Kumamoto熊本県

Kumamoto-ken, くまもとけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.

Kumamoto is central Kyūshū. The Mount Aso caldera and Kumamoto Castle are here.

Open Kumamoto on the map

Facts

Japanese name

熊本県

Reading

Kumamoto-ken / くまもとけん

Region

Kyūshū-Okinawa 九州・沖縄

Capital

Kumamoto 熊本市

Population

1,738,301 (2020 census)

Area

7,409 km²

Density

235 people per km²

Municipalities

45: 14 cities, 23 towns, and 8 villages

Designated cities

Kumamoto City

Districts (郡)

9

Codes

JIS 43, ISO 3166-2 JP-43

Website

www.pref.kumamoto.jp

Tree

camphor tree クスノキ

Flower

gentian リンドウ

Bird

skylark ヒバリ

The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.

The most populous municipalities

2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 35 are listed below.

How an address here begins

The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name, then the name of one of Kumamoto's 5 wards. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.

Neighbouring prefectures

• Fukuoka福岡県
• Ōita大分県
• Miyazaki宮崎県
• Kagoshima鹿児島県

Questions about Kumamoto

Is Kumamoto a city or a prefecture?

Kumamoto (熊本県) is a prefecture, one of Japan's 47. Kumamoto City (熊本市) is a municipality inside it and its capital. On its own, the name usually means the city. With 県 on the end it means the prefecture.

What is the capital of Kumamoto?

Kumamoto City (熊本市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture. It is a designated city, divided into wards.

What does 県 mean in 熊本県?

県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.

How many municipalities are in Kumamoto?

45: 14 cities, 23 towns, and 8 villages. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. One of them is a designated city, divided into wards: Kumamoto City (5 wards). The wards are offices of the city, not governments. The towns and villages are grouped into nine districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.

What is the population of Kumamoto?

1,738,301 at the 2020 census, on 7,409 km², which is 235 people per km². Kumamoto is the 23rd most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 15th largest by area.

Which prefectures border Kumamoto?

Four prefectures: Fukuoka (福岡県), Ōita (大分県), Miyazaki (宮崎県), and Kagoshima (鹿児島県). Borders across water are not counted.

What region is Kumamoto in?

Kyūshū-Okinawa (九州・沖縄). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Kumamoto elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.

How is Kumamoto written in Japanese?

熊本県, read Kumamoto-ken and written くまもとけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.

How does an address in Kumamoto begin?

With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 熊本県熊本市… (Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, …). In Kumamoto the ward name is written after the city name, since it is a designated city. After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.

What is the largest city in Kumamoto?

Kumamoto City (熊本市), with 738,865 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Kumamoto City (熊本市, 738,865), Yatsushiro City (八代市, 123,067), and Amakusa City (天草市, 75,783).

What are the symbols of Kumamoto?

The prefectural tree is the camphor tree (クスノキ), the flower the gentian (リンドウ), and the bird the skylark (ヒバリ). Kumamoto chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.