A city of western Honshu, Japan, an industrial suburb of Okayama on the Inland Sea. Population: 471,000.
Kurashiki
Dictionary:
Ku·ra·shi·ki (kʊ-rä'shē-kē)  |
A city of western Honshu, Japan, an industrial suburb of Okayama on the Inland Sea. Population: 471,000.
| 5min Related Video: Kurashiki |
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Kurashiki |
Kurashiki (kūrä'shēkē), city (1990 pop. 414,693), Okayama prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan. A rail junction, the city produces refined petroleum and petrochemicals, motor vehicles, textiles. and nori (a type of seaweed). The city is a center of traditional Japanese arts and crafts, and many older buildings are preserved in the historic district. There is a notable museum of Western art. The Seto-o-hashi bridge across the nearby Inland Sea connects the city to Sakaide on Shikoku.
| Wikipedia: Kurashiki, Okayama |
| Kurashiki 倉敷 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Core city — | |||
| 倉敷市 · Kurashiki | |||
 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|||
  Kurashiki
|
|||
| Coordinates: 34°35′N 133°46′E / 34.583°N 133.767°E | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Chūgoku | ||
| Prefecture | Okayama | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Kaori Itō | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 354.71 km2 (137 sq mi) | ||
| Population (Feb. 2008) |
478,176 | ||
| City Symbols | |||
| - Tree | Camphor | ||
| - Flower | Wysteria | ||
| - Bird | Kingfisher | ||
| Website | City of Kurashiki | ||
| Phone number | 086-426-3030 | ||
|
640 Nishinakashinden, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama-ken |
|||
Kurashiki (倉敷市 Kurashiki-shi) is a historic city located to the west of Okayama, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea.
As of February 2008, the city has a population of 478,176. The total area is 354.71 square kilometers (136.95 sq mi).
Contents |
History
The modern city of Kurashiki was founded on April 1, 1928. Previously, it was the site of clashes between the Heike and Genji clans during the Heian period. It gradually developed as a riverport; during the Edo period, it became an area directly controlled by the Shogunate. Distinctive white-walled, black-tiled warehouses were built to store goods. During the Meiji Restoration (Japan's Industrial Revolution period), factories were built, including the Ohara Spinning Mill which still stands as the nostalgic tourist attraction Ivy Square.[1]
On August 1, 2005, the town of Mabi, from Kibi District, and the town of Funao, from Asakuchi District, were merged with Kurashiki.
Attractions
Kurashiki is the home to Japan's first Western art museum, the Ohara Museum of Art. Established in 1930 by Magosaburō Ōhara, it contains masterpieces by El Greco, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, and Renoir. The collection also has fine examples of Asian and contemporary art. The museum itself is housed in a neo-Classical building.
The ancient merchant quarter, called the Bikan historical area. This area of the city is surrounded by almost unique examples of 17th century wooden warehouses called kura (倉) painted white with traditional black tiles, along a canal framed with weeping willows and filled with koi. The area has no electric poles in order to make the area more closely resemble the look of the Meiji period. The nearby AEON Shopping Center is a popular destination for the locals. One of the city's former town halls was located in the Kurashiki Kan, a European style building constructed in 1917.
The Tivoli theme park built in 1998, based on the theme park of the same name in Copenhagen, was closed after 10 years of operation in 2008, with a massive debt.
The Great Seto Bridge connects the city to Sakaide in Kagawa Prefecture across the Inland Sea.
Colleges and Universities
The city is home to several private universities and one public university.
- Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts
- Kurashiki Sakuyo University
- Kawasaki College of Allied Health Professions
- Kurashiki City College (public)
- Okayama College
- Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare
Sister/Friendship Cities
Kurashiki maintains the following Sister/Friendship Cities.[2]
References
- ^ "Kurashiki's History". City of Kurashiki. August 7, 2006. http://www.city.kurashiki.okayama.jp/kankou/JAPANESE%20STYLE/jp_style/CITY/history.html.
- ^ Kurashiki's Sister/Friendship Cities
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kurashiki, Okayama |
- Kurashiki travel guide from Wikitravel
- Kurashiki's official homepage
- Ohara Museum of Art website
- Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts website
- Ryokan Kurashiki's website (English)
- Kurashiki's Sister/Friendship Cities
- Kurashiki Sakuyo University (Japanese Only)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Learn More
 | Shizutaro Urabe (architecture) |
| Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts |
| Kurashiki Station |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
 |
 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kurashiki, Okayama". Read more |
ADVERTISEMENT
Mentioned in
