Kobe

Tools found in western Kobe demonstrate the area was populated at least from the Jōmon period.[10]

The natural geography of the area, particularly of Wada Cape in Hyōgo-ku, led to the development of a port, which would remain the economic center of the city.[11] Some of the earliest written documents mentioning the region include the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201.[3]

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  Ikuta Shrine
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  Nagata Shrine
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  Taisan-ji. The main hall is a National Treasure of Japan (built in 716).

During the Nara and Heian periods, the port was known by the name Ōwada Anchorage (Ōwada-no-tomari) and was one of the ports from which imperial embassies to China were dispatched.[4][10] The city was briefly the capital of Japan in 1180, when Taira no Kiyomori moved his grandson Emperor Antoku to Fukuhara-kyō in present-day Hyōgo-ku.[10] The Emperor returned to Kyoto after about five months.[4] Shortly thereafter in 1184, the Taira fortress in Hyōgo-ku and the nearby Ikuta Shrine became the sites of the Genpei War battle of Ichi-no-Tani between the Taira and Minamoto clans. The Minamoto prevailed, pushing the Taira further.

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  Taira no Kiyomori
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  Marker indicating the former location of Fukuhara-kyō
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  Battle of Ichi-no-Tani（Genpei War）

As the port grew during the Kamakura period, it became an important hub for trade with China and other countries. In the 13th century, the city came to be known by the name Hyōgo Port (兵庫津, Hyōgo-tsu).[11] During this time, Hyōgo Port, along with northern Osaka, composed the province of Settsu (most of today's Kobe belonged to Settsu except Nishi Ward and Tarumi Ward, which belonged to Harima).

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  Kusunoki Masashige (Battle of Minatogawa)
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  Minatogawa Shrine

Later, during the Edo period, the eastern parts of present-day Kobe came under the jurisdiction of the Amagasaki Domain and the western parts under that of the Akashi Domain, while the center was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate.[12][13] It was not until the abolition of the han system in 1871 and the establishment of the current prefecture system that the area became politically distinct.

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  Hanakuma Castle

Hyōgo Port was opened to foreign trade by the Shogunal government at the same time as Osaka on January 1, 1868, just before the advent of the Boshin War and the Meiji Restoration.[14] At the time of the opening of the city for foreign trade, the area saw intense fighting resulting from the civil war in progress. Shortly after the opening of Kobe to trade, the Kobe Incident occurred, where several western soldiers sustained gunshot wounds from fire opened by troops from Bizen. The region has since been identified with the West and many foreign residences from the period remain in Kobe's Kitano area.

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  Kobe foreign settlement Kaigan-dōri Avenue around 1885
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  Shinkaichi theatre street in Kobe (Taisho era)
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  Hyōgo Port in the 19th century[15]
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  The Bund, built in the 1860s–1930s
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  Kitano area, built in the 1880s–1910s
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  Former Hyogo prefectural office, built in 1902
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  This nishiki-e (colored woodcut) shows a foreign steamboat entering Hyōgo Port shortly after its opening to the West in the late 19th century.

Kobe, as it is known today, was founded on April 1, 1889, and was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance. The history of the city is closely tied to that of the Ikuta Shrine, and the name "Kobe" derives from kamube (神戸, later kanbe), an archaic name for those who supported the shrine.[5][6]

During World War II, Kobe was bombed in the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942, along with Tokyo and a few other cities. Eventually, it was bombed again with incendiary bombs by B-29 bombers on March 17, 1945, causing the death of 8,841 residents and destroying 21% of Kobe's urban area. This incident inspired the well-known Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies and the book by Akiyuki Nosaka on which the film was based. It also features in the motion picture A Boy Called H.

Following continuous pressure from citizens, on March 18, 1975, the Kobe City Council passed an ordinance banning vessels carrying nuclear weapons from Kobe Port. This effectively prevented any U.S. warships from entering the port, policy being not to disclose whether any warship is carrying nuclear weapons. This nonproliferation policy has been termed the "Kobe formula".[16][17]

On January 17, 1995, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred at 5:46 am JST near the city. About 6,434 people in the city were killed, 212,443 were made homeless, and large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city were destroyed.[18][19] The earthquake destroyed portions of the Hanshin Expressway, an elevated freeway that dramatically toppled over. In Japan, the earthquake is known as the Great Hanshin earthquake (or the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake). To commemorate Kobe's recovery from the 1995 quake, the city holds an event every December called the Luminarie, where the city center is decorated with illuminated metal archways.

The Port of Kobe was Japan's busiest port and one of Asia's top ports until the Great Hanshin earthquake.[20] Kobe has since dropped to fourth in Japan and 49th-busiest container port worldwide (as of 2012).

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  Map of the Foreign Settlement
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  View of Kobe after the bombing in 1945
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  Damage in Sannomiya during the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995
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  Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park

Kobe has nine wards (ku):

1. Nishi-ku: The westernmost area of Kobe, Nishi-ku overlooks the city of Akashi and is the site of Kobe Gakuin University. This ward has the largest population, with 247,000 residents.[21]
2. Kita-ku: Kita-ku is the largest ward by area and contains the Rokko Mountain Range, including Mount Rokkō and Mount Maya. The area is well known for its rugged landscape and hiking trails. The onsen resort town of Arima also lies within Kita-ku.
3. Tarumi-ku: Tarumi-ku is a mostly residential area. The longest suspension bridge in the world, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, extends from Maiko in Tarumi-ku to Awaji Island to the south. A relatively new addition to Kobe, Tarumi-ku was not a part of the city until 1946.
4. Suma-ku: Suma-ku is the site of Suma beach, attracting visitors during the summer months.
5. Nagata-ku: Nagata-ku is the site of Nagata Shrine, one of the three "Great Shrines" in Kobe.
6. Hyōgo-ku: At various times known as Ōwada Anchorage or Hyōgo Port, this area is the historical heart of the city. Shinkaichi in Hyogo-ku was once the commercial center of Kobe, but was heavily damaged during World War II, and since, Hyogo-ku has lost much of its former prominence.
7. Chūō-ku: Chūō (中央) literally means "central" and, as such, Chūō-ku is the commercial and entertainment center of Kobe. Sannomiya, Motomachi and Harborland make up the main entertainment areas in Kobe. Chūō-ku includes the city hall and Hyōgo prefectural government offices. Port Island and Kobe Airport lie in the southern part of this ward.
8. Nada-ku: The site of Oji Zoo and Kobe University, Nada is known for its sake. Along with Fushimi in Kyoto, it accounts for 45% of Japan's sake production.[22]
9. Higashinada-ku: The easternmost area of Kobe, Higashinada-ku borders the city of Ashiya. The man-made island of Rokko makes up the southern part of this ward.

Wards of Kobe
	Place Name					Map of Kobe
	Rōmaji	Kanji	Population	Land area in km2	Pop. density per km2
1	Nishi-ku	西区	240,386	138.01	1,742	A map of Kobe's Wards
2	Kita-ku	北区	212,211	240.29	883
3	Tarumi-ku	垂水区	216,337	28.11	7,696
4	Suma-ku	須磨区	158,196	28.93	5,468
5	Nagata-ku	長田区	95,155	11.36	8,376
6	Hyōgo-ku	兵庫区	107,307	14.68	7,310
7	Chūō-ku	中央区	142,232	28.97	4,910
8	Nada-ku	灘区	136,865	32.66	4,191
9	Higashinada-ku	東灘区	214,255	34.02	6,298

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  Meriken Park (2018)
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  Skylines of Kobe from Kobe Bridge (2015)
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  View of Sannomiya from Shin-Kobe Station (2009)
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  Nunobiki Herb Garden (2012）
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  Kobe central business district (2018)
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  Kobe central business district at night (2016)
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  Downtown at night
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  Night view from Kikuseidai
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  Sunset from Mt.Suwa observation deck
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  Chūō-ku, Kobe of Night view from Mt.Suwa observation deck
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  A panorama of Kobe from Mt.Suwa observatory deck

Kobe has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool to cold winters. Precipitation is significantly higher in summer than in winter, though on the whole lower than most parts of Honshū, and there is no significant snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kobe is 17.0 °C (62.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,277.8 mm (50.31 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.6 °C (83.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 6.2 °C (43.2 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Kobe was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F) on 5 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) on 27 February 1981.

Japanese companies which have their headquarters in Kobe include ASICS, a shoe manufacturer; Daiei, a department store chain; Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Shipbuilding Co., Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (ship manufacturer), Mitsubishi Electric, Kobe Steel, Sumitomo Rubber Industries,[35] Sysmex Corporation (medical devices manufacturer)[36] and TOA Corporation. Other companies include the confectionery manufacturers Konigs-Krone and Morozoff Ltd., Sun Television Japan and UCC Ueshima Coffee Co.

There are over 100 international corporations that have their East Asian or Japanese headquarters in Kobe. Of these, twenty-four are from China, eighteen from the United States, and nine from Switzerland.[8] Some prominent corporations include Eli Lilly and Company, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble,[37] Tempur-Pedic, Boehringer-Ingelheim, and Toys "R" Us. In 2018, April, Swift Engineering USA, an American aerospace engineering firm established their joint venture in Kobe called Swift Xi Inc.

Kobe is the site of a number of research institutes, such as the RIKEN Kobe Institute Center for developmental biology and medical imaging techniques,[38] and Advanced Institute for Computational Science (AICS, home of the K supercomputer), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) Advanced ICT Research Institute,[39][40] the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention,[41] and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center.[42]

International organizations include the WHO Centre for Health Development, an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization. The Consulate-General of Panama in Kobe is located on the eighth floor of the Moriyama Building in Chūō-ku, Kobe.[43]

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  Kawasaki Heavy Industries headquarters on Harborland
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  Kawasaki Shipbuilding Co. headquarters on Kobe Harbor
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  Procter & Gamble Asia headquarters on Rokko Island
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  Nestlé Japan Ltd. headquarters on Sannomiya
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  UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. headquarters on Port Island

Itami Airport, in nearby Itami, serves mainly domestic flights throughout Japan, Kobe Airport, built on a reclaimed island south of Port Island, also offers mainly domestic flights, while Kansai International Airport in Osaka mainly serves international flights in the area.

JR west

• Sanyō Shinkansen：- Shin-Kobe Station -

Sannomiya Station is the main commuter hub in Kobe, serving as the transfer point for the three major intercity rail lines (see external map). The JR Kobe Line connects Kobe to Osaka and Himeji while both the Hankyū Kobe Line and the Hanshin Main Line run from Kobe to Umeda Station in Osaka.

Sanyō Electric Railway trains from Himeji reach Sannomiya via the Kobe Rapid Railway.

In addition, Kobe Municipal Subway provides access to the Sanyō Shinkansen at Shin-Kobe Station.

Other rail lines in Kobe include Kōbe Electric Railway which runs north to Sanda and Arima Onsen. Hokushin Kyūkō Railway connects Shin-Kobe Station to Tanigami Station on the Kobe Electric Railway. Kobe New Transit runs two lines, the Port Island Line from Sannomiya to Kobe Airport and the Rokko Island Line from JR Sumiyoshi Station to Rokko Island.

Over Mount Rokkō, the city has two funicular lines and three aerial lifts as well, namely Maya Cablecar, Rokkō Cable Line, Rokkō Arima Ropeway, Maya Ropeway, and Shin-Kobe Ropeway.

Kobe is a transportation hub for a number of expressways, including the Meishin Expressway (Nagoya – Kobe) and the Hanshin Expressway (Osaka – Kobe).[44] Other expressways include the Sanyō Expressway (Kobe – Yamaguchi) and the Chūgoku Expressway (Osaka – Yamaguchi). The Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway runs from Kobe to Naruto via Awaji Island and includes the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Sub Area Activity Hanshin is one of the Japan Maritime-Self Defense Force facility which provide monitoring across Osaka Bay and Harima-nada Sea.

Kobe's sister cities are:[56]

Kobe also cooperates with:[56]

• Daegu, South Korea (2010)
• Philadelphia, PA, United States (1986)

A memorandum of understanding on the possible establishment of sister city relations in the future was concluded in 2019 with Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.[57]

Kobe's sister ports are:[56]

• Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands (1967)
• Port of Seattle, United States (1967)
• Port of Tianjin, China