, formerly known as , 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 de ...

in the central eastern part of

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, ...

, Japan. , 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 using ...

of 40,050 in 17523 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

of 110 persons per km². The total area of the city is

Geography

Tamba-Sasayama is located in an inland basin surrounded by mountains on all sides in the eastern part of the prefecture. It is located in the mountains between the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osa ...

and the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

. The city has a slightly rectangular area east–west and north–south.

Neighboring municipalities

Hyōgo Prefecture * Tamba * Nishiwaki * Sanda * Katō * Inagawa Osaka Prefecture *

Nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next pass ...

Kyoto Prefecture *

Nantan Nantan may refer to: *Nantan, Kyoto, Japan *Nantan, Shwegu, Burma *Nantan Prison, China {{place name disambiguation *''Also see List of prisons in Qinghai, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East ...

Fukuchiyama 250px, Fukuchiyama Castle 250px, Fukuchiyama city center is a city in northern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,037 in 36412 households and a population density of 140 persons per km². The total area of ...

* Kyōtamba

Climate

Tamba-Sasayama has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tamba-Sasayama is 13.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1582 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 1.8 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tamba-Sasayama peaked around 1950 and has been relatively stable for the past 50 years.

History

The area of Tamba-Sasayama was part of ancient

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

, and corresponds almost exactly with ancient Taki District. Sasayama developed as a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

around

Sasayama Castle is an early Edo Period Japanese castle located in the city of Tamba-Sasayama, Hyōgo, Japan. It ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1956. History Sasayama Castle is located at the center of Tamba-Sasayama city. The ...

, which was constructed in the early

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 ...

. The town of Sasayama was established on April 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system, and expanded its borders through municipal mergers with neighboring villages in 1955 and 1975. It was raised to city status on April 1, 1999, from the merger of the former town of

Sasayama , formerly known as , is a city in the central eastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 40,050 in 17523 households and a population density of 110 persons per km2. The total area of the city is Geograph ...

, absorbing the towns of

Konda Konda may refer to: *Kondia or Konda, 18th century Mansi principality, Russia *Konda (river) in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia * Konda (Vitim), river in Buryatia, Russia * Konda, Indonesia, a town in West Papua * Konda, Angola, municipal ...

, Nishiki and Tannan (all from Taki District). On November 18, 2018, the city held a successful referendum on changing its name from Sasayama to Tamba-Sasayama in reference to the historical

, which still has some influence on local branding and politics. The referendum about changing a municipality's name is the first of its kind in Japan, and the new name officially came into effect in May 2019.

Government

Tamba-Sasayama 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 18 members. Tamba-Sasayama contributes one member to the

Hyogo Prefectural Assembly The is the prefectural parliament of Hyogo Prefecture. The assembly's 87 members are elected every four years in 40 districts by single non-transferable vote. Nine of the electoral districts correspond with the wards of Kobe city and the remai ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo fifth 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

Tamba-Sasayama has mostly a rural economy based on agriculture and forestry. Tamba-Sasayama is well known in the Kansai region for its agriculture and food products, specifically ''kuromame'' or ''kuro daizu'' (black

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu ...

s), mountain yam,

Japanese chestnut ''Castanea crenata'', the Japanese chestnut, also known as the Korean chestnut is a species of chestnut native to Japan and Korea. ''Castanea crenata'' exhibits resistance to ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', the fungal pathogen that causes ink disea ...

azuki bean ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East Asi ...

matsutake , ''Tricholoma matsutake'', is a species of choice edible mycorrhizal mushroom that grows in East Asia, Europe, and North America. It is prized in Japanese cuisine for its distinct spicy-aromatic odor. Etymology The common name and specifi ...

, beef,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

and

venison Venison originally meant the meat of a game animal but now refers primarily to the meat of antlered ungulates such as elk or deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible ...

. Tourism, including

agritourism Agritourism or agrotourism involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. Types A 2018 article published in the ''Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development'' classified a ...

, is playing an increasing role in the local economy.

Education

Tamba-Sasayama has 14 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government and three public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

–

Fukuchiyama Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Osaka and Fukuchiyama, Japan. Within JR West's "Urban Network" covering the Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto metropolitan region, the line from Osaka to Sasayamaguchi is also ...

* - - - -

Highways

Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by West Nippon Expressway Company. It is signed as E27 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering." ...

* * *

Sister city relations

* -

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two ...

, United States, since August 15, 1972 * -

Epidaurus Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city ('' polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: '' Palaia Epidavros'' and '' Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong ...

, Greece, since May 26, 1988

Local attractions

Yakami Castle was a Sengoku period Japanese castle located in what is now part of the city of Tamba-Sasayama Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 2005.The castle was one of the largest in Tanba Province, ...

ruins, National Historic Site *

ruins, National Historic Site * Sasayama Traditional Buildings Preservation Area * Fukuzumi Traditional Buildings Preservation Area * Mount Mitake *

Mount Nishigatake is a {{convert, 727, m, ft, adj=mid, -high mountain in Sasayama, Hyōgo, Japan. Mount Nishi-ga-take is the second highest mountain in the Taki Mountains after Mount Mitake. Access * Kurikara Guchi Bus Stop of Shinki Bus Shinki Bus Co., L ...

Mount Yajuro is a {{Convert, 715.1, m, ft, 0, abbr=on mountain of Tanba Highland, located in Sasayama, Hyōgo, Sasayama, Hyōgo Prefecture, Hyōgo, Japan. This mountain is one of Hyōgo 50 mountains. This mountain is a part of Inagawa Natural Park. Outlin ...

Festivals

The Dekansho Festival, famous for "Bon" style dancing, is held annually, every August 15 through 16 since 1952.

Local products

Tamba ware Tamba ware, also spelled Tanba, and also known as Tamba-Tachikui ware (丹波立杭焼, Tamba-Tachikui-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery produced in Sasayama and Tachikui in Hyōgo Prefecture. History It is considered one of the Six Ancient K ...

, or ''tamba-tachikui-yaki'', is a traditional style of pottery that has been produced here since the 12th century.

References

External links

Sasayama City official website

*Tamba-Sasayama City tourist information website(in Englis

{{Authority control Cities in Hyōgo Prefecture Tamba-Sasayama