Kōchi

drying fish at Nakamura port

Kōchi, ken (prefecture), southern Shikoku, Japan, stretching in an arc around Tosa Bay of the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest prefecture on the island. The population is concentrated on the Tosa plain, which, except on the south, is surrounded by mountains. Although it is isolated by poor communications, there is a railway from Kōchi, the prefectural capital, to Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, on the Inland Sea, and air service to Ōsaka and Tokyo on Honshu. Chief products are agricultural machinery and implements, coral, processed seafood (especially dried bonito), paper, and raw silk. Kōchi city, at the head of Urado-wan, was the capital of former Tosa province. Kōchi Castle, constructed in 1603 and restored in the 18th century after its destruction by fire, is considered one of the most elegant in Japan. Area prefecture, 2,743 square miles (7,105 square km). Pop. (2005) city, 333,484; prefecture, 796,292.