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

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

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 345,353 in 158,022 households 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 5700 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is famous for producing

daruma doll A is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man (Bodhidharma), vary greatly in color and design depending o ...

Geography

Koshigaya is situated in eastern Saitama Prefecture, in the alluvial plain of the Nakagawa basin between the Omiya plateau and the Shimosa plateau. Most of the city area is flat with an average elevation of only five meters above sea level. Many rivers, including the Motoara River, Naka River, Ayase River, Furutone River, and Sakagawa River flow in the city. Koshigaya, which is about 25 kilometers north of Tokyo and developed as a transportation for water and land transportation from premodern times.

Surrounding municipalities

** Saitama ** Kasukabe ** Kawaguchi **

Sōka is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 249,645 in 118,129 households and a population density of 9100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Situated in the southeast corner of Sa ...

Yoshikawa is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 73,262 in 31,031 households and a population density of 2300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located in far southeastern Sait ...

** Matsubushi

Climate

Koshigaya 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 Koshigaya is 14.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1408 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Koshigaya population statistics
/ref> the population of Koshigaya has increased rapidly from the 1960s.

History

The area around Koshigaya was an inlet of the sea in the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

and was settle during the

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

or early

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

. In the Nara period, it was a border area straddling Musashi and

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area modern Chiba Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shimōsa''" in . It lies to the north of the Bōsō Peninsula (房総半島), whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from ...

s. Koshigaya-shuku prospered during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

as a post station on the

Nikkō Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now called the Rinnō-ji and Tōshōgū), which are located in the present-day ...

and the

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government offic ...

highways, and the town served as the temporary residence of the Tokugawa shōgun after the 1657 Great Fire of Meireki which destroyed

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established ...

. The town also had a riverine connection with

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 ...

and served as a transportation and transshipment center. The town of Koshigaya (then spelled 越ヶ谷) was created within

Minamisaitama District, Saitama is a district located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the district has an estimated population of 33,405 and a density of 2,090 persons per km2. The total area is 15.95 km2. Towns and villages * Miyashiro District timeline *1871 (first w ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It annexed the neighboring villages of Ozawa, Niikata, Sakurai, Obukuro, Ogishima, Dewa, Gamo, Osagami, and Masubayashi on November 3, 1954 and changed the spelling if its name to its present form. Koshigaya annexed neighboring village of Soka on November 3, 1955. Koshigaya was elevated to city status on November 3, 1958. Koshigaya was elevated further to special city status on April 1, 2003 and to

core city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

status on April 1, 2015.

Government

Koshigaya 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 32 members. Koshigaya contributes four members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 3rd district of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

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

Koshigaya is a major regional commercial center with a diversified industrial base.

Education

Bunkyo University is a private university located in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, with campuses in Saitama and Kanagawa Prefecture. The kanji of the word "Bunkyo" mean education and learning. The university offers courses mainly in education and research of the c ...

Saitama Prefectural University is a public university in Sengendai, Koshigaya, Saitama, 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 t ...

* Saitama Toho Junior College * Koshigaya has 30 public elementary schools and 15 public middle schools operated by the city government, and six public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, there are one private middle school and two private high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

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 ...

–

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a 100.6 km unclosed loop around central Tokyo. Passenger operations a ...

* - 35px

Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second long ...

Tōbu Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asaku ...

* - - - - -

Highway

* *

Twin towns and sister cities

* - Campbelltown,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, since April 11, 1984

Local attractions

Aritaki Arboretum The is a private arboretum located at 2566 Koshigaya, Koshigaya, Saitama, 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 ...

* Aeon Laketown shopping mall

In fiction

The actual scenery of Koshigaya is set in the anime and manga series, ''

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid , also known as ''The Maid Dragon of Kobayashi-san'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Coolkyousinnjya. The series began serialization in Futabasha's ''Monthly Action'' magazine since May 2013 and is licensed in No ...

''. albeit with the name of "Oborozuka".

Noted people

Yasue Funayama is a Japanese politician and a former member of the House of Councillors (Japan) in the Diet of Japan, Diet (national legislature). Career A native of Koshigaya, Saitama and graduate of Hokkaido University, she worked at the Ministry of Ag ...

, politician *

Sumio Iijima is a Japanese physicist and inventor, often cited as the inventor of carbon nanotubes. Although carbon nanotubes had been observed prior to his "invention", Iijima's 1991 paper generated unprecedented interest in the carbon nanostructures and ...

, scientist * Atsushi Satō, one of the lead vocalists of

EXILE Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

* Tsubasa Masuwaka, fashion model *

Junri Namigata is a Japanese professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is 105, which she reached in February 2011. Her career-high doubles ranking is 101, achieved May 2015. Early life and amateur career Namigata was born in Koshigaya ...

, professional tennis player *

Abi Masatora is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Saitama Prefecture. He made his debut in May, 2013 and wrestles for Shikoroyama stable. He reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in January 2018 and has four special prizes for Fighting Spirit and ...

, sumo wrestler * Ryuto Yasuoka, basketball player

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Koshigaya, Saitama