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 def ...

located in

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. , 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 a ...

of 213,303 in 91,789 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Isesaki is located in the northwestern part of the Kantō Plain of southern

. It is adjacent to Saitama Prefecture across the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kantō ...

, which runs through the southern part of the city. The distance to the center of the city is about from Maebashi City, the prefectural capital of Gunma, from Takasaki, and about from central

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Surrounding municipalities

Maebashi is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It wa ...

* Kiryū * Ōta *

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * Mi ...

Tamamura is a town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 36,367 in 15685 households, and a population density of 1440 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Tamamura is located in southern Gun ...

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

* Honjō *

Fukaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 229,517 in 142,803 households in 60804 households and a population density of 1023 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is famous for a ...

Climate

Isesaki has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Isesaki is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1256 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.3 °C. On June 26, 2022, the temperature in the city reached 40.2 °C, the highest ever recorded in Japan for the month of June.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Isesaki has increased steadily over the past 60 years.

History

Isesaki developed during the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, 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 Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

as a castle town surrounding Akaishi Castle, a stronghold in southern Kōzuke Province controlled by the Yura clan. 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 characteriz ...

, it was the center of

Isesaki Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Isesaki ''jin'ya'' in what is now part of the city of Isesaki, Gunma. Isesaki ...

, a

feudal domain A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

controlled by the

Sakai clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Nitta branch of the Minamoto clan, who were in turn descendants of Emperor Seiwa. Serata (Nitta) Arichika, a samurai of the 14th century, was the common ancestor of both the Sakai ...

. The area also contained two post towns on the

Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō The was established during the Edo period as a subroute to Nikkō Kaidō. It connects the Nakasendō with the Nikkō Kaidō.Nikkō Kaidō which connected the Nakasendō directly with Nikkō, bypassing

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

.Nikkō Reiheishidō
. Mainichi Shinbun. Accessed August 29, 2007.
. City of Takasaki. Accessed August 29, 2007. Isesaki Town was created within

Sai District, Gunma file: Gumma Sawa-gun 1889.png, Historic Map of Sawa District:1. Isesaki, 2. Misato, 3. Akabori, 4. Azuma, 5. Uehasu, 6. Moro, 7. Uneme, 8. Gōshi, 9. Sakai, 10. Shima, 11.Toyouke, 12.Nawa, 13. Shibane, 14. Tamamura, 15. Jōyō, 16. MiyagōPurple = ...

Prefecture on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system 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 ...

. Sai District and

Nawa District Nawa is a large district in the far south of Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. It is 100 km south from Ghazni in a mountainous region. The salt lake Ab-i Istada is located in the northern part of the district. Nawa's population, which is 100% P ...

merged to form Sawa District in 1896. It merged with the villages of Uehasu and Moro to form the city of Isesaki on September 13, 1940. On January 10, 1955 the village of Misato was annexed by Isesaki, followed by the villages of Nawa, Toyouke and Miyagō on March 25 of the same year. On January 1, 2005 the towns of Akabori and Sakai, and village of Azuma were incorporated into Isesaki. On April 1, 2007, Isesaki was proclaimed a special city (''tokureishi'') with increased autonomy.

Government

Isesaki 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 multic ...

city council of 29 members. Isesaki contributes five members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the

Gunma 2nd district is a single-member constituency of the Japanese House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet. It is located on the island of Honshu, in Gunma Prefecture, and includes the cities of Isesaki and Kiryu, among others. Areas covere ...

of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

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 paralle ...

Economy

Isesaki (along with neighboring Kiryū) was traditionally famous for

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, ''Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively studie ...

since ancient times, with a cloth called "Isesaki Meisen" as one of its most famous products. This cloth has been made since the late 17th century, and became popular during the Meiji and Taishō periods. Now, however, due to the ubiquity of Western-style clothes, its popularity is decreasing. The automotive equipment and

electrical equipment Electric(al) devices are devices that functionally rely on electric energy ( AC or DC) to drive their core parts (electric motors, transformers, lighting, rechargeable batteries, control electronics). They can be contrasted with traditional mech ...

manufacturing company

Sanden Corporation is a Japanese, Isesaki, Gunma-based automotive equipment and electrical equipment manufacturing company and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. History Kaihei Ushikubo founded the company, Sankyo Electric Company (Sankyo Denki Co), in July ...

is headquartered in Isesaki. Also the city is home to Meisei Electric, a

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and electronics equipment and electric measuring instruments manufacturing company. Large

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

s have been built in the suburbs, making it one of the leading industrial cities in the northern Kantō region. It is also the location of J-List, a retailer of anime goods, visual novels and related products from Japan.

Education

Universities

* Jobu University *

Tokyo University of Social Welfare is a private university in with its main campus in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo; Kita, Tokyo; Naka-ku, Nagoya; and Isesaki, Gunma.Colegio Hispano Americano de Gunma is a Peruvian international school ( ペルー学校) in Isesaki, Gunma, Japan. A part of the Centro de Desarrollo Hispano Americano, it serves levels six months through preschool, primary school (years 1-6) and secondary school (years 1-5). It wa ...

.Colegio
.

Colegio Hispano Americano de Gunma is a Peruvian international school ( ペルー学校) in Isesaki, Gunma, Japan. A part of the Centro de Desarrollo Hispano Americano, it serves levels six months through preschool, primary school (years 1-6) and secondary school (years 1-5). It wa ...

. Retrieved on October 24, 2015.

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 are ...

– Ryōmō Line * - Tōbu Tetsudō Logo

Tobu Railway –

Tobu Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asakusa ...

* - - -

Highway

* – Isesaki Interchange, Hashie Parking Area * * * *

Local attractions

* Former home of Tajima Yohei * Grave of Kunisada Chūji * Isesaki Jinja * Goshiki Onsen * Kezouji Park (Amusement park)

Sister-city relations

* Teradomari, Niigata, Japan, friendship city since 1986 *

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, United States, since 1986 * Ma'anshan,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

, China, friendship city since 1989.

Noted people from Isesaki

* Mitsuru Adachi, manga artist * Tsutomu Adachi, manga artist *

Atsushi Imaruoka is a Japanese voice actor from Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. He is affiliated with Mausu Promotion. Filmography Anime ;2001 * ''Okojo-san'' (Hasegawa) ;2003 * ''The Galaxy Railways'' (José Antonio Valdivia, Ōiwa) ;2004 * ''Gokusen'' (Ohash ...

, voice actor * Takashi Ishizeki, politician *

Mr. Pogo was a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work under the ring name . He helped popularize hardcore wrestling in the 1990s with "death matches" in promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, W*ING and Big Japan Pro Wrestlin ...

, professional wrestler

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Gunma Prefecture Isesaki, Gunma