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

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

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 242,798 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 6800 people per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

The city is located on the eastern bank of the

Sagami River The is a river in Kanagawa and Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshū, Japan. The upper reaches of the river in Yamanashi prefecture are also sometimes known as the , and the portion near the river mouth as the . The river overall was ...

in south-central Kanagawa Prefecture, facing

Sagami Bay lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the i ...

on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the south. The

Hikiji River The is a Class B river in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is also called and . The mouth of the river is known unagi spawning. Geography The source of the Hikiji River is Izumi no Mori (literally "Forest of Springs"), a park located in near ...

flows through part of the city.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture * Fujisawa *

Hiratsuka file:Hiratsuka City Office 20150222.JPG, 260px, Hiratsuka City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 257,316 and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of t ...

Samukawa is a List of towns in Japan, 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 fl ...

Climate

The city has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Chigasaki is 15.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1872 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of the city grew rapidly during the late 20th century and has grown at a slower rate in the 21st.

History

The city has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The area was largely pasture and farmland well into 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 ...

. The Tōkaidō 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 ...

passed through what is now Chigasaki, without a post station. A large part of the area was the ''

tenryō 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 war ...

'' territory in

Sagami Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu Province, Izu ...

controlled directly by 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 ...

through the Edo period, though other parts were administered by small clans including the

Ōoka clan The were a ''samurai'' kin group which rose to prominence in the Edo period. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the Ōoka, as hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa clan, were classified as one of the '' fudai'' ''daimyō'' clans.Appert, Georges. (1888) ...

, which is renowned for its descendant

Ōoka Tadasuke was a Japanese samurai in the service of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, as a magistrate () of Edo, his roles included chief of police, judge and jury, and Yamada Magistrate () prior to his tenure as South Ma ...

. After the start of the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, the

Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line () is one of the most important railway corridors in Japan, connecting the major cities of Tokyo and Kobe via Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The line, with termini at Tokyo Station, Tokyo and Kōbe St ...

railway connected

Chigasaki Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Chigasaki Station is served by the Tōkaidō Main Line and the Shōnan-Shinj ...

with

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

in 1898, which spurred the development of the area. Chigasaki village in Kōza District, Kanagawa Prefecture became Chigasaki town in 1908. In 1921, the

Sagami Line The is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It approximately parallels the east bank of the Sagami River. The line connects Hashimoto Station (Kanagawa), Hashimoto Station in Sagami ...

railway connected Chigasaki with Hashimoto to the north. Chigasaki became a

on October 1, 1947. On April 1, 2003, the population of Chigasaki exceeded 200,000 and it became a special city with increased local autonomy. On October 24, 2014, Chigasaki agreed with

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

to establish the

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

relationship.

Government

The city 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 28 members. Chigasaki 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 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

The city is largely a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for Tokyo and

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, and has been noted as a seaside resort community since the Meiji period. Tourism and summer leisure activities remain important to the local economy. Companies headquartered in Chigasaki include: * Autech Japan Co Ltd * Miyata Industrial Co Ltd * Toho Titanium Corporation

Education

The city has nineteen elementary schools and thirteen middle schools operated by the city government. The city has four public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, and the prefecture operates one special education school for the handicapped. There is one private elementary, middle school and high school in the city.

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 ...

has a campus located in the city.

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 ...

* -

Highway

* * * , to

* , to

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...

via

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

Bus

* Chigasaki-eki - Minami nakadori - Fujisawa-eka-kita-guchi Route 7 See All Bus Routes

Local attractions

The shoreline from Chigasaki to Kamakura is called the "

Shōnan is the name of a region along the coast of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, central Japan. Centered on Sagami River, about 60 kilometers southwest of Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and ...

area". A popular swimming destination, Chigasaki is well known as the birthplace of Japanese

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

. A shop called "Goddess," located only about 20 meters from the shoreline, claims to be the first

surfboard A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa hee ...

shop in Japan. Bicycles with metal fittings for holding surfboards are prominent in the area. A section of the beach in Chigasaki is called "Southern Beach," inspired by the

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band formed in Kanagawa in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), (drums) and (pe ...

, a famous

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

singing group whose lead vocalist

Keisuke Kuwata is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and Lead vocalist, frontman for the Southern All Stars, as well of his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done a significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Ga ...

hails from Chigasaki. The symbol of Southern Beach is ''Eboshi-iwa'', a large hat-shaped rock that is visible from the coast. Southern Beach Chigasaki Monument

The city is known for being the center of Japanese Hawaiian culture with many tropical and Hawaiian stores located mainly in the southern side of the town. Fridays in Chigasaki was called "Aloha Friday" in which consumers were able to have discounts in many stores and taxis. Salesclerks and city officers are encouraged to work wearing aloha shirts as a part of

Cool Biz campaign The Cool Biz campaign is a Japanese campaign initiated by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment from mid-2005 as a means to help reduce Japanese electricity consumption by limiting the use of air conditioning. This was enabled by changing the s ...

to promote its Hawaiian culture every summer since 2003. In contrast to the popularity as a modernized resort in south, north part of the city still retains some historical heritages.

Ōoka Echizen is a Japanese prime-time television ''jidaigeki'' series. From March 16, 1970 to March 15, 1999, 402 episodes and 15 seasons were broadcast. Also, a two-hour special aired on March 20, 2006, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the '' Nation ...

festival is held in the family temple of the Ōoka clan (

bodaiji A in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead, giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor.Iwanami kojien The name is derived from the term , which originally meant ju ...

) "Jōkenji" on May.

Sister cities

Okazaki, Aichi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 386,999 in 164,087 households, and a population density of 999 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Okazaki is in the ...

, Japan, since July 1, 1983 *

, United States, since October 25, 2014

Notable people from Chigasaki

Richard Bozulich Richard Bozulich (born 1936) is an American author, publisher of Go books in English and college math instructor. He co-founded the Ishi Press. He has worked with several Japanese professional players. He had a regular go column in The Dail ...

, author and publisher of books about go * Hitoshi Doi *

Ailes Gilmour Ailes Gilmour (January 27, 1912 – April 16, 1993) was a Japanese Americans, Japanese American dancer who was one of the young pioneers of the American Modern dance, Modern Dance movement of the 1930s. She was one of the first members of Martha ...

, early pioneer of the American

Modern Dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

movement *

Masato Hagiwara is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and professional mahjong player. Biography Early life and education When Hagiwara was three years old, his parents divorced and he was taken in by his father. However, his father died when he was in ...

Yūzō Kayama is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Life and career Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara, and actress Yoko Kozakura, ( ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made ...

lead pop singer * Masumi Mishina, softball player *

Moomin The Moomins (, ) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, picture books, and a comic strip by the Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Finnish publisher Schildts. They are a ...

, singer *

Isamu Noguchi was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...

, sculptor and landscape architect *

Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and former Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a mission specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle program, Spac ...

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

astronaut;

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

STS-114 STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster. ''Discovery'' launched at 10:39 EDT (14:39 UTC) on her 31st flight on July 26, 2005. The launch, 907 days (approx. 29 months) a ...

crew member *

Kiyohiko Ozaki was a Japanese singer and actor. He was noted for his dynamic singing voice and sideburns. His nickname was "Kieyo". Career He grew up in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. His grandfather is British. In 1971, he released his greatest hit ...

, Country Western, Popular Classic Standards and Enka.Special Box, 2007/Universal Music *

Tetta Sugimoto is a Japanese actor. Career Sugimoto was first a member of a rock band before he debuted as an actor in 1983 in the film '' Hakujasho''. For that film, he won a Japan Academy Prize best newcomer award. In addition to his work in film, he has al ...

, actor *

Ai Sugiyama is a Japanese former tennis player. She reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles on the WTA Tour and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. In her career, she won six singles and 38 doubles ...

, professional tennis player *

Kohsuke Toriumi is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actor affiliated to Arts Vision. Biography He is a member of and . To commemorate twenty years of his debut, a book entitled released on May 16, 2016. He created his YouTube channel on March 19, 2020 ...

, voice actor * Masahiro Yamamoto, baseball player *

Tani Yuuki is a Japanese male singer-songwriter from Chigasaki, Kanagawa. Early life and education He started music activities in August 2015 after receiving an acoustic guitar from his grandfather when he was a junior high school student. In 2018 ...

, singer

References

External links

Official Website
* {{Authority control Cities in Kanagawa Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan