Fukuoka: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Fukuoka/Hakata is often referred to as the oldest city in Japan due to its proximity to China and Korea. Though the origin of Japan's earliest inhabitants is obscure, emigration certainly occurred via land bridges that once connected Japan with Siberia and Korea. It is also thought that seafaring migrants from Polynesia may have landed on Kyūshū and Okinawa. Most likely the Japanese people are the combined result of emigration from Siberia in the north, China and Korea to the west and, perhaps, Polynesian stock from the south.

Fukuoka was the site of Mongol invasions between 1274 and 1281. The Mongols, under their leader Kublai Khan, reached Korea in 1259 and from there sent envoys to Japan seeking Japanese submission. The envoys were expelled and the Mongols reacted by sending an invasion fleet, which arrived near the city in 1274. This first attack was only just repulsed, with a little help from a conveniently timed typhoon. In preparation for more attacks, a 20km (12.5mi) stone barrier was constructed along Hakata Bay. In 1281 the Mongols dispatched a huge army of over 100,000 soldiers to Japan, their second attempt at invasion. After initial success, the Mongol fleet was almost completely destroyed by yet another typhoon. Ever since, this lucky typhoon has been known as the kamikaze (divine wind).

Fukuoka's religious temples, built predominantly in the 13th and 14th centuries as meeting places for warriors and merchants, produced many of the commodities that have since become an important part of Japanese culture - tea, udon (wheat noodle), soba (buckwheat noodle), Hakata textiles and Manju (steamed bean-jam bun). The first Zen temple in Japan, Shōfuku-ji in eastern Hakata, was founded in 1195 by Eisai, who introduced Zen and tea to the country.

The Fukuoka region's early history also includes hidden enclaves of secret Christians, who, to escape persecution, altered their images of Christ and the Virgin to make them look like Buddhist icons. Additionally, Saigo Takamori from nearby Kagoshima started the Meiji Restoration here, which is considered the birth of modern Japan.

Originally two separate towns - the lordly Fukuoka castle town to the west of the river, the Naka-gawa, and to the east, the common folks' Hakata - the moniker Fukuoka was applied to both in 1889, when the two merged. Subsequent development has mainly been in the part formerly known as Hakata and many residents still refer to the town that way.

Modern History

Japan's involvement in WWII - ending with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and nearby Nagasaki in August 1945 - saw its economy in ruins and inflation running rampant. After the war, a recovery programme provided loans, restricted imports and encouraged capital investment and personal savings.

By the late 1950s trade was again flourishing, and the economy started expanding rapidly. From textiles and the manufacture of labour-intensive goods such as cameras, the Japanese 'economic miracle' spread into virtually every sector of economic activity. But recession and inflation surfaced in 1974 and again in 1980, mostly due to steep increases in the price of imported oil, on which Japan is dependent. However, despite these setbacks, Japan became the world's most successful export economy, generating massive trade surpluses and dominating such industries as electronics, robotics, computer technology, car manufacturing and banking. One of the busiest ports in the country, Fukuoka is a major trade centre with a high number of foreign government offices and economic organisations based here.

Recent History

Fukuoka has transformed itself over the last decade into one of Japan's most truly cosmopolitan and internationalised cities. The local government is keenly aware of the city's proximity to the rest of Asia, and encourages international exchange.

The city's sightseeing attractions are contemporary rather than traditional, but they are still very much worth seeing. With buildings designed by Rem Koolhaas, Steven Holl, Oscar Tusquets Blanca and Kazuo Shinohara, the city has become a tribute to modern architecture. Fukuoka is also renowned as a culinary centre, and its nightlife, centred around the Nakasu and Tenjin districts, is vibrant. Nationally, Fukuoka is known for its Hakata bijin (beautiful women), its feisty and much-loved baseball team the Daiei Hawks, and, most of all, rāmen (Chinese-style egg noodles in broth).

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