Geography of Shimonoseki
Shimonoseki, Japan, a city in Yamaguchi prefecture. It lies on the southwestern tip of the island of Honshu on Shimonoseki Strait. Railway and highway tunnels under the strait link the city with Kitakyushu on Kyushu. Shimonoseki is a major port and an industrial center with foundries, shipyards, seafood-processing plants, and chemical works.
In 1185 the Minamoto clan annihilated the ruling Taira clan here and went on to establish a shogunate (military government), the form of government that ruled Japan for nearly 680 years. In 1864 the city was bombarded by American, British, French, and Dutch ships in retaliation for attacks by the daimyo (baron) of Choshu on foreign vessels passing through the strait. The treaty ending the Sino-Japanese War was negotiated and signed in Shimonoseki in 1895.
Population: 252,390.