location between the mountains and the bay: main streets run east-west, crossed by short north-south streets. The coastline has been altered by reclamation for port facilities and industries. The central shopping street, Motomachi, runs between the city's two major railway stations, while the central business district is near the harbour.

      Kōbe's port has long been one of the most important in Japan; in the early 1970s it was combined administratively with that of Ōsaka. In addition to its prominence in shipping, Kōbe is preeminent among Japanese cities in shipbuilding and steel production. The city is served by a dense network of freight and commuter rail lines, including Shinkansen bullet trains. Express highways also link Kōbe with Ōsaka, Kyōto, and Nagoya. The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge at the time of its completion in 1998, links Kōbe with the island of Awaji, in Ōsaka Bay, and another road bridge connects Awaji Island to the city of Naruto on Shikoku.

      There are several institutions of higher education in Kōbe, including Kōbe University and Hyōgo University of Education. The Inland Sea National Park in the Rokkō Mountains is accessible by motor road or by cable car; its recreational facilities include a golf course, ponds for swimming, and a spa at Arima. Area 213 square miles (551 square km). Pop. (2005) 1,525,393.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kōbe — shi 神戸市 Geographische Lage in Japan …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kōbe — shi (神戸市) Administration Pays Japon Région Kansai Préfecture Hyōg …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kobé — Kōbe Kobe shi (神戸市) Pays …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Kôbe — Kōbe Kobe shi (神戸市) Pays …   Wikipédia en Français

  • KOBE — KOBE, port on Osaka Bay, Japan. Before World War I a small number of Jews, mainly from the Middle East and Europe, carried on their business activities in Kobe; the Jewish community increased slightly with the advent of refugees from the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Kobe — Kōbe (En japonés: 神戸市; shi) es una ciudad del Japón, localizada en la isla de Honshu. Kobe es la capital de la prefectura de Hyogo y es uno de los puertos de mayor importancia. Se encuentra en la región Kansai de Japón, al sudoeste de Osaka y fue …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • KOBE — may refer to: * KOBE (AM), an AM radio station in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States * Okeechobee County Airport in Okeechobee, Florida, United Statesee also*Kobe (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

  • Kōbe — Kōbe,   Hauptstadt der Präfektur Hyōgo auf der Insel Honshū, Japan, 1,45 Mio. Einwohner; malerisch, wenn auch gedrängt mit 25 km Längenausdehnung zwischen dem Rokkōgebirge (932 m über dem Meeresspiegel) und der Ōsakabucht der Inlandsee gelegen;… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Kobe — Kobe, Hauptstadt eines Ken (Distrikts) der japan. Provinz Setsu, an der Südküste der Insel Nippon, 36 km westlich von Osaka, mit dem es durch die Küstenbahn verbunden ist, bildet mit dem westlicher gelegenen Hiogo, von dem es durch das meist… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Kobe — Kobe, Vorstadt der japan. Stadt Hiogo (s.d.) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Kôbe — v. et port du Japon (Honshû); ch. l. de ken et port sur la baie d Ôsaka; 1 419 860 hab. Import. centre industr. En janv. 1995, la ville a été ravagée par un séisme (5 000 morts) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”