View source for Chūgoku region

{{Short description|Region of Japan}}
{{Redirect|Chugoku|the country named ''Chūgoku'' in Japanese|China}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->| name                            = Chūgoku region
| native_name                     = {{lang|ja|中国地方}}
| native_name_lang                = ja
| settlement_type                 = [[List of regions of Japan|Region]]
| image_skyline                   = Chugoku Region in Japan.svg
| image_alt                       = Map showing the Chūgoku region of Japan. It comprises the far-west area of the island of Honshu.
| image_caption                   = The Chūgoku region in Japan
| image_map                       = Geofeatures map of Chugoku Japan ja.svg
| map_alt                         = 
| map_caption                     = Geofeatures map of Chugoku
| pushpin_map                     = 
| pushpin_label_position          = 
| pushpin_map_alt                 = 
| pushpin_map_caption             = 
| coordinates                     = 
| coor_pinpoint                   = 
| coordinates_footnotes           = 
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = Japan
| unit_pref                       = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_footnotes                  = 
| area_total_km2                  = 31922.26
| area_land_km2                   = 
| area_water_km2                  = 
| area_water_percent              = 
| area_note                       = 
| elevation_footnotes             = 
| elevation_m                     = 
| population_footnotes            = <ref name=population>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2010/kihon1/pdf/gaiyou2.pdf |title=平成 22 年国勢調査の概要 |author=[[Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications]] Statistics Bureau |date=26 October 2011 |access-date=6 May 2012}}</ref>
| population_total                = 7,328,339
| population_as_of                = 1 October 2020
| population_density_km2          = auto
| population_est                  = 
| pop_est_as_of                   = 
| population_demonym              = 
| population_note                 = 
| demographics_type1              = GDP
| demographics1_footnotes         = <ref name="esri.cao.go.jp">{{cite web|title=県民経済計算（平成23年度 - 令和２年度）（2008SNA、平成27年基準計数）＜47都道府県、4政令指定都市分＞|url=https://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/sna/data/data_list/kenmin/files/contents/main_2020.html}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1            = Total
| demographics1_info1   = [[Japanese yen|JP￥]]30.745 trillion<br />[[US$]]282 billion
| timezone1                       = [[Japan Standard Time|JST]]
| utc_offset1                     = +9
| footnotes                       = 
| module                          = {{Maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=center|plain=y|frame-width=255|frame-height=255|zoom=6|frame-lat=35|frame-long=132.5|type=shape-inverse|stroke-width=1|stroke-color=#333333|id=Q127864|title=Chūgoku region}}
}}

The {{nihongo|'''Chūgoku region'''|[[wikt:中国地方|中国地方]]|Chūgoku-chihō|{{IPA|ja|tɕɯꜜː.ɡo.kɯ, -ŋo.kɯ, tɕɯː.ɡo.kɯ̥ tɕiꜜ.hoː, -ŋo.kɯ̥-|}}<ref name=NHK>{{cite book|script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典|publisher=NHK Publishing|editor=NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute|date=24 May 2016|lang=ja}}</ref>{{efn|The [[Japanese pitch accent|accented]] pronunciation, {{IPA|ja|tɕɯꜜː.ɡo.kɯ|}}, is specific to the names of the Chūgoku region and [[China]]. For a historical type of [[Japanese provinces]], the unaccented pronunciation, {{IPA|ja|tɕɯː.ɡo.kɯ|}}, is used instead.}}|lead=yes}}, also known as the {{nihongo|[[San'in region|San'in]]-[[San'yō region|San'yō]]|山陰山陽地方|San'in-San'yō-chihō}} region, is the westernmost [[List of regions of Japan|region]] of [[Honshu|Honshū]], the largest [[island]] of [[Japan]]. It consists of the prefectures of [[Hiroshima Prefecture|Hiroshima]], [[Okayama Prefecture|Okayama]], [[Shimane Prefecture|Shimane]], [[Tottori Prefecture|Tottori]] and [[Yamaguchi Prefecture|Yamaguchi]].<ref>Chugoku Regional Tourism Promotion Association [http://www.chugoku-navi.jp/english/outline/ "Overview of Chugoku Region"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807055403/http://www.chugoku-navi.jp/english/outline/ |date=2016-08-07 }}, ''Chugoku Regional Tourism Portal Site: Navigate Chugoku''. Accessed 15 September 2013.</ref> As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 7,328,339.

==History==
''Chūgoku'' literally means "middle country", but the origin of the name is unclear. Historically, Japan was divided into a number of [[provinces of Japan|provinces]] called ''koku'', which were in turn classified according to both their power and their distances from the administrative center in [[Kansai region|Kansai]]. Under the latter classification, most provinces are divided into {{Nihongo|"near countries"|{{linktext|近|国}}|kingoku}}, {{Nihongo|"middle countries"|中国|chūgoku}}, and {{Nihongo|"far countries"|{{linktext|遠}}国|ongoku}}. Therefore, one explanation is that ''Chūgoku'' was originally used to refer to the collection of "middle countries" to the west of the capital. However, only five (fewer than half) of the provinces normally considered part of Chūgoku region were in fact classified as middle countries, and the term never applied to the many middle countries to the east of Kansai. Therefore, an alternative explanation is that ''Chūgoku'' referred to provinces between Kansai and [[Kyūshū]], which was historically important as the link between Japan and mainland Asia.

Historically, ''Chūgoku'' referred to the 16 provinces of {{Nihongo|[[San'indō]]|山陰道}} and {{Nihongo|[[San'yōdō]]|山陽道}}, which led to the region's alternative name described below. However, because some of the easternmost provinces were later subsumed into prefectures based primarily in Kansai, those areas are, strictly speaking, not part of the Chūgoku region in modern usage.

In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], the characters {{linktext|lang=ja|中国}} and the reading ''Chūgoku'' are also used to mean "[[China]]". The same [[Chinese character|characters]] are used in [[Chinese language|Chinese]] to refer to China, but pronounced ''Zhōngguó'' in [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], lit. "Middle Kingdom" or "Middle Country" ([[Wade Giles]]: ''Chung<sup>1</sup>-kuo<sup>2</sup>''). It is similar to the use of the [[West Country]] in English for a region of England. However, before the end of the [[Second World War]], China was more commonly called {{Nihongo|''[[Shina (word)|shina]]''|支那/シナ|extra=which shares the same etymology of the word "China" in English}} in order to avoid confusing the Chūgoku region. Due to the extensive use of this word during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Sino-Japanese War]], the term ''shina'' has become an [[ethnic slur|offensive word]] and was abandoned thereafter, and ''Chūgoku'' has since then been used instead of ''shina''. In modern times, primarily in the tourism industry, for the same purpose, the Chūgoku region is also called the "San'in‐San'yō region". [[San'in region|San'in]] ("yin of the [[Chūgoku Mountains|mountains]]") is the northern part facing the [[Sea of Japan]]. [[San'yō region|San'yō]] ("yang of the mountains") is the southern part facing the [[Seto Inland Sea]]. These names were created using [[Yin and yang#Toponymy|the ''yin'' and ''yang''‐based place‐naming scheme]].

The city of [[Hiroshima]], the "capital" of the Chūgoku region, was rebuilt after [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|being destroyed]] by an [[atomic bomb]] in 1945, and is now an industrial metropolis of more than one million people.

[[Overfishing]] and [[pollution]] reduced the productivity of the Inland Sea fishing grounds; and [[San'yo region|San'yo]] is an area concentrated on [[heavy industry]]. In contrast, [[San'in region|San'in]] is less industrialized with an [[agriculture|agricultural economy]].

==Geography==
[[File:Chugoku-Region-Shikoku-Japan-ISS-Space.png|thumb|250px|Chūgoku region and [[Shikoku]] seen from the [[International Space Station]]]]
[[File:Chugoku Region Japan 2018.png|thumb|250px|Chūgoku, satellite photo]]
The Chūgoku region consists of the following prefectures: [[Hiroshima Prefecture|Hiroshima]], [[Yamaguchi Prefecture|Yamaguchi]], [[Shimane Prefecture|Shimane]], and [[Tottori Prefecture|Tottori]]. [[Okayama Prefecture|Okayama]] is also included, although only [[Bitchū Province]] was considered a "middle country" (中国); [[Mimasaka Province]] and [[Bizen Province]], the other two components of modern-day Okayama, were considered "near countries" (近国). [[Kyūshū]], [[Shikoku]], and [[Kansai region|Kansai]] neighbor the Chūgoku region.

The Chūgoku region is characterized by irregular rolling hills and limited plain areas and is divided into two distinct parts by mountains running east and west through its center.

== Demographics ==
The two largest metropolitan areas in Chūgoku region are [[Hiroshima]] and [[Okayama]] whose total population of the two metropolitan areas amount to 2.808 million as of 2020.<ref>[https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/204585/hiroshima/population#:~:text=The%20current%20metro%20area%20population,a%200.05%25%20decline%20from%202017. Hiroshima metro]</ref><ref>[https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/21656/okayama/population Okayama metro]</ref>
Their [[Urban Employment Area]] amounts to around 3 million people for the Chūgoku region. The rest of Chūgoku region is sparsely populated and very rural.

Per Japanese census data,<ref>[http://www.citypopulation.de/Japan-Hiroshima.html Hiroshima 1995-2020 population statistics]</ref><ref>[http://www.demographia.com/db-japanpref.htm Chūgoku region 1920-2000 population statistics]</ref> the Chūgoku region as a whole has experienced a steady population decline since 1992, with some prefectures within the region experiencing declines since 1985. The region reached a peak population of roughly 7.8 million in 1991.

{{Historical populations
| 1920 |  4,971,000 
| 1930 |  5,341,000
| 1940 |  5,718,000
| 1950 |  6,797,000
| 1960 |  6,944,000
| 1970 |  6,997,000
| 1980 |  7,586,000
| 1990 |  7,746,000
| 2000 |  7,732,499
| 2010 |  7,563,428
| 2020 |  7,328,339
|align = none
| footnote = 
}}

==Cities==
;Designated cities
*[[Hiroshima]] (population: 1,200,000)
*[[Okayama]] (population: 720,000)
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Hiroshima-beautiful view to the city and Inland sea - panoramio.jpg|[[Hiroshima|Hiroshima City]]
File:Okayama Station west side - panoramio.jpg|[[Okayama|Okayama City]]
</gallery>
;Core cities
*[[Kurashiki]] (population: 480,000)
*[[Fukuyama, Hiroshima|Fukuyama]] (population: 460,000)
*[[Shimonoseki]] (population: 260,000)
*[[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure]] (population: 220,000)
*[[Matsue]] (population: 210,000)
*[[Tottori, Tottori|Tottori]] (population: 200,000)
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Kurashiki - panoramio - Nagono.jpg|[[Kurashiki|Kurashiki City]]
File:1 Chome-8 Marunouchi, Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima-ken 720-0061, Japan - panoramio (2).jpg|[[Fukuyama, Hiroshima|Fukuyama City]]
File:Station square of Shimonoseki station 01.JPG|[[Shimonoseki|Shimonoseki City]]
File:呉駅前 Around the Kure station - panoramio.jpg|[[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure City]]
File:R01-matsue-at-night.jpg|[[Matsue|Matsue City]]
File:Tottori castle08 1920.jpg|[[Tottori, Tottori|Tottori City]]
</gallery>
;Other major cities
*[[Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi|Yamaguchi]] (population: 200,000)
<gallery mode="packed">
File:View in front of south entrance of Shin-Yamaguchi Station 2.jpg|[[Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi|Yamaguchi City]]
</gallery>

== Transport ==
The region's largest airport is [[Hiroshima Airport]] which is located {{convert|50|km|abbr=on}} east of [[Hiroshima]], there are also smaller airports across the regions including [[Iwami Airport]], [[Izumo Airport]], [[Okayama Airport]], [[Yonago Kitaro Airport]], [[Oki Airport]], [[Tottori Airport]], and [[Yamaguchi Ube Airport]].

==Fiction==
* [[Gillian Rubinstein|Lian Hearn]] used a [[feudalism|feudal]] Chūgoku (translated as the ''Middle Country'') as the setting for her ''[[Tales of the Otori]]'' trilogy.
* In ''[[B. Ichi]]'', Chūgoku is referred to as "the land of martial arts".

==See also==
* [[Chūgoku dialect]] and [[Umpaku dialect]]
* [[Geography of Japan]]
* [[List of regions in Japan]]
* [[Names of China]]
* [[San'in region]]
* [[San'yō region]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Country study|country=Japan|abbr=jp|editor-last1=Dolan|editor-first1=Ronald E.|editor-last2=Worden|editor-first2=Robert L.|date=1992 |pd=yes}}
* Tony Gibb ''By Bike around Chugoku''

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Chugoku}}
* [http://www.anchorage.jp/setouchi/index.html Information about Chugoku and Seto Inland Sea regions]
* [http://www.into-you.jp/en/ Into You WEST JAPAN Chugoku]

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{{Regions and administrative divisions of Japan}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chugoku Region}}
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[[Category:Chūgoku region| ]]