270px, Sukagawa City Hall 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 ...

located in

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

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

Geography

Sukagawa is located in central Fukushima prefecture. *Rivers: Abukuma River, Shakadogawa *Mountains:

Uzumine was a Nanboku-chō period ''Yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located on Mount Uzumine, a mountain with an altitude of , at the border between the cities of Kōriyama and Sukagawa in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The castle was also known as ...

(676.9m)

Neighboring municipalities

* Fukushima Prefecture **

Kōriyama is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 322,996 people in 141760 households, and a population density of 430 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Kōriyama is designated as a core city an ...

** Ten'ei **

Kagamiishi is a town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 12,272 in 4434 households, and a population density of 390 persons per km². The total area of the town was .. Geography Kagamiishi is located on a p ...

** Tamakawa **

Hirata Hirata may refer to: Places *Hirata, Fukushima, former village in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan *Hirata, Gifu, former town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan *Hirata, Shimane, former city in Shimane Prefecture, Japan *Hirata, Yamagata was a town located in ...

Climate

Sukagawa has a humid climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''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,Sukagawa population statistics
/ref> the population of Sukagawa peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly since then.

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; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...

through the

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

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 Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

indicate continuous settlement of the area for many centuries. Sulagawa 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 Nikaido (written: 二階堂) may refer to: * Nikaidō clan, a family of Japanese daimyō * Nikaidō, an administrative division of the city of Kamakura, Japan People with the surname *, Japanese politician *, Japanese economist *, Japanese actress ...

during the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first '' shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

. The castle was destroyed by

Date Masamune was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all ...

after his aunt Onamihime surrendered the castle during the

Sengoku period The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Variou ...

. During the

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 area prospered from its location as a major lodging place on

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government off ...

, which is one of the Edo Five Routes, and was the commercial center in the region. The area was mostly administered as an exclave of Takada Domain under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

. 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

, it was organized as part of

Nakadōri is a region comprising the middle third of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It is sandwiched between the regions of Aizu to the west and Hamadōri to the east. The principal cities of the area are Kōriyama and the prefecture's capital, Fukushima ...

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 is 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 colonization ...

, the municipality was eclipsed by

, which had succeeded in inviting the junction of

West Ban'etsu Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and Niitsu Station in Akiha Ward, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. The name "Banetsu" is taken f ...

with the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long 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, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

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.

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, 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 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 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

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

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 is 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 ar ...

–

– Suigun Line * -

Highway

* – Sukagawa Interchange * * *

Local attractions

* Sukagawa Peony Garden *

Shōnindan temple ruins is an archaeological site with the ruins of a Nara period Buddhist temple located in what is now the city of Sukagawa, Fukushima, Japan. The temple no longer exists, but the temple grounds were designated as a National Historic Site by the Jap ...

* Sukagawa Ichirizuka *

Beizanji Sutra Mounds The is a Kamakura period archaeological site located in what is now part of the city of Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1937. and expanded in 1977. Over ...

* Fujinuma Dam *Taimatsu Akashi Festival

International relations

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, China, Friendship city since August 1983

Noted people from Sukagawa

Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director and cinematographer. Known as the he worked on 250 feature films in a career spanning 50 years. He is regarded as one of the co-creators of the ''Godzilla'' series, as well as the main creator of the ' ...

, Movie director * Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Olympic marathon runner *

Nakaba Suzuki is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his fantasy series '' The Seven Deadly Sins'' (2012–2020), which has over 37 million copies in circulation. He began a sequel, ''Four Knights of the Apocalypse'', in 2021. Life and career The f ...

, Manga artist *

Mizuno Senko Mizuno Senko (3 December 1888 – 31 May 1919) (水野仙子 in Japanese, or みずのせんこ in kana) was a Japanese writer, born Tei Hattori. In her short career, she was published as a novelist, story writer, essayist, and journalist. E ...

(1888–1919), writer * Dean Fujioka, Musician, actor

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Fukushima Prefecture