Kochi

Town and port in Kerala state, India, on the Malabar coast; population (1991) 564,000; urban agglomeration (1991) 1,139,540. It is a fishing port, naval training base, and an industrial centre with oil refineries; ropes and clothing are also manufactured here. It exports coir, copra, tea, and spices.

Kochi comprises Fort Kochi, which occupies a seaward promontory, linked by causeway with Willingdon Island and Ernakulum on the mainland. A trading port since Roman times, Kochi was visited by Pedro Alvarez Cabral in 1500, and it was the site of a Portuguese factory established by Vasco da Gama in 1502. Alfonso de Albuquerque was appointed viceroy in 1510. St Francis Xavier made it a missionary centre in 1530. An English factory was built in 1635, but in 1663 the Dutch took Kochi until 1795, when it was taken by the British.

Kochi has a very ancient Christian tradition and the first conversions there are ascribed to the Apostle Thomas in AD 52, whose reputed tomb is in Chennai (formerly Madras). Christians, who make up a quarter of the population, belong mainly to the Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches.

Kochi

City and seat of government of Kochi prefecture, Japan, 200 km/124 mi southwest of Kobe; population (1995 est) 322,000. It is situated on the southeast coast of Shikoku island, on Tosa Bay, and is an agricultural and fishing centre. Coral goods, dried bonito, paper, cement, steel, agricultural machinery, and chemicals are manufactured. Kochi grew up around the castle (1603), restored in the 18th century after a serious fire that only the donjon survived. The elegant restoration attracts tourists.