270px, Sukagawa City Hall 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

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

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 76,251 in 38824 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 270 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

History

The area of present-day Sukagawa was part of ancient Mutsu Province. Remains from the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC, with recent authors suggesting that there is good evi ...

through the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

and

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

indicate continuous settlement of the area for many centuries. Sukagawa 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, ...

of the Nikaido clan during the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

. The castle was destroyed by

Date Masamune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he w ...

after his aunt

Onamihime Onamihime (阿南姫, July 4, 1541 – August 30, 1602) was a late-Sengoku period Onna-musha. She was the first daughter of Date Harumune, sister of Date Terumune and aunt of Date Masamune. She was the ruler of Sukagawa castle in Mutsu Province ...

surrendered the castle during the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. 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 ...

the area prospered from its location as a major lodging place on

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima, S ...

, which is one of the

Edo Five Routes The , sometimes translated as "Five Highways", were the five centrally administered routes, or ''kaidō'', that connected the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (now Tokyo) with the outer provinces during the Edo period (1603–1868). The most ...

, and was the commercial center in the region. The area was mostly administered as an exclave of

Takada Domain , was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It was located in Echigo Province, in the Hokuriku region of Honshū. The domain was centered at Takada Castle, located in what is now part of the city of Jōetsu in Nii ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

, it was organized as part of the Nakadōri region of Iwaki Province. The village of Sukagawa was formed on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. However, after mid-

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 municipality was eclipsed by

Kōriyama is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 321,938 people in 141760 households, and a population density of 425 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Kōriyama is designated as a core city and ...

, which had succeeded in inviting the junction of West Ban'etsu Line with the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line () is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Uts ...

train routes. On March 31, 1954, Sukagawa was elevated to city status after merging with the town of Hamada and villages of Nishibukuro and Inada (all from Iwase District), and the village of Oshioe (from Ishikawa District). Later, Sukagawa absorbed Niida Village (from Iwase District) on March 10, 1955, and then absorbed Ohigashi Village (from Ishikawa District) on February 1, 1967. On April 1, 2005, Sukagawa absorbed the town of Naganuma and village Iwase (both from Iwase District). After the earthquake of 2011, the Fujinuma Dam collapsed resulting in seven fatalities. See also

Radiation effects from Fukushima I nuclear accidents The radiation effects from the Fukushima nuclear accident are the observed and predicted effects as a result of the release of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and ...

Geography

Sukagawa is located in central Fukushima prefecture. *Rivers:

Abukuma River The , with a length of , is the second longest river in the Tōhoku region of Japan and the 6th longest river in the country. It is designated as a Classification of rivers in Japan, Class A river. It runs through Fukushima Prefecture and Miyagi P ...

, Shakadogawa *Mountains: Uzumine (676.9m)

Neighboring municipalities

* Fukushima Prefecture ** Hirata ** Kagamiishi **

** Tamakawa **

Ten'ei was a after ''Tennin'' and before ''Eikyū.'' This period spanned the years from July 1110 through July 1113. The reigning emperor was . Change of Era * January 22, 1110 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. ...

Climate

Sukagawa has a humid climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Sukagawa is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sukagawa peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly since then.

Economy

Sukagawa has a mixed economy, and is a major commercial center for the surrounding region.

Government

Sulagawa 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 legislature of 23 members. Tamura, together with Tamura District contributes three members to the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Fukushima 3rd 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 ...

Education

Sukagawa has 17 public elementary schools and ten public junior high schools operated by the city government. The city has five public high schools operated by the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education.

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 ...

–

Suigun Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which connects Mito Station (Ibaraki), Mito Station in Ibaraki Prefecture and Asaka-Nagamori Station in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. All trains on the line continue ...

* -

Highway

* – Sukagawa Interchange * * *

Airports

Fukushima Airport is an airport in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The airport is located southeast of Kōriyama Station. It has served as the regional airport hub since its opening in 1993, the closest alternative being Sendai International Airport. F ...

is located on the border of Sukagawa City and Tamagawa Village. It is notable for an array of

Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...

displays in honor of franchise creator

Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history o ...

, whose hometown was Sukagawa. The airport houses the first Ultraman store in the Tohoku region.

Local attractions

* Beizanji Sutra Mounds * Fujinuma Dam * Sukagawa Ichirizuka * Sukagawa Peony Garden * Shōnindan temple ruins *Taimatsu Akashi Festival * Uzumine

International relations

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, China, friendship city since August 1983

Notable people from Sukagawa

Dean Fujioka , better known as (also ), is a Japanese actor, singer-songwriter, musician, model and film director / producer. Biography Dean Fujioka was born in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Moving with his family, he grew up in Kamagaya, Chiba Pr ...

, Musician, actor * Mizuno Senko (1888–1919), writer *

Nakaba Suzuki is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his fantasy series ''The Seven Deadly Sins (manga), The Seven Deadly Sins'' (2012–2020), which has over 55 million copies in circulation making it one of the List of best-selling manga, best-sell ...

, Manga artist *

, special effects director and creator of

Kōkichi Tsuburaya (born ; May 13, 1940 – January 9, 1968) was a Japanese athlete who competed mainly as a marathoner. Kokichi was also a 1st lieutenant in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Running career Tsuburaya competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics held ...

, Olympic marathon runner *

Sachiko Eto , known as The Drumstick Killer, was a Japanese cult leader and serial killer, responsible for six murders in Sukagawa City between 1994 and 1995. A self-professed guru who claimed to have psychic abilities, she killed several of her cult member ...

(1947-2012), cult leader and serial killer

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Fukushima Prefecture