Main Cities (Shobara)

Meaning of the city symbol

This expresses as a whole the meaning of the character "Sho", which means "level". The fusion of 6 villages and 1 town formed the harmonious city Shobara, expressed by the Chinese characters for "6" and "1".


Shobara Town Area

The city of Shobara is located in the northeast part of Hiroshima Prefecture in roughly the center of the Chugoku region. Burial mounds remain from around the year 400 AD as do ancient steelmarking relis, telling the story of the city's flourishing past. At the time, refined iron was carried to the Fukuyama area; and since that time, a roadway system developed that spans in all directions from Shobara. As time passed, this hub of business gradually grew into a city. During the Edo period, the plentiful Kunikane Pond and Ueno Pond were created to form a base for agricultural development, and the fuel wood industry thrived by utilizing the area's rich forest resources. In 1882 rural district restructuring placed the district office of the three districts of Onuka, Mikami, and Eso in Shobara. Then in March 1954, the consolidation of seven towns and villages, with the former Shobara-cho at the core, gave birth to the present city of Shobara.

Bihoku Hills National Park

Bihoku Hills National Park is the first national park to be located in the Chugoku region, and is being built over 350 hectares of hills covered with akamatsu (Japanese red pine) and includes scenic Kunikane Pond. (The area extends approximately 3.5 km east and west and 1 km north and south.) A portion of the park was opened in April 1995. The theme of the park is "Hometown Enjoyment." Included in the park are the following: Flower Meadow (Hana no Hiroba), a 3-hectare field where approximately 70 kinds of flowers blossom; Grass Meadow (Oshibafu Hiroba), an 8-hectare expanse that permits the hosting of outdoor concerts and various events; Hiba Village (Hiba no Sato), a place surrounded by various types of small trees where the Satoyama house, a kagura hall (Shinto music and dance hall), and other structures remain unchanged for the Woodlands Athletic Area (Rinkan Asurechikku), a recreational area located on a small hill overlooking Kunikane Pond equipped with amusement equipmentsuch as a UFO slider and Japanese pyramid. On weekends, the park is bustling with visitors, most of whom are from the Chugoku region. A Star Village (Hoshi no Sato) auto campground is also being planned, making the park a place where everyone can have fun.


Grass Meadow

Hiroshima Prefectural University


Hiroshima Prefectural University

Hiroshima Prefectural University opened in April 1989, aiming to become a "university open to the region, one with a broad outlook for the 21st cebtury." The school has two department (Management and Biological Resources) and four courses of study. In April 1994 its graduate school opened. With the nearby university's student population being about 1000, Nanatsukahara, a place of relaxation for city residents, has taken on a new face with the casual fashion of the students. The city now features college students on walks, stylish student apartments, public lectures, participation in the Yoitoko Festival, activities connected with creation of a "bio" town, interaction with exchange students from China's Sichuan Province, and a number of other opportunities for socializing with local residents.
With seminar research, club activities, campus festivals, parties, and romances, students will not likely forget the time they spent in Shobara.

Local Literary Magnate Hyakuzo Kurata

Youth is brief, a time to be treasured

Hyakuzo Kurata the great author known for "The Priest and His Apprentice," "The Beginning of Love and Awareness," and other works, was born in 1891 during the Meijl period as the eldest son of a dry goods store owner. The tracks of his lifetime of 52 years can also be considered the footprints of a philosophy pursuing how life should be lived. The thing that healed the pains or his sickness, withdrawal from school, lost love , and other setbacks is said to be Ueno Pond, his spiritual love. At the time, the Kurata family's cottage was located on the edge of Ueno Pond. There, he wrote many of his works. Today, the Shobara Suburban Cultural Center contains the Hyakuzo Kurata Literary Museum, where about 400 of Kurata's works and items are displayed and where remain birth, literary, and tanka poem monuments, as well as his grave. Other sites to see include the Hyakuzo Plaza, which displays his bust in commemoration of the lOOth year since his birth; and the "Literature Alley." By retracing the places noted in connection with Hyakuzo, the visitor can catch a glimpse of how this literary magnate lived.
As Hyakuzo said, "Youth is brief, a time to be treasured."


Hyakuzo Kurata

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