Yokkaichi
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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
Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...
,
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 310,259 in 142162 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 1500 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .


Geography

Yokkaichi is located in the north-central of Mie Prefecture, part of the northeastern Kii Peninsula. It stretches the width of Mie Prefecture, and is bordered by
Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie prefecture, Mie and Aichi prefecture, Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the small ...
on the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
to the east, and Shiga Prefecture to the northwest.


Neighboring municipalities

Mie Prefecture * Asahi * Inabe * Kawagoe *
Komono file:Gozaisho Ropeway and Komono Mie.jpg, 260px, Gozaisho Ropeway and Komono in distance is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 41,542 in 16883 households and a population dens ...
* Kuwana * Suzuka * Tōin Shiga Prefecture * Kōka


Climate

Yokkaichi 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 Yokkaichi 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 Yokkaichi has increased steadily over the past 60 years.


History

The area around modern Yokkaichi has been settled since prehistoric times. Numerous
Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...
burial mounds have been discovered, and the area was one of the battle sites of the
Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...
Jinshin War. However, until the end of the
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 ...
, the area was sparsely settled, and the site of Yokkaichi was only a small port village. The area developed 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 ...
and by the Azuchi–Momoyama period, the port was developed and a regular market was opened on the 4th, 14th, and 24th day each month. Thus, the city is named Yokkaichi: "yokka" means fourth day, and "ichi" means market. After the Honnō-ji Incident during which warlord
Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...
was assassinated,
Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...
fled from Yokkaichi port by sea to his castle at Edo. 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 ...
, Yokkaichi was '' tenryō'' territory controlled directly by the ''
shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...
'' and administered by a '' daikan'' based at the Yokkaichi Jin'ya. Throughout 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 as Yokkaichi-juku, the forty-third station on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. However, the city was largely destroyed by the Ansei great earthquakes. 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 ...
, Yokkaichi Town was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, and was designated the capital of Mie Prefecture. Yokkaichi's port advanced remarkably during the
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 ...
, primarily under the guidance of Inaba Sanuemon, a resident merchant interested in increasing trade in the Yokkaichi and Ise area by modernizing the port facilities. Starting in 1872, the project took 12 years to complete due to typhoons and difficulties in financing the project. This led to the port city being designated an Official International Port in 1899 The primary trade items shipped through Yokkaichi were originally seed oil, Banko ware, and Ise tea; but now it has developed into a port that handles cotton, wool, glass, and heavy equipment. Yokkaichi was elevated to city status on August 1, 1897. From 1939, Yokkaichi became a center for the chemical industry, with the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
constructing a large refinery near the port area. Yokkaichi was one of the first cities bombed by the United States during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when on April 18, 1942, the city was attacked by aircraft from the Doolittle Raid. During the final stages of World War II, on June 18, 1945, 89
B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...
bombers dropped 11,000 incendiary bombs destroying 35% of the urban area and killing 736 people. This attack on Yokkaichi was followed by another eight air raids until August 8, 1945, killing another 808 people. From 1960 to 1972, the city residents suffered health problems caused by the emission of SOx into the atmosphere from local petrochemical and chemical plants. In Japan, a disease called ''Yokkaichi zensoku'' ( Yokkaichi asthma) derives its name from the city, and it is considered one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan. Yokkaichi attained special city status on November 1, 2000, with increased local autonomy. On February 7, 2005, the town of Kusu (from Mie District) was merged into Yokkaichi.


Government

Yokkaichi 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 34 members. Yokkaichi contributes seven members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Mie 2nd district and Mie 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

Yokkaichi is a manufacturing center that produces Banko ware (a kind of
earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...
and
stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...
),
automobiles A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
, cotton
textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
, chemicals, tea,
cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
, and computer parts such as
flash memory Flash memory is an Integrated circuit, electronic Non-volatile memory, non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for t ...
by Kioxia and Western Digital.


Education

;Universities * Humanitec Junior College * Yokkaichi Nursing and Medical Care University * Yokkaichi University ;Primary and secondary education Yokkaichi has 38 public elementary schools and 22 public middle schools operated by the city government, and there are three private middle schools. The city also operates one special education school for the disabled. The city has ten public high schools operated by the Mie Prefectural Board of Education and five private high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the disabled. ;International schools * — Brazilian schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão
(). Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.
* — North Korean school


Transportation


Railway

JR TōkaiKansai Main Line * - - - - 20px Kintetsu RailwayNagoya Line * - - - - - - - - - 20px Kintetsu RailwayYunoyama Line * - - - - - Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway – Utsube Line *Asunarou Yokkaichi - - - - - - - Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway – Hachiōji Line * - 20px Sangi Railway – Sangi Line * - - - - - -


Highway

* * * * * * * * * *


Seaports

*Yokkaichi Port


Local attractions


Festivals and events

*Amagasuka Ishidori Festival *Great Yokkaichi Festival *Matsubara Ishidori Festival


International relations

Yokkaichi has two sister cities and one sister port. *
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, United States, since October 7, 1963 * Sydney Port, Australia, since October 24, 1968 *
Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...
, China, since October 28, 1980


Notable people from Yokkaichi

* Toshiya Fujita, movie director * Naoki Hattori, racing driver * Goseki Kojima, manga artist * Masayo Kurata, voice actress * Miki Mizuno, actress * Fumio Niwa, author * Katsuya Okada, politician *Takuya Okada, chairman emeritus of AEON Group * Satoshi Saida, wheelchair tennis player * Naoki Segi, movie director * Shuu Shibutani, professional wrestler * Ui Shigure, light novel artist and virtual YouTuber * Yoriko Shono, writer * Ōzutsu Takeshi, sumo wrestler * Katsuaki Watanabe, president of
Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...


References


External links

*
Yokkaichi Information, Movie, and Community Portal
TranslatablePage

* {{Authority control Cities in Mie Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan