The line opened in 1904. The line is named after the historical
Kibi Province (). On 1 June 1944, the Chugoku Railway was nationalized, becoming part of
Japanese National Railways (JNR). With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of JR West. Leading on from this is the linguistic / phonetic coincidence that "
kibi dango" (millet dumplings) is a famous dish associated with the Momotaro legend despite neither the character, nor millet in general, nor millet dumplings specifically have any particular historical connection to Okayama. The coincidence has been commented on for centuries. ==See also==