KUMAMOTO

city and prefectural capital, Kumamoto ken (prefecture), central Kyushu, Japan. Kumamoto has long been the largest and most influential city of central Kyushu. It is known for its castle and for Suizenji Park, which is one of the three most famous gardens in Japan. The original castle was partly destroyed in 1877, but restoration was undertaken in 1960. The castle contains a museum of city history, with ancient Japanese armour and other relics. Suizenji Park was built in 1632 by the priest Gentaku, under the auspices of the Hosokawa family, which ruled the region. A university was founded in Kumamoto in 1949. The Japanophile Lafcadio Hearn lived for some years in Kumamoto. The main industries of the city are textiles, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, and foodstuffs. Pop. (1994 est.) 642,847. ken (prefecture), located in central Kyushu, Japan, facing the Amakusa Sea and including the Amakusa Archipelago. The city of Kumamoto (q.v.) is the prefectural capital. Kumamoto ken is predominantly agricultural and produces rice surpluses for northern Kyushu's industrial cities, along with some mandarin oranges, silk, igusa (a rush for weaving tatami mats), tobacco, and other cash crops. Forestry is important in the mountainous interior, and fishing is the economic mainstay on the coast and islands. Kumamoto's industries include the manufacture of processed foods, cotton textiles, chemicals, pulp and paper, and ceramics. Tourism centres upon the enormous crater of volcanic Mount Aso, which rises to 5,223 feet (1,592 m) in Aso-Kuju National Park in the northeast. Area 2,860 square miles (7,408 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 1,847,000.