270px, Bitchū Kokubun-ji 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

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama 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 69,428 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 330 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Sōja is located ancestral Okayama Prefecture. The

Takahashi River The is a Class A major river in the western part of Okayama Prefecture. It acts as the main drainage for the Takahashi River Drainage System, and is one of the three main drainage rivers in Okayama Prefecture (the others being the Yoshii River a ...

runs through the city from northwest to south. The northern and western parts are located in the southern part of the Kibi plateau, and the southern part also forms a hilly area. The central area, which is the urban area, originally formed a small basin in the floodplain of the Takahashi River.

Adjacent municipalities

Okayama Prefecture * Ibara * Kibichūō *

Kita-ku, Okayama is one of four Wards of Japan, wards of Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The ward has an area of 451.03 km2 and a population of 295,312. The population density is 655 per square kilometer. The name means "North Ward." The wards of Okay ...

Kurashiki is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 478,651 and a population density of 1300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kurashiki is located in the south-central part of Okay ...

Takahashi is the third most common Japanese surname. Less common variants include , , , , , , , and . Notable people with the surname Takahashi * Aaron Takahashi, Japanese-American actor * , Japanese singer and actress * , Japanese kickboxer * , Jap ...

* Yakage

Rivers

* Makidani River * Shinpon River *

Mountains

* Kijōyama * Mount Fuku * Mount Karube

Climate

Sōja 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 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'') with very warm summers and cool winters. The average annual temperature in Sōja is 14.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1392 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Sōja population statistics
/ref> the population of Sōja has been increasing for the past 50 years.

History

The Sōja area is part of ancient Bitchū Province and was the center of the ancient Kingdom of Kibi. The Tsukuriyama Kofun, the 10th largest

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in Japan, and the mountain-fortress of

Ki Castle was an ancient ''kōgoishi'' type castle located in the city of Sōja, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a Historic Sites of Japan, National Historic Site since 1986. Portions of the castle were Reconstruction (arch ...

are among the many surviving relics of that period. During 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 ...

, the Bitchū Kokubun-ji and

provincial capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...

were located in what is now Sōja. The area prospered in the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

onwards as a "temple town" at the gates of the Bitchū-no-kuni Sōja-gū from which it derives its name. Following 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 ...

, the village of Sōja was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 and was raised to town status on February 26, 1896. Sōja was elevated to city status on March 31, 1954. On March 22, 2005, the villages of Yamate and Kiyone (both from Tsukubo District) were merged into Sōja.

Government

Sōja 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 22 members. ''Sōja'' contributes two members to the Okayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Okayama 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 ...

Economy

Sōja has a mixed economy. Production of automobile parts dominates the local industry, although food processing is also important. The city also has a strong agricultural sector.

Education

Sōja has 13 public elementary schools and three public junior high schools and one public compulsory education School operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Okayama prefectural Board of Education. Okayama Prefectural University is also located in Sōja.

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, ...

(JR West) -

Hakubi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region of Japan. It begins at the south end of Okayama Prefecture at Kurashiki Station in Kurashiki, passing through Niimi Station ...

* - - - -

(JR West) - Kibi Line * - - Ibara Railway logo

Ibara Railway Company Ibara Line * -

Highways

* Okayama Expressway * * *

Notable people

* Nodoka Harada, softball player *

Gaku Hashimoto is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party and a former member of the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan, Diet. He represented the Okayama 4th district ...

, politician * Hitomi Niiya, long-distance runner * Satoshi Shimizu, boxer * Tomohisa Taguchi, anime director * Mai Yajima, heavy metal singer

Sister cities

Sōja has been twinned with

Chino, Nagano is a Cities of Japan, city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,673 in 23,236 households, and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Chino is located ...

in Japan since 1984.

Local attractions

* Kōmorizuka Kofun *

* Tsukuriyama Kofun * Bitchū Kokubun-ji ruins * Fukuyama Castle ruins

Notable people

* Seikaku Takagi, (1923 – 2017) Japanese

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

. Recipient of the Prime Minister's Award in Japan.

References

External links

* Cities in Okayama Prefecture Sōja, Okayama {{Okayama-geo-stub