| Honshu | |
| Redirects: | Honshū |
| Category: | Island |
| Continent: | Asia |
| Country: | Japan |
| Points of interest: | Hiroshima; Kantō; Toyama; Yamagata; Yokohama |
Honshu is the name of an island in the nation of Japan. It is the main island in the country and the island with the highest population center, with more than 103 million people. The island has a total land area of 88,016.85 square miles, a length of 810 miles and a width of 31 x 143 miles. It is divided into five regions and contains thirty-four prefectures. Honshu is located south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Straits. It's largest region is Kantō, which includes Tokyo Prefecture. Other notable cities include Hiroshima, Toyama and Yamagata.
Honshu has played a consistent role in the daikaiju ("giant monster") films of the Shōwa period and Heisei periods. Beginning with 1954's Gojira and extending into the modern era, Honshu and its many inhabitants have had to deal with all sorts of atomically mutated monsters including Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Anguirus and many others. Godzilla first set his sights on the island after causing some mayhem on nearby Oto Island. Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force mustered up all of their military might to combat him, as he laid waste to bridges, towers, and skyscrapers, but were unable to stop his rampage. Ultimately, it was the work of one tormented scientist, Daisuke Serizawa, and his Oxygen Destroyer, which finally put the monster down for good... or did it? Like the proverbial bad penny, Godzilla and his pals found a way to spring back up time and time again to make trouble for the poor folks on Honshu.
Points of Interest[]
Regions[]
- Chūbu region
- The Chūbu region is the central region of Honshū. It encompasses nine prefectures: Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, Yamanashi, and often Mie. The region is the widest part of Honshū and the central part is characterized by high, rugged mountains. The Japanese Alps divide the country into the Pacific side, sunny in winter, and the Sea of Japan side, snowy in winter.
- Chūgoku region
- The Chūgoku region is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. The Chūgoku region is characterized by irregular rolling hills and limited plain areas and is divided into two distinct parts by mountains running east and west through its center. The city of Hiroshima, the "capital" of the Chūgoku region, was rebuilt after being destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, and is now an industrial metropolis of more than one million people.
- Kansai region
- The Kansai region lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Mie, Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, and Shiga. Depending on who makes the distinction, Fukui, Tokushima and even Tottori Prefecture are also included. While the use of the terms "Kansai" and "Kinki" have changed over history, in most modern contexts the use of the two terms is interchangeable. The urban region of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto (Keihanshin region) is the second most populated in Japan after the Greater Tokyo Area.
- Kantō region
- The Kantō region is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 45 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders.
- Tōhoku region
- The Tōhoku region consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures (ken): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote, scenic region with a harsh climate. In the 20th century, tourism became a major industry in the Tōhoku region.
Prefectures[]
- Akita Prefecture
- Akita Prefecture a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita. Akita Prefecture played a minor role in the 1965 film Frankenstein Conquers the World.
- Gunma Prefecture
- Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. It is located on the main island of Honshu in the Kantō region. It has a total land area of 2,456.83 square miles and a population of more than 2,014,600 people. Its capital is Maebashi. Like other prefectures in Japan, Gunma has suffered no shortage of attacks from giant monsters. In 1965, it was the site of a battle between a rapidly growing humanoid savage known as Furankenshutain and an ancient creature called Baragon.
- Hiroshima Prefecture
- Hiroshima Prefecture s a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima. It has a population of around 2.9 million. Hiroshima prefecture lies in the middle of Chūgoku. Most of the prefecture consists of mountains leading towards Shimane Prefecture; and rivers produce rich plains near the coast. The province faces Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea. Hiroshima Bay opens on the Inland Sea. The prefecture also includes many small islands.
- Miyagi Prefecture
- Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai. It has an area of 7,285.16 km² with a population of 2,337,513. It has 10 districts and 36 municipalities.
- Niigata Prefecture
- Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata with which it shares the same name. Godzilla series actress Kumi Mizuno was born in the city of Niigata on January 1st, 1937.
- Okayama Prefecture
- Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Okayama.
- Osaka Prefecture
- Osaka Prefecture is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu in the Kansai region. It has a total land area of 733.32 square miles and a population of more than 8,864,200 people. Its capital city is also named Osaka.
- Shiga Prefecture
- Shiga Prefecture is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu in the Kansai region. It has a land area of 1,551.11 square miles and a population of more than 1,402,130 people. It encircles Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. Its capital city is Ōtsu.
- Shizuoka Prefecture
- Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu in the Chūbu region. With a land area of 3,003.73 square miles, it borders the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is bordered to the west by the Japanese Alps, which includes Mount Fuji. In film, Shizuoka Prefecture has made numerous appearances in Asian cinema. It often appears in films of the daikaiju ("giant monster") vein, such as Godzilla vs. Monster Zero in 1965. In that film, a race of aliens known as Xians tricked the Japanese government into relinquishing control of Godzilla and Rodan over to them. Mentally controlling the monsters, the Xians threatened to have them rampage through Shizuoka unless they surrendered to them.
- Tokyo
- Tokyo is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. It is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family.
- Toyama Prefecture
- is a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island. The capital is the city of Toyama. Toyama is the leading industrial prefecture on the Japan Sea coast, and has the industrial advantage of cheap electricity from abundant hydroelectric resources.
- Yamagata Prefecture
- Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island. Its capital is Yamagata. Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tōhoku, facing the Sea of Japan. It borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture on the south, Miyagi Prefecture on the east, and Akita Prefecture on the north. All of these boundaries are marked by mountains, with most of the population residing in a limited central plain.
Films that take place in Honshu[]
- Atragon
- Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The (2006)
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013) (After-credit scene only)
- Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
- Gojira (1954)
- Godzilla 1985
- Godzilla 2000
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
- Godzilla vs. Biollante
- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
- Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
- Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
- Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
- Godzilla vs. Mothra
- Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
- Godzilla's Revenge
- King Kong Escapes
- Mothra (1961)
- Mutant Girls Squad (2010)
- Return of Godzilla
- War of the Gargantuas (1966)
Characters from Honshu[]
Note: The following is a list of characters known to reside in Honshu. It does not necessarily mean that they were born there.
Notes[]
- Honshu is the seventh largest island in the world.