Kure

Sister cities

• Jinhae district
• Wenzhou
• Daisen
• Bremerton
• Marbella

History

The area of Kure is part of ancient Aki Province, and the port of Kure was an important seaport for Hiroshima Domain in the Edo period. The Kure Naval District was first established in 1889, leading to the construction of the Kure Naval Arsenal and the rapid growth of steel production and shipbuilding in the city. Kure was formally incorporated on October 1, 1902. From 1889 until the end of the Pacific War, the city served as the headquarters of the Kure Naval District. Kure dockyards recorded a number of significant engineering firsts including the launching of the first major domestically built capital ship, the battlecruiser (1905) and the launching of the largest battleship ever built, the (1940). During the Pacific War, Kure acted as the Imperial Japanese Navy's single-largest naval base and arsenal. Most of the city's industry and workforce were employed in the service of the naval installations, munitions factories and associated support functions. In the later stages of the conflict Kure came under sustained aerial bombardment culminating in the bombing of Kure in June and July 1945. From February 1946 until the end of Japan's postwar occupation in 1952, military establishments in Kure served as the operational headquarters for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. Since 2005, Kure has attracted attention as a tourism center with the Yamato Museum hosting a 1:10 scale model of the Yamato alongside a waterfront JMSDF museum of Japanese naval history. The city continues as a major maritime center hosting both the dockyards of Japan Marine United and numerous shore-based facilities of the JMSDF including training centers and a major hospital. The city serves as the home port of an Escort Flotilla (Destroyers), a Submarine Flotilla and the Training…

Geography

Kure is located south-east of Hiroshima city and faces the Seto Inland Sea. Surrounded by steep hillsides to the north, the two major commercial and industrial centers of the city are bisected by Mount Yasumi . The city is next to the Setonaikai National Park. As well as densely populated urban and industrial centers, the city also incorporates sparsely inhabited outlying islands such as Kurahashi-jima, Shimo-kamagari, Kami-kamagari and Toyoshima. Hiroshima Prefecture *Etajima *Higashihiroshima *Kumano *Minami-ku, Hiroshima * Ōsakikamijima *Saka Kure has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year and is heaviest in summer.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

  Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  298
• Large-billed Crow

  Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 · Aves
  250
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  244
• Brown-eared Bulbul

  Hypsipetes amaurotis (Temminck, 1830) · Aves
  206
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  177
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  159
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  142
• Oriental Turtle-Dove

  Streptopelia orientalis (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  135

Most recent

• M 3.2 — 2026-04-08
  28 km NNW of Yawatahama, Japan
• M 4.3 — 2026-03-15
  27 km NW of Yawatahama, Japan
• M 4.1 — 2024-11-30
  9 km SSW of Yawatahama, Japan
• M 4.1 — 2024-06-21
  8 km NW of Masaki-chō, Japan
• M 4.9 — 2024-02-26
  18 km N of Yawatahama, Japan
• M 4.6 — 2023-09-09
  37 km ENE of Kitsuki, Japan