Kuma District, Kumamoto

Kuma (球磨郡; -gun) is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.

In 2003 the district had an estimated population of 64,552 and a density of 48.64 persons per km². The total area is 1,327.16 km².

Kuma district has the highest Pachinko Machine to citizen ratio of any place on earth. It is also the Sho-Chu capital of Japan, for production and likely also for consumption.

The local dialect is called Kuma-Ben. An example of Kuma-ben can be seen with the word for hot, (At Sue EE)in standard Japanese. In Kuma-ben it is pronounced (Ats ka).

A local tradition in Kuma-Gun is the Saka-Zuki. At social settings such as a party you present your empty glass of Sho-Chu or Beeru to a friend, you then pour some beverage into the glass. After your friend finishes the drink he returns your glass and fills it with more of the beverage.

Towns and villages

*Asagiri
*Itsuki
*Kuma
*Mizukami
*Nishiki
*Sagara
*Taragi
*Yamae
*Yunomae

=Merger=

*On April 1, 2003, the municipalities of Fukada, Menda, Ue, Sue and Okaharu merged to form the new town of Asagiri.