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 ...

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. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 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 310 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

History

The area of present-day Aizuwakamatsu was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and was settled from prehistoric times. The Aizu-Otsuka Kofun within the city borders dates from the 4th century AD, and is an Important Cultural Property. According to legend, in 88 BCE, Emperor Sujin sent two generals; Ohiko and Takenukawa-wake to the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

for the purpose of establishing peace after the quashing of a rebellion in the region. Before the late 12th century, Aizuwakamatsu was mainly a market town and a base for regional warlords. Starting in 1192, Aizuwakamatsu became part of the regions that were controlled by the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

. Soon after taking power, Yoritomo granted a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

named Suwara Yoshitsura (from the

Miura clan The was one of the branch families descended from the Taira clan. They held large fiefs, and retained great political influence. They were one of the primary opponents of the Hōjō clan, Hōjō family of Shikken, regents in the mid-13th ce ...

) all of Aizu. A descendant of Suwara, Ashina Morinori, began construction of the first castle in the city in 1384. 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 ...

the final lord of Aizu, Ashina Moritaka, died in 1583 and soon the Ashina clan lost power. After the

Satake clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's serv ...

took control of the castle, they placed a twelve-year-old member of their clan who was renamed Ashina Morishige and proclaimed lord of Aizu. The Ashina clan regained control of Aizu for a brief time in 1589 with the help of

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 ...

. However, Masamune took over the domain for himself soon after. He surrendered in 1590 to

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

. Toyotomi gave Aizu to one of his allies, Gamo Ujisato who then began construction in 1592 of a new castle at the site. It was during this time that the town was renamed "Wakamatsu" (young pine). 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 ...

, Aizu was controlled briefly by

Uesugi Kagekatsu was a Japanese samurai ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku and Edo periods. He was the adopted son of Uesugi Kenshin and Uesugi Kagetora’s brother in law. Early life and rise Kagekatsu was the son of Nagao Masakage, the head of the Ueda Naga ...

in 1600 after the death of Gamo Ujisato in 1596.

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 ...

accused Uesugi of gathering troops in Aizu. Ieyasu then transferred the Uesugi to Yonezawa. Through inheritance, Aizu was passed to Hoshina Masayuki (a brother of the third Tokugawa shogun) in 1643. The

saw the economic and cultural growth of Aizu. Hoshina's descendants ruled the

Aizu Domain was a Han (Japan), domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Tsuruga Castle in M ...

for the next 200 years, adopting the Matsudaira name until the ninth generation

Daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

, Matsudaira Katamori, backed the

bakufu , 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 ...

in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. Aizuwakamatsu Castle fell during the Battle of Aizu and the domain was forfeited. A group of 22, including loyal retainers and their families, managed to escape to California and lend the name of their home to establish the first Japanese colony in America, the ill fated Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony in 1869. 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 ...

, Wakamatsu Town was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It became Wakamatsu City in 1899. On April 1, 1937, a part of Machikita village (from Kitaaizu District) was merged into the city of Wakamatsu. The remained was annexed on April 1, 1951. The name of the city was changed to Aizuwakamatsu on January 1, 1955 when Wakamatsu merged with seven villages of Kitaaizu District (Kouya, Kouzashi, Monden, Ikki, Higashiyama, Ōto and Minato). A part of the town of Hongō (locality of Oya) (from Ōnuma District) was merged into Aizuwakamatsu on April 1, 1955. Aizuwakamatsu further expanded by annexing the village of Kitaaizu (from Kitaaizu District) on November 1, 2004 and the town of Kawahigashi (from Kawanuma District) on November 1, 2005.

Geography

Aizuwakamatsu is located in the western part of Fukushima Prefecture, in the southeast part of Aizu basin.

Mountains

* Mount Iimori * Mount Oda * Mount Ōtodake (1416 m) * Mount Seaburi

Rivers

* Aga River * Nippashi River * Sesenagi River * Yugawa River

Lakes

* Lake Higashiyama *

Lake Inawashiro is the fourth-largest lake in Japan, located in central Fukushima Prefecture, south of Mount Bandai. It is also known as the . The lake is located within the borders of Bandai-Asahi National Park. It is a surface area of , circumference of , de ...

* Lake Sohara * Lake Wakasato

Hot springs

* Ashinomaki Onsen * Higashiyama Onsen

Administrative divisions

There are 11 administrative divisions (hamlets or ) in the city. * Higashiyama * Ikki * Kawahigashi * Kitaaizu * Kouya * Kouzashi * Machikita * Minato * Monden * Ōto * Wakamatsu

Neighboring municipalities

Fukushima Prefecture *North: Kitakata, Aizubange, Yugawa,

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

*East: Koriyama, Inawashiro *West: Aizumisato *South: Shimogo, Tenei

Climate

Aizuwakamatsu has a hot-summer

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 cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfa'') closely bordering on 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'') with the January average just below the 0°C isotherm to be classified as the latter, characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. Although it is located in an inland valley, Aizuwakamatsu's climate resembles that of the

Hokuriku region The is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan and is part of the larger Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to the former Koshi Province (Japan), Koshi Province and Hokurikudō are ...

on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

coast. Snowfall is very heavy during the winter at , and snow cover reaches an average maximum of and has reached as much as for short periods, a figure one would usually associate with much colder regions like the

Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, also called Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, Strait of Belle Isle and the Gulf of ...

. The average annual temperature in Aizuwakamatsu is 11.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1270 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Aizuwakamatsu peaked around the year 1990 and had since declined to pre-1960 levels.

Government

Aizuwakamatsu 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 29 members The city contributes four members to the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Fukushima Electoral District 4 for 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

Aizuwakamatsu is a local commercial center. The area is traditionally noted for ''

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

'' brewing and lacquerware. Modern industries include textiles, wood processing and electronics.

Education

Aizuwakamatsu has one prefectural university and a private junior college. The city has 19 public elementary school and 11 public junior high schools operated by the city government. In addition, there is one private elementary school and one private junior high school. The Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education operates five public high schools and one combined junior/senior high school. The prefecture also operates two special education schools.

Universities and colleges

* Junior College of Aizu * University of Aizu

Senior high schools

Public (prefectural)

*Aizu High School (会津高等学校) *Aoi High School (葵高等学校) *Aizu Gakuhō High School (会津学鳳高等学校) *Wakamatsu Shōgyō High School (若松商業高等学校) *Aizu Kōgyō High School (若松工業高等学校) *Aizu Second High School (会津第二高等学校)

Private

*Aizuwakamatsu Xaverio Gakuen High School (会津若松ザベリオ学園高等学校) *Jinai High School (仁愛高等学校) *Wakamatsu 1st High School (若松第一高等学校)

Junior high schools

Public (municipal)

*Aizuwakamatsu First Junior High School (会津若松市立第一中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Second Junior High School (会津若松市立第二中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Third Junior High School (会津若松市立第三中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Fourth Junior High School (会津若松市立第四中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Fifth Junior High School (会津若松市立第五中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Sixth Junior High School (会津若松市立第六中学校) *Ikki Junior High School (一箕中学校) *Ōto Junior High School (大戸中学校) *Minato Junior High School (湊中学校) *Kitaaizu Junior High School (北会津中学校) *Kawahigashi Junior High School (河東中学校) *Aizu Gakuhō Junior High School (会津学鳳中学校, prefectural) **Note: All junior high schools are municipal except for Aizu Gakuhō Junior High School.

Private

*Aizuwakamatsu Xaverio Gakuen Junior High School (会津若松ザベリオ学園中学校)

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 ...

–

Banetsu West 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 ...

* – – –

– Tadami Line *Aizu-Wakamatsu – – – Aizu Tetsudo logo 1

Aizu Railway – Aizu Line *Nishi-Wakamatsu – Minami-Wakamatsu – Monden – Amaya – Ashinomaki-Onsen – Ōkawa-Dam-Kōen – Ashinomaki-Onsen-Minami

Highway

* – Bandai-Kawahigashi IC – Aizu-Wakamatsu IC * * * * * *

Bus

Aizu Bus

Media

Television

* Fukushima Broadcasting * Fukushima Central Television * Fukushima Television Broadcasting *

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

Fukushima *TV-U Fukushima

Newspapers

*''Fukushima Mimpō'' *''Fukushima Min-Yū''

Radio

*FM Aizu

Sister cities

Japanese sister cities

* Mutsu, Aomori, since September 23, 1984 *

Naruto, Tokushima is a Cities of Japan, city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 54,989 in 26,206 households and a population density of 410 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Naruto is locate ...

, since October 30, 1999 * Ina, Nagano, since September 24, 2000 *

Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city is ...

, since April 17, 2005

International sister cities

Jingzhou Jingzhou ( zh, s=, c=荆州, t=, p=Jīngzhōu) is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the Seventh National Population Censu ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

since June 15, 1991 *

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, since September 22, 2006

Local attractions

* Aizuwakamatsu Castle (Tsuruga-jo) * Aizu Matsudaira's Royal Garden (Oyakuen) * Mount Iimori ** Byakkotai graves **Aidzu Sazaedou * former Takizawa

Honjin image:Ohara-juku01s3200.jpg, The ''honjin'' at Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku. is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (''shukuba'') during the later part of the Edo period. Evolution of ''Honjin ...

* Aizu Matsudaira clan grave * Nisshinkan * Aizu Samurai Residences * Nanukamachi-dori Street

Culture

Festivals

* Aizu Festival

Foods

* Basashi (horse sashimi) * Boutara * Kozuyu *

Sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

* Sauce Katsu-don *

Soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") are Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour, with a small amount of wheat flour mixed in. It has an ashen brown color, and a slightly grainy texture. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sau ...

Others

* Akabeko * Okiagari-koboshi

Notable people from Aizuwakamatsu

* Sōichirō Hoshi (1972–), voice actor * Wakashima Kyūzaburō (1842–1891), sumo wrestler *

Aya Ohori is a Japanese badminton player from Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. She is affiliate with Tonami Transportation badminton club. Awards and nominations Personal life Aya Ohori is engaged to Malaysian double player, Ong Yew Sin. A ...

(1996–), Japanese badminton player * Hiroshi Sasagawa (1936–), anime creator * Kei Satō (1928–2010) actor, narrator

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Fukushima Prefecture