Hyūga, Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyūshū Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Hyūga is a port city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded in 1951, with the joint merger of Tomishima Town and Iwawaki Village. It is the 4th largest city in Miyazaki Prefecture. It is the 4th largest city in Miyazaki Prefecture in terms of population. The total area of the city is 336.94 km² (130.09 sq mi).Hyūga is a port city known for the production of Go stones and for beaches, many of which are popular surfing spots.

Name Hyuga City took its name from Hyūga Province (日向国, Hyūga/Hinata no kuni), the historical name of what is now Miyazaki Prefecture. According to Japanese legend in the Nihon Shoki, following the conquest of the Kumaso people, Emperor Keikō watched the sunrise over the ocean and said "This country faces straight toward the sunrise" (この国は真っ直ぐに日の出る方に向いている, Kono kuni wa massugu ni hinoderu hou ni muite iru). From that time, the province was known as Hyuga or Hinata (the country facing the sun) until the Meiji Restoration when it was renamed Miyazaki.

Geography Hyūga is located in central Miyazaki Prefecture. It is bordered by the Hyūga Sea to the east and the Kyushu Mountains to the west. The area along Cape Hyūga with its exposed hexagonal pillar rocks and ria (saw tooth) coastline are designated as part of the Nippō Kaigan Quasi-National Park. A bit south are beaches such as Ise-ga-hama, Okura-ga-hama, and Kane-ga-hama, known for their surfing.

Neighboring municipalities Miyazaki Prefecture • Kadogawa to the north • Misato to the west • Tsuno to the south • Kijō to the southwest.

Demographics As of November 2015, Hyūga had a total population of 63,011 people; 30,150 males and 32,861 females. In 2006, Togo was merged into the city, adding about 1,750 people to the population.

Districts • Shinmachi (新町地区, Shinmachi-chiku): Shinmachi (新町) is Hyūga's downtown area. Hyūga City has been engaged in large scale urban renewal, slowly widening roads, creating new businesses, beautifying, and modernizing the city center. As such, Shinmachi is relatively new and modern. This region is centered on Hyūgashi Station. • Hososhima (細島地区, Hososhima-chiku): The southern part of Hososhima is centered on Hyūga's commercial fishing port between Komenoyama and Makishimayama. This is an older less frequented part of Hyūga. The streets are narrow and there are numerous old Edo-period buildings. The northern part of Hososhima is far more industrial. This region has several manufacturing plants and large areas for storage of goods and raw materials. Hososhima Industrial Port currently serves as the main international port in northern Miyazaki Prefecture handling materials and goods import and export in the region. Hososhima Industrial Port is designated as a Special Major Port and was selected as a focus port by the Japanese government in 2010. There continues to be major development and expansion of the port and its available services. Hososhima Port was selected by the Japanese government as Port of the Year 2015. • Mimitsu area (美々津地区, Mimitsu-chiku): Mimitsu was a port town to the south of Hyūga which merged in 1955. It is famous for washi paper and fishing. It is also supposedly the port from which the first Japanese Emperor, Jimmu, launched his military expedition to conquer Yamato and establish it as the centre of power. In the 19th century, it was a prosperous commercial port that was a hub for trade with the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe, with so many houses belonging to merchants and shipping agents crowded together that people used to refer to the thousand houses of Mimitsu (Mimitsu-sengen). It fell into sharp decline with the advent of railroads. In 1986, it was designated as a national important preservation district for groups of historic buildings, and much of the 19th-century atmosphere, including traditional buildings, earthen walls, and stone pavements, remains. • Togo (東郷地区, Togo-chiku): Tōgō was a small mountain town which merged with Hyūga on February 25, 2006. Togo was the home town of the Japanese writer Bokusui Wakayama.

History Archaeologists working in Hyūga have reported finding artifacts such as stone tools and stone piles from as much as 30,000 years ago, the Japanese Paleolithic period. There is also evidence of inhabitation during the Jōmon period. Archaeological digs uncovering pottery from this time period continue today in parts of the city.

During the Edo period, Hyūga was divided between the holdings of Nobeoka Domain and tenryō territory administered directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. Following the Meiji restoration, the town of Hososhima and villages of Iwawaki ad Tomidaka were established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Tomidaka was raised to town status on October 1, 1921. On October 1, 1937, Hososhima and Tomidaka merged to form Toshima Town. Toshima merged with Iwawaki to form the city of Hyūga on April 1, 1951.

Municipal consolidation Modern Hyūga City is a result of the merger of numerous smaller towns and villages. These mergers began at the start of the Meiji Period when the han system was abolished and the concept of towns and cities arose. This time period, between 1888 and 1889, became known as the Great Meiji Consolidation. Following this, towns continued to merge mainly due to population limitations or financial limitations. The most recent merger in 2006 with Tōgō (from Higashiusuki District) was part of the Great Heisei Consolidation. This was a government initiative to counter population declines and financial problems while promoting decentralization of the national government. This merger increased Hyuga City's population, tax money, and autonomy.

Government Hyūga has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 20 members. Hyūga contributes two members to the Miyazaki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Miyazaki 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy Hyūga is a major industrial centre, with many chemical plants belonging to the Asahi Kasei group. Other major industries include smelting, titanium production and food processing.

Education Hyūga has 13 elementary schools, seven junior high schools and three high schools. The Miyazaki Board of Education also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

High schools • Hyūga High School • Tomishima High School • Hyūga Industrial High School; Junior high schools • Iwawaki Junior High School • Zaikōji Junior High School • Daiodani Academy – Junior High School • Hyūga Junior High School • Mimitsu Junior High School • Tomishima Junior High School • Tōgō Junior High School; Elementary schools • Shiomi Elementary School • Saiwaki Elementary School • Hososhima Elementary School • Zaikōji Elementary School • Zaikōji Minami Elementary School • Daiodani Academy - Elementary School • Hichiya Elementary School • Hichiya Higashi Elementary School • Mimitsu Elementary School • Tomitaka Elementary School • Hiraiwa Elementary School • Tōgō Elementary School • Tsuboya Elementary School.

Transport: Rail JR Kyushu - Nippō Main Line • Hyūgashi - Zaikōji - Minami-Hyūga - Mimitsu.

Transport: Road • Higashikyushu Expressway • National Route 10 • National Route 327 • National Route 446 • National Route 503.

Annual cultural events • Hyottoko Summer Festival (ひょっとこ夏祭り, hyottoko natsu matsuri) takes place the first Friday and Saturday of August every year. This is the largest festival in Hyuga City attracting visitors from all over Japan. The rather peculiar dance associated with this festival is not exclusive to Hyuga City, but this is the most famous Hyottoko dance in Japan; as such it and the characters in the dance have become symbols of the city. • Hyuga Jugoya Festival (日向十五夜祭, hyuga jugoya matsuri) takes place during September or October in accordance to the harvest moon. In Hyuga City, this event features two dances, the more traditional Jugoya dance and a traditional dance specific to the Togo region. This is the second largest festival in Hyuga City.

Culture: Museums • Hyuga Historical and Folk Museum (日向市歴史民俗資料館, Hyūgashi rekishi minzoku shiryōkan) • Bokusui Wakayama Memorial Museum of Literature (若山牧水記念文学館, Wakayama bokusui kinen bungaku-kan) • Hososhima Port Museum (細島みなと資料館旧高鍋屋, Hososhima Minato shiryōkan kyū Takanabe-ya).