Kurume, Fukuoka

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**Kurume**
**久留米市**
Kurume's location in Fukuoka, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū
Prefecture	Fukuoka
Physical characteristics
Area	229.84 km² (88.7 sq mi)
Population (as of 2005)
Total	306,140
Location	33°19′N, 130°31′E
Symbols
Kurume Government Office
Official website: Kurume City

Downtown Kurume.

Kurume (久留米市, Kurume-shi^?) is a city located in Fukuoka, Japan.

The city has an estimated population of 306,140 and the density of 1,332 persons per km². The total area is 229.84 km².

The city was founded on April 1, 1889.

Famous people from Kurume include: the family of the Bridgestone Tire Corporation (Shojiro Ishibashi), the pop group Checkers, the singer and actress Seiko Matsuda, anime creator Leiji Matsumoto, the television celebrity, Rena Tanaka, Morning Musume member Reina Tanaka and the late Izumi Sakai of Zard. The Bridgestone Tire Corporation has its origins in Kurume as traditional footwear manufacturers, producing the sock-like shoe (tabi), used by farmers. They found that by coating the bottom of tabi with rubber, farmers could be protected from the invasion of parasitic worms that live in rice paddies.

Famous traditional products of Kurume are the kasuri, roughly woven indigo dyed cloth; pork soup (tonkotsu); ramen noodles; and trays and bowls made from rantai shiki, a composite made from lacquered bamboo.