Kokura Prefecture was founded separately from Fukuoka Prefecture in 1871 when the clan system was abolished. The old wooden-built Kokura Prefectural Office is still standing, and is being restored. It is opposite Riverwalk Kitakyushu. In 1876 Kokura Prefecture was absorbed by Fukuoka Prefecture. The city of Kokura was founded in 1900.
World War II
This section requires expansion. (November 2009)
Kokura was the primary target of the nuclear weapon "Fat Man" on August 9, 1945. Major Charles Sweeney had orders to drop the bomb visually, but all three attempts failed due to clouds and smoke from Yahata, which is located only 7 km west of Kokura and had air raids on the previous day, preventing Sweeney from identifying the target clearly. The bomb was ultimately dropped on the city of Nagasaki, the secondary target, at 11:02 JST.
City of Kitakyushu
The city of Kitakyushu was founded on February 10, 1963 and was designated on April 1, 1963 by government ordinance. The city was born from the merger of five municipalities (Moji, Kokura, Tobata, Yahata and Wakamatsu) centered around the ancient feudal city of Kokura. The city's symbol mark is a flower with the character "north" (? kita?) in the middle and five petals representing the five towns which merged
