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

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

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 229,517 in 142,803 households in 60804 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 1023 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is famous for a variety of

welsh onion ''Allium fistulosum'', the Welsh onion, also commonly called bunching onion, long green onion, Japanese bunching onion, and spring onion, is a species of perennial plant, often considered to be a kind of scallion. The species is very similar ...

s or .

Geography

Fukaya is located on the northern border of Saitama Prefecture, in the flatlands 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 ...

, in-between the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano River) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the ...

and the Arakawa River .

Surrounding municipalities

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 ...

Isesaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 213,303 in 91,789 households, and a population density of 1500 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Isesaki is located in the northwe ...

* Ōta

* Honjō *

Kumagaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the largest cit ...

* Misato * Ranzan * Yorii

Climate

Fukaya 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 Fukaya is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1270 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fukaya has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

History

Fukaya was the site of a castle built by the

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries).Georges Appert, Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its heigh ...

in 1456, and later the site of

Okabe Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Musashi Province (modern-day Saitama Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Okabe ''jin'ya'' in what is now part of the city of Fukaya, Saitama. Histo ...

a feudal domain 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 ...

. In the Edo era,

Fukaya-shuku was the ninth of the 69 Stations of the Nakasendō, sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo periodpost town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

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'' ...

(中山道) highway, boasting over 80

inns Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

. The town of Fukaya was established within Hanzawa District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Hanzawa District was abolished in 1896, becoming part of Ōsato District. Fukaya merged with the villages of Aketo, Hatara, Oyori and Fujisawa on January 1, 1955, and was elevated to city status. It annexed the village of Toyosato on April 1, 1973. On January 1, 2006, the towns of Hanazono, Kawamoto and Okabe (all from Ōsato District) were merged into Fukaya.

Government

Fukaya 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 24 members. Fukaya, together with the towns of Misato and Yorii, contributes three members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Saitama 11th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional re ...

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 economy of Fukaya is dominated by agriculture, with

s and tulips as famous local crops.

Industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

s are located in the eastern portion of the city, and the manufacture of bricks is a major local industry.

Education

Universities

* Saitama Institute of Technology (埼玉工業大学) * Tohto College of Health Sciences (東都医療大学)

High schools

* Prefectural Fukaya High School (埼玉県立深谷高等学校) * Prefectural Fukaya Commercial High School (埼玉県立深谷商業高等学校) * Prefectural Fukaya Daiichi High School (埼玉県立深谷第一高等学校) * Private Shōchi Fukaya High School (私立正智深谷高等学校) * Private Tokyo Seitoku University Fukaya High School (私立東京成徳大学深谷高等学校)

Middle schools

* Municipal Fukaya Middle School (市立深谷中学校) * Municipal Kamishiba Middle School (市立上柴中学校) * Municipal Fujisawa Middle School (市立藤沢中学校) * Municipal Hatara Middle School (市立幡羅中学校) * Municipal Aketo Middle School (市立明戸中学校) * Municipal Toyosato Middle School (市立豊里中学校) * Municipal Okabe Middle School (市立岡部中学校) * Municipal Hanazono Middle School (市立花園中学校) * Municipal Kawamoto Middle School (市立川本中学校) * Municipal Minami Middle School (市立南中学校)

Elementary schools

* Municipal Fukaya Elementary School (市立深谷小学校) * Municipal Fukaya West Elementary School (市立深谷西小学校) * Municipal Kamishiba East Elementary School (市立上柴東小学校) * Municipal Kamishiba West Elementary School (市立上柴西小学校) * Municipal Sakuragaoka Elementary School (市立桜ヶ丘小学校) * Municipal Fujisawa Elementary School (市立藤沢小学校) * Municipal Hatara Elementary School (市立幡羅小学校) * Municipal Tokiwa Elementary School (市立常盤小学校) * Municipal Ōyori Elementary School (市立大寄小学校) * Municipal Aketo Elementary School (市立明戸小学校) * Municipal Toyosato Elementary School (市立豊里小学校) * Municipal Yatsumoto Elementary School (市立八基小学校) * Municipal Okabe Elementary School (市立岡部小学校) * Municipal Okabe West Elementary School (市立岡部西小学校) * Municipal Hanzawa Elementary School (市立榛沢小学校) * Municipal Hongō Elementary School (市立本郷小学校) * Municipal Hanazono Elementary School (市立花園小学校) * Municipal Kawamoto North Elementary School (市立川本北小学校) * Municipal Kawamoto South Elementary School (市立川本南小学校)

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 ...

–

Takasaki Line The Takasaki Line () is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). All service ...

* - 18px

Chichibu Railway The is a small-sector private railway company operating a railway line in northern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In addition to its railway operations, the company deals in the real estate and tourism industries. It managed the Mitsumine Ropeway (� ...

–

Chichibu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, owned by the private railway operator Chichibu Railway, linking and , both in Saitama Prefecture. Stations * Rolling stock , the Chichibu Railway operates the following fleet of rolling stock on the line ...

* - - - -

Highway

* – Hanazono IC * * *

Sister cities

Dalby, Queensland Dalby () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dalby had a population of 12,758 people. It is on the Darling Downs and is the administrativ ...

, Australia *

Fremont, California Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San F ...

, United States, since January 26, 1980Consolidation of Local Governments in Japan and Effects on Sister City Relationships
," ''Consulate General of Japan, San Francisco'' *

Shunyi District Shunyi District () is a district of Beijing. Shunyi borders the Beijing districts of Pinggu to the east, Tongzhou to the south, Chaoyang to the southwest, Changping to the west, Huairou to the north, and Miyun to the northeast, as well as ...

Beijing, China Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, since November 7, 1995

Local attractions

*Site of Fukaya Castle *Birthplace of Shibusawa Eiichi *Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Museum *Takinomiya Jinja

Mascot

Fukka-chan is the city’s local character (Yuru-chara), as well as a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

. It was created on June 28, 2010. It is said to be a fictitious life form like a rabbit and a deer. Fukka-chan is widely described as a city’s popular mascot character.

Notable people from Fukaya

Shibusawa Eiichi was a Japanese industrialist widely known today as the "father of Japanese capitalism", having introduced Western capitalism to Japan after the Meiji Restoration. He introduced many economic reforms including use of double-entry accounting, ...

, industrialist * Mimura, actress *

Momoka Muraoka is a woman para-alpine skier, who won five medals for Japan at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. She also served as their flag-bearer at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Parade of Nations.She graduated from Waseda University with a degree in Sports sci ...

para-alpine skier Para-alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the International ...

Yasuo Takei Yasuo Takei (武井保雄, ''Takei Yasuo'') (January 4, 1930 – August 10, 2006) was the founder and former chairman of Takefuji (武富士), Japan's number one consumer finance group. On 17 November 2004 he was given a three-year suspended sent ...

, founder of

Takefuji was a Japanese consumer finance company, or ''sarakin''. On September 28, 2010, it filed a petition for commencement of a corporate re-organisation under the Japanese Corporate Reorganisation Act. Services The Group's principal activity is the ...

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Fukaya, Saitama