ONOMICHI

city, Hiroshima ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, facing the Inland Sea. The city's port opened in 1168 and served for about 500 years as a rice shipment centre and port of call for trade with China. The port's commercial significance declined somewhat during the Tokugawa era (16031867) but has since revived. Onomichi now offers steamship services to ports of northern Shikoku and islands in the Inland Sea. The city has a shipbuilding yard and a motor factory. The Buddhist Senko Temple was founded in the 9th century. It is located on the side of a hill that commands a fine view of the city and coast and contains an observatory and a planetarium. Pop. (1985) 100,640.