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 southwestern

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

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 45,747 in 20563 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 360 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Akō is located in far southwestern Hyōgo Prefecture. The city is on the border of the Hyōgo and

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

prefectures, which also divides the

Kinki The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

and Chūgoku areas. On each side of the border, ancient

Harima or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During the ...

and Bizen provinces, which are now Akō and Bizen cities, respectively (except for the former village of Fukukawa, now part of Akō but formerly belonging to Bizen Province), have cultivated their own cultures. Therefore, even at the present days, dialects are vastly different on the sides of the border. A traveller from west to east on the JR San'yō Main Line will notice that the dialect of passengers suddenly changes between Kamigori station in Hyogo prefecture and Mitsuishi station in Okayama prefecture. In Akō, people speak a type of the Kansai dialect whose intonation is however of the Tokyo type. The superset of the dialect spoken in Akō, called ''Banshū-ben'', is known as one of the harshest-sounding dialects. The Chikusa River flows through the center of the city, providing the moat of Akō Castle with water through a branch, Kariya River. The central part of the city around the castle has been built on the

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

of Chikusa River. Parts of the city are within the borders of the

Setonaikai National Park is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, known as the Setouchi ...

Neighboring Municipalities

Hyōgo Prefecture * Aioi * Kamigōri Okayama Prefecture * Bizen

Climate

Akō has a

Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Akō is 15.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1519 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.8 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Hyōgo population statistics
/ref> the population of Akō has remained relatively constant over the past 40 years.

History

Akō was part of ancient

Harima province or Banshū (播州) was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Harima bordered on Tajima, Tanba, Settsu, Bizen, and Mimasaka Provinces. Its capital was Himeji. During the ...

, and has been settled since at least the Jomon period, with numerous remains from the

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

and

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 ...

found within city limits. 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 ...

, Akō was a capital of

Akō Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southwestern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Akō Castle, which is located in what is now ...

, which was noted for its salt production. The town Akō was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to city status on September 1, 1951.

Government

Akō 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 18 members. Akō contributes one member to the

Hyogo Prefectural Assembly The is the prefectural parliament of Hyogo Prefecture. The assembly's 87 members are elected every four years in 40 districts by single non-transferable vote. Nine of the electoral districts correspond with the wards of Kobe city and the rema ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo 12th district 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

Akō has traditionally been famous for salt production was its main industry during the feudal period. Other industries are light manufacturing,

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

, agriculture and tourism thanks to the story of the

forty-seven rōnin The revenge of the , also known as the or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of ''rōnin'' (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. It is on ...

, as featured in the ''

Chūshingura is the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including th ...

''.

Education

Akō has ten public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and one public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates a special education school for the handicapped. The

Kansai University of Social Welfare is a private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public stud ...

was founded in 1997 is also located in Akō.

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, and ...

– San'yō Main Line * JR_logo_(west)

–

Akō Line is a railway line owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Aioi, Hyōgo to Okayama, Okayama in Japan. A loop line off the Sanyō Main Line, the Akō Line commences at Aioi, is situated south of the main line approximately parallel ...

* - - -

Highways

San'yō Expressway The (Asian Highway Network ) is an expressway in Japan, running from Kobe through Hiroshima along the Inland Sea and terminating in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The entire length of the expressway was opened in 1997. The main line has a total length of ...

* * *

Sister City relations

* -

Rockingham, Western Australia Rockingham is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Local attractions

Akō Castle is a flatland Japanese castle located in the city of Akō, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Built by the Asano clan in the Edo period, it was the center of Akō Domain in western Harima Province. The castle was designated a National Historic Site ...

, National Historic Site * Akō Kaihin Koen (赤穂海浜公園) located on the east bank of the Chikusa river at its junction with Setonaikai is a complex of a facility which offers an experience of old-style salt production, camping sites, tennis courts, play grounds, ponds where rental boats are available, and a small zoo.

Museums

* Akō Tabuchi Memorial Museum of Art (赤穂市立田淵記念館) has on display a remarkable " Cha no yu (茶の湯)" exhibit. * Akō City Museum of History (赤穂市立歴史博物館) built at the site of former rice granary collects, investigates, and exhibits historical materials related to the city of Akō, especially through the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and salt production.

Local specialties

* Shiomi

Manjū is a traditional Japanese confection. Of the many varieties of manjū, most have an outside made from flour, rice powder, kudzu, and buckwheat, and a filling of ''anko'' ( red bean paste), usually made from boiled adzuki beans and sugar. ''M ...

is a Japanese sweet. The outside shell is a little salty while the inside made of ''

azuki ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East As ...

'' paste is very sweet. It goes very well with (strong/bitter) green tea or coffee

Festivals

* Akō Gishisai, held annually on December 14, in honor of

Asano Naganori was the ''daimyō'' of the Akō Domain in Japan (1675–1701). His title was ''Takumi no Kami'' (). He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as ''Chūshingura'' (involving the forty-seven rōnin), o ...

, the master of the

and the events of the Chushingura. On the day of the festival, all the elementary and middle schools in the city are off, and the students and pupils are encouraged to participate in one of the sports and art competitions including those in

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

, and

shodō also called is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Written Japanese was originally based on Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intrins ...

, or one of the parades, including the one re-enacting the victory of the forty-seven rōnin and another one exhibiting the cultural features of the Edo period, such as '' sankin-kotai''.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ako, Hyogo Cities in Hyōgo Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Akō, Hyōgo