Shimonoseki

Seaport in Yamaguchi prefecture, in the extreme southwest of Honshu island, Japan, on the Inland Sea; population (2005) 290,700. It was opened to foreign trade in 1890. Industries include fishing, shipbuilding, engineering, textiles, and chemicals. Shimonoseki is connected to Kyushu by three tunnels and a bridge.

The first of the Sino-Japanese Wars ended with a treaty signed at Shimonoseki in 1895.

Shimonoseki is home to a Shinto shrine dedicated to Antoku, the child emporer of Japan 1178–85, which is a tourist attraction. In 1185, in the sea off Shimonoseki, the important sea battle of Dannoura took place. In 1864, Shimonoseki was bombarded by the fleets of Britain, USA, France, and Holland, in retaliation against the local Daimyo (feudal lord). With the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895), Japan gained the island of Taiwan, which remained a Japanese territory until 1945.