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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kumamoto Prefecture to the southwest, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the south.
Ōita is the capital and largest city of Ōita Prefecture, with other major cities including Beppu, Nakatsu, and Saiki. Ōita Prefecture is located in the northeast of Kyūshū on the Bungo Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Ōita Prefecture is famous for its hot springs and is a popular tourist destination in Japan for its onsens and ryokans, particularly in and around the city of Beppu.
History
- the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia
Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi Province, Hi Province, Kumaso Province and Toyo Province.
Toyo Province was later divided into two regions, upper and lower Toyo Province, called Bungo Province and Buzen Province.
After the Meiji Restoration, districts from Bungo and Buzen provinces were combined to form Ōita Prefecture. These provinces were divided among many local daimyōs and thus a large castle town never formed in Ōita. From this time that whole area became known as "Toyo-no-kuni", which means "Land of Abundance".
The origins of the name Ōita are documented in a report from the early 8th century called the . According to the document, when Emperor Keikō visited the Kyushu region, stopping first in Toyo-no-kuni, he exclaimed that 'This is a vast land, indeed. It shall be known as Okita-Kuni!' Okita-Kuni, meaning "Land of the Great Fields", later came to be written as "Ōita". Present day interpretations based on Ōita's topography state that Oita's name comes from "Okita", meaning "many fields", rather than "vast" or "great" field, because of Ōita's complex terrain.[1]
In the Edo period (1603–1867) the town of Hita was the government seat for the entire domain of Kyushu, which was directly controlled by the national government or shōgun at that time. The region became well known for the money-lending industry based out of Hita. Merchants in Hita's Mameda and Kuma districts worked with the national government to create this money-lending industry known as Hita-kin.
Notable people
- Ōtomo Sōrin (1530–1587): The Otomo family ruled over the Funai Domain, which is present day Ōita City, in the 16th century. Funai was a very internationalized city which engaged in trade and exchange with other nations. Sōrin, the 21st leader of the Ōtomo clan, embraced Western culture enthusiastically and invited the missionary Francis Xavier to the city to promote Christianity. Sōrin dreamed of creating a Christian nation; he was baptized and given the name "Don Francisco". Sōrin died in Tsukumi.
- Miura Baien (September 1, 1723 – April 9, 1789): A scholar originally known as Susumu but called Baien after the name of his private school where he educated many scholars. Miura developed his own system of logic and wrote many works including his three famous words, , , and . He also worked in a hospital and had a good knowledge of astronomy. He hand made an astronomical globe that was passed down through many generations.[1] He spent his entire life in Tominaga Village which is the present day area of Aki Town in Kunisaki City. Miura Baien is considered one of Ōita's three sages along with Hoashi Banri and Hirose Tansō.
- : Miura Baien's pupil who expanded his academic ability into many fields including Confucianism, natural sciences, medicine and language. He taught himself Dutch to reference scientific publications for his eight-volume work Kyuritsu, which was considered the top work of Western natural science in Japan at that time. In 1832 he was made Minister for the Feudal Lord to fix the financial problems of the Hiji clan.[1] Banri Hoashi is considered one of Ōita's three sages along with Miura Baien and Hirose Tansō.
- : A Confucian scholar, poet and educator from a money-lending family in Hita. Ōita's current governor Katsusada Hirose is a descendant of Tansō Hirose. In Edo period Japan, education was limited to samurai families and the rich. However, Hirose Tansō opened a school called meaning "all are welcome" and admitted students regardless of social status, age, or education level. The school's methodology of a "self-administered work-study policy" is said to have had great influence on the modern day education system in Japan. Former Prime Minister Kiyoura Keigo was educated here, with other students who went on to become influential scholars, artists and politicians. The school's remains were designated a historical site in 1932 and are a couple blocks from the original Hirose family house, where the Hirose Museum is. There, Tansō Hirose and other family members’ works are on display, with other original Hirose artifacts, hina dolls, tea ceremony utensils and more. Both are in Mameda Town, about a 10-minute walk from Hita Station. Tansō Hirose is considered one of the Oita's three sages along with Miura Baien and Hoashi Banri. An asteroid called 10009 Hirosetanso discovered by the University of Tokyo in 1977 was named after Tansō Hirose.
- Fukuzawa Yukichi (1834–1901): Founded Japan's oldest institute of higher education, Keio University in Tokyo. Fukuzawa Yukichi grew up in the Nakatsu domain and is pictured on the 10,000 yen bill. He was influential in Japan's education system by promoting independence and self-reliance of the Japanese people at his classes as Keio-Gijuku University, known as present day Keio University, originally a school for Western studies. The university now educates in a range of fields and produces influential and prominent alumni.
- Hiroshi Nagahama (born 1970): Veteran anime industry luminary who began his career in 1990 with Madhouse Studio as an animator and went on to direct Mushishi, Detroit Metal City, The Flowers of Evil and The Reflection, as well as serving as art director of Revolutionary Girl Utena.
- Yamamoto Tatsuo, once governor of the Bank of Japan from 1898 to 1903, was from here.
Shrines and temples
Sasamuta-jinja and Yusuhara Hachiman-gū are the chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) in the prefecture.
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