Editing Kobe (section)

=== Modern era ===
Kobe, as it is known today, was founded on April&nbsp;1, 1889, and was [[City designated by government ordinance|designated]] on September&nbsp;1, 1956 by government ordinance. The history of the city is closely tied to that of the Ikuta Shrine, and the name "Kobe" derives from {{nihongo||神戸|kamube|later ''kanbe''}}, an archaic name for those who supported the shrine.<ref name="nagasakiu"/><ref name="kojien_kanbe"/>

During [[World War II]], Kobe was lightly bombed in the [[Doolittle Raid]] on April 18, 1942, along with [[Tokyo]] and a few other cities. Eventually, it was [[Bombing of Kobe in World War II|bombed again with incendiary bombs by B-29 Superfortress bombers on March&nbsp;16 and 17,&nbsp;1945]], causing the death of 8,841 residents and the destruction of 21% of [[Bombing of Kobe in World War II|Kobe's urban area]]. This incident inspired the well-known [[Studio Ghibli]] film ''[[Grave of the Fireflies]]'' and the [[Grave of the Fireflies (novel)|book]] by [[Akiyuki Nosaka]] on which the film was based. It also features in the motion picture ''[[A Boy Called H]]''.

Following continuous pressure from citizens, on March&nbsp;18, 1975, the Kobe City Council passed an ordinance banning vessels carrying [[nuclear weapon]]s from Kobe Port. This effectively prevented any U.S. warships from entering the port, because U.S. policy is to never disclose whether any given warship is carrying nuclear weapons. This [[nuclear proliferation|nonproliferation]] policy has been termed the "[[Japan's non-nuclear policy#The Kobe Formula|Kobe formula]]".<ref>[http://www.prop1.org/prop1/jkobef.htm Kobe City Council] – "Resolution on the Rejection of the Visit of Nuclear-Armed Warships into Kobe Port", March 18, 1975. Retrieved February 16, 2007.</ref><ref>Kamimura, Naoki. "Japanese Civil Society and U.S.-Japan Security Relations in the 1990s". retrieved from [http://www.ippnw.org/MGS/V7N1Kamimura.html International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516075014/http://www.ippnw.org/MGS/V7N1Kamimura.html |date=May 16, 2006 }} on February 2, 2007</ref>

On January 17, 1995, [[Great Hanshin earthquake|a magnitude 6.9 earthquake]] occurred at 5:46 am [[Japan Standard Time|JST]] near the city. About 6,434 people in the city were killed, 212,443 were made homeless, and large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city were destroyed.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080625151141/http://www.city.kobe.jp/cityoffice/06/013/report/january.2008.pdf The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Statistics and Restoration Progress] (Jan. 2008). Retrieved April 14, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.kkr.mlit.go.jp/en/topics_hanshin.html Great Hanshin Earthquake Restoration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014224958/http://www.kkr.mlit.go.jp/en/topics_hanshin.html |date=October 14, 2014 }}. Retrieved April 14, 2008.</ref> The earthquake destroyed portions of the [[Hanshin Expressway]], an elevated freeway that dramatically toppled over. In Japan, this earthquake is known as the [[Great Hanshin earthquake]] (or the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake). To commemorate Kobe's recovery from it, the city holds an event every December called the [[Kobe Luminarie|Luminarie]], where the city center is decorated with illuminated metal archways.

The [[Port of Kobe]] was Japan's busiest port and one of Asia's top ports until the Great Hanshin earthquake.<ref name="maruhon">[https://web.archive.org/web/20010303054315/http://maruhon.com/business/port.htm Maruhon Business News] – Port Conditions in Japan. Retrieved January 23, 2007.</ref> Kobe later dropped to fourth in Japan and, as of 2025, was the 72nd-[[List of world's busiest container ports|busiest container port worldwide]], as ranked by Lloyds.

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="Gallery" heights="130px" perrow="3">
File:KobeFormerSettelment Map JapDirectory (1905).tif|Map of the [[Kobe foreign settlement|Foreign Settlement]]
File:Kobe after the 1945 air raid.JPG|View of Kobe after the [[Bombing of Kobe in World War II|bombing]] in 1945
File:Admiralty Chart No 2265 Kobe Ko, Published 1966.jpg|Port of Kobe in 1966
File:Hanshin-Awaji earthquake 1995 337.jpg|Damage in [[Sannomiya]] after the [[Great Hanshin earthquake]] in 1995
File:Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park2.jpg|Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park 
</gallery>