260px, Hiratsuka City Hall
is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
located in
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
. , the city had an estimated
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
of 257,316 and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
of 3800 persons per km².
The total area of the city is .
Geography
Hiratsuka is located in the
Shōnan area on the right bank (west side) of the
Sagami River, almost in the center of Kanagawa Prefecture, and faces
Sagami Bay to the south. The area from the Sagami River to the Kaname River is a plain to the northern end of the city area, and the urban area extends to the south. The west side of the Kaname River is a hilly area that is part of the Oiso Hills, and there is a lot of greenery. It is approximately midway between
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
and
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest ...
.
Surrounding municipalities
Kanagawa Prefecture
*
Chigasaki
*
Hadano
is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,787 and a population density of 1600 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Hadano is located in the foothills of the ...
*
Atsugi
*
Isehara
*
Samukawa
is a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 48,679 and a population density of 3600 persons per km². The total area of the town is .
Geography
Samukawa is located in the flatlands of central Kana ...
*
Nakai
*
Oiso
*
Ninomiya
Climate
Hiratsuka has a
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hiratsuka is 14.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2144 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hiratsuka has more than doubled over the past 60 years.
History
The area around Hiratsuka has been settled since prehistoric times, and mention of the area as part of ancient
Ōsumi District,
Sagami Province is found in
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...
records. From the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japan ...
through
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle b ...
, the area was divided into ''
shōen
A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4'').
Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private ...
'' controlled by various
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...
clans and in the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
was the site of several battles between the
later Hōjō clan of Odawara and the
Miura clan. After the defeat of the Odawara at the
Battle of Odawara by
Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the area came under the control of
Ieyasu Tokugawa, who built a summer palace (the ''Nakahara Goten'') in 1596 at the site now occupied by the Hiratsuka City Nakahara Elementary/Primary School. Hiratsuka was retained as ''
tenryō'' territory after the establishment of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
, and flourished as
Hiratsuka-juku, a
post town on the
Tōkaidō connecting
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
with
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
. As the 7th station, it is often depicted in the series of
ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk ta ...
about the
53 Stations of the Tōkaidō made among others by artists such
Hokusai
, known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock print series '' Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the iconic print ''The Great W ...
and
Hiroshige.
After the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, Hiratsuka town was founded on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the municipalities system, as part of the new
Naka District within Kanagawa Prefecture. It merged with neighboring Suma Town on April 1, 1929, and was proclaimed Hiratsuka City on April 1, 1932.
Prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Hiratsuka was the location of the of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
and , a
Nissan
, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...
group military aircraft factory. Hiratsuka was largely destroyed on July 16, 1945, during the
Bombing of Hiratsuka in World War II
The was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing states of World War II.
Background
Although the city o ...
. Due to its strategic location and wide beaches, it was also one of the targets for the
planned invasion of Japan during the final stages of World War II.
The city quickly rebuilt after the war, annexing several neighboring villages in the mid-1950s to attain its current area. The population exceeded 200,000 by 2001 and Hiratsuka became a
special city with increased autonomy from the central government. The current mayor is the independent Katsuhiro Ochai (落合克宏) who was elected April 24, 2011, and assumed office on April 30. Previously he had served two terms on the Hiratsuka city council and as council chairperson for the majority of the second term. Ochai succeeded Ritsuko Okura, the city's first female mayor, who served from 2003 to 2011.
Government
Hiratsuka has a
mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
city council of 26 members. Hiratsuka contributes three members to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kanagawa 15th district of the
lower house of the
Diet of Japan
The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paral ...
.
Economy
Hiratsuka has a mixed economy, with tax revenue coming from bets made at the Shonan Bank Cycling Velodrome and, several industries located in industrial parks in the outskirts of town. Major plants are operated by
Nissan Shatai,
Yokohama Rubber Company,
Canon,
Furukawa Electric,
Pilot (pen company) - the famous Namiki pens are produced at Hiratsuka,
Kansai Paint, and
Mitsubishi Plastics
() is a Japanese chemical company with Head Office at 1-2-2, Nihonbashihongokucho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0021, Japan.
Produces various kinds of synthetic resins. The Company's products include polyvinyl chloride pipes and films. The Company also ...
. Nissan Shatai is the largest employer in the city, but announced plans to move a factory to
Kanda. Western firms such as Moog and MacDermid Performance Solutions also have a strong presence in this city.
Hiratsuka is also a
bedroom community for
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
, with residents attracted by the "
Shōnan lifestyle".
Education
Hiratsuka has 28 public elementary schools and 15 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has five public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education and one private high school. The prefecture also operates four special education schools for the handicapped. A private junior college, the
Tokai University Junior College of Nursing and Technology is located within Hiratsuka, which also has branch campuses of
Kanagawa University,
Shoin University
is a private university in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Founded as a women's school in 1941, Shoin became coeducational in 2004. It is a member of the Western Metropolitan Area University Association.
History
The predecessor of the scho ...
and
Tokai University.
Transportation
Railway
JR East
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...
-
Tōkaidō Main Line
The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...
,
Shōnan Shinjuku Line
*
Highway
*
*, to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
or
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
*, to
Sagamihara
*, to
Yokosuka via
Kamakura
*, to
Atsugi or
Odawara (toll)
*
Shinshōnan Bypass
Tourist attractions
*
Tanabata festival
*
Shonan Bellmare
is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuka ...
football club, three-time Japanese champions based at
Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium
*
Kana Garden
*
Hiratsuka Hachiman-gu, Shinto shrine
*Hiratsuka Museum of Art
Hiratsuka MOA.JPG, Hiratsuka Museum of Art
Hiratsuka20100102 4.JPG, Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium
Yawatayamayoukan.jpg, Building of former Hiratsuka Navy Ammunitions Arsenal
Sister cities
*
Takayama,
Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku p ...
, Japan, since October 22, 1982
*
Hanamaki
is a city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 94,691, and a population density of 100 persons per km², in 37,773 households. The total area of the city is . Hanamaki is famous as the birthplace of Kenji Miyazaw ...
,
Iwate, Japan, since April 27, 1984
*
Izu,
Shizuoka, Japan, since February 6, 2013
*
Lawrence, Kansas, United States, since September 21, 1990
*
Alytus, Lithuania, since 2017
Notable people from Hiratsuka
*
Izumi Sakai - singer, songwriter, vocal of
Zard
*
Yukari Fukui
is a Japanese actress, voice actress and gravure idol known by the nickname in Japan.
Filmography
Anime
*'' 7 of Seven'' as Nanarin
*'' Dragonaut -The Resonance-'' as Saki Kurata
*''Gundam Reconguista in G'' as Raraiya Monday
*'' Highsch ...
- voice actress
*
Yamanashi Hanzō - general, politician
*
Lalla Hirayama,
Japanese—born South African television host
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...
,
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
,
dancer and
model
*
Michael Hora - former child actor
*
Phongchi - Japanese idol of Vietnamese descent
*
Yuki Kubota, actress, model
*
Michiko Kawai, actress
*
Mitsunori Takaboshi
is a Japanese racing driver. In 2017, he was crowned champion in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship.
Career Junior Racing & Formula Racing
Takaboshi started his career in karting in 1998, in which he remained active until 2009. He mainly raced ...
, racing driver
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
Cities in Kanagawa Prefecture
Populated coastal places in Japan