240px, Edo-period Usui Magistrate's office in Annaka is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 47,911 in 24,749 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 210 persons per square kilometre. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Annaka is located in the southwestern portion of

at the very northernmost point of the

Kantō Plain The , in the Kantō region of central Honshu, is the largest plain in Japan. Its 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefe ...

, bordered by

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

to the west. The

Usui Pass The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano Prefecture, Nagano and Gunma Prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsa ...

connects Annaka with neighboring

Karuizawa, Nagano is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Originally, there was a stage station ( ...

. *Mountains: Chausuyama (596 m),

Mount Myōgi is one of the major mountains in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Its straddles the border between the municipalities of Annaka, Shimonita and Tomioka. Well known for its rocks weathered into fantastic forms, this famous peak is ranked among Japan's ...

(1,103 m) *Rivers: Usigawa, Tsukumogawa *Lakes: Sakamoto Dam,

Nakagi Dam Nakagi Dam is a dam near Annaki, in the Gunma Prefecture of Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan a ...

Surrounding municipalities

* Shimonita *

Takasaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as th ...

* Tomioka

Karuizawa is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Originally, there was a stage station ( ...

Climate

Annaka has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Annaka is 13.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1,227 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Annaka population statistics
/ref> the population of Annaka has recently declined after decades of relative stability.

History

Annaka is located within traditional

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

. During the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, central Annaka was the ''

jōkamachi The were centres of the domains of the feudal lords in medieval Japan. The ''jōkamachi'' represented the new, concentrated military power of the daimyo in which the formerly decentralized defence resources were concentrated around a single, cent ...

'' of

Annaka Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Annaka Castle in what is now the city of Annaka, Gunma. History Ii Naomasa was one of ...

, a

feudal domain A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. In contrast, th ...

held by the

Itakura clan The is a Japanese clans, Japanese clan which came to prominence during the Sengoku period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German). The family claimed descent from Shibukawa Yoshiaki, the son ...

under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. The area also prospered from its location on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

highway connecting

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

with

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Post stations Graham Media Group (formerly Post-Newsweek Stations) is the television broadcasting subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company. It is now headquartered in Detroit, co-locating with its local NBC affiliate WDIV-TV, after spending 10 years in Chicago. ...

located within the borders of modern Annaka were: Itahana-shuku, Annaka-shuku,

Matsuida-shuku was the sixteenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, at the foot of Mount Myōgi. Travel towards Kyoto Usuinoseki Checkpoint was one of the four major checkpoin ...

and

Sakamoto-shuku was the seventeenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. History Sakamoto-shuku is located at the eastern entrance to the Usui Pass. During the Edo period, there w ...

. Annaka Town was created within

Usui District, Gunma is a former rural district located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. All of the city of Annaka and a tall portion of the city of Takasaki were formerly part of the district. History Per a census conducted at the end of the Edo period, the area of Usu ...

Prefecture on April 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. On March 1, 1955, Annaka merged with neighboring Haraichi, Isobe and Itahana towns, and Higashiyokono, Iwanoya, Akima and Gokan villages. It was raised to city status on November 1, 1958. On March 18, 2006, the town of Matsuida, merged with Annaka. Usui District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

Government

Annaka 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city council of 20 members. Annaka contributes two members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Gunma 5th district Gunma 5th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Gunma Prefecture and consists of the cities of Tomioka, Annaka, parts of Takasaki and Shibukawa as well as the Ki ...

of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Annaka is a regional commercial center and transportation hub.

Toho Zinc is a Japanese manufacturer of zinc related products. Established in 1937, it smelts nonferrous metals such as lead and zinc and produces electronic components. There are seven branches in Japan and two branches in China, in Hong Kong and Shan ...

operates a large plant in the city, as does

Shin-Etsu Chemical is the largest chemical company in Japan. Shin-Etsu has the largest global market share for polyvinyl chloride, semiconductor silicon, and photomask substrates. “Shin-Etsu” in the company's name derives from Shin'etsu Region, where the comp ...

Education

Annaka has 12 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private combined middle/high school.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 are in ...

–

Hokuriku Shinkansen The Hokuriku Shinkansen () is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga, Fukui, Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR ...

–

Shin'etsu Main Line The is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . Since the opening and later extension of ...

* - - - -

Highway

* – Masuida-Myogi IC, Usui-Karuizawa IC, Yokogawa SA *

Local attractions

240px, Entrance to Isobe Onsen *Asazuma Art Museum *Isobe Onsen *Kirizumi Onsen *Ruins of

Matsuida Castle is the remains of a castle structure in Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. After Go-Hōjō's army defeated Takigawa Kazumasu's army in the Battle of Shintsugawa, Matsuida Castle was seized and controlled by the Go-Hōjō clan. Daidōji Masashig ...

*Myogi Sanroku Art Museum *

*Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park * Yanase Futagozuka Kofun, a National Historic Site

Sister cities

Kimberley, British Columbia Kimberley is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada along British Columbia Highway 95A, Highway 95A between the Purcell Mountains, Purcell and Rocky Mountains. Kimberley was named in 1896 after the Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley mine i ...

, Canada, friendship city since December 16, 2005

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Gunma Prefecture Annaka, Gunma