240px, Edo-period Usui Magistrate’s office in Annaka 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 47,911 in 24,749 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 210 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Annaka is located in the southwestern portion of

at the very northernmost point of the

Kantō Plain The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, ...

, bordered by

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

to the west. The

Usui Pass The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano and Gunma prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsandō highway was des ...

connects Annaka with neighboring

Karuizawa, Nagano is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Karuizawa is one of the oldest and most ...

. *Mountains: Chausuyama (596m),

Mount Myōgi is one of the major mountains in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Its straddles the border between the municipalities of Annaka, Shimonita and Tomioka. Well known for its rocks weathered into fantastic forms, this famous peak is ranked among Japan's th ...

(1103m) *Rivers: Usigawa, Tsukumogawa *Lakes:

Sakamoto Dam Sakamoto (written: ) is the 40th most common Japanese surname. A less common variant is . Notable people with the surname include: *Chika Sakamoto (born 1959), voice actor and singer *Fuyumi Sakamoto (born 1967), enka singer *, Japanese professio ...

Nakagi Dam Nakagi Dam is a dam near Annaki, in the Gunma Prefecture of 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 t ...

Surrounding municipalities

Takasaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of th ...

* Tomioka * Shimonita

Karuizawa is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Karuizawa is one of the oldest and most ...

Climate

Annaka 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 Annaka is 13.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1227 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Annaka population statistics
/ref> the population of Annaka has recently declined after decades of relative stability.

History

Annaka is located within traditional

Kōzuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered by Echigo, Shinano, Musashi and Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Kōzuke was ran ...

. 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 ...

, central Annaka was the ''

jōkamachi The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...

'' of

Annaka Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Annaka Castle in what is now the city of Annaka, Gunma. History Ii Naomasa was one of Tok ...

, 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 ...

held by the

Itakura clan The is a Japanese clan which came to prominence during the Sengoku period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German). The family claimed descent from Shibukawa Yoshiaki, the son of Ashikaga Yas ...

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 ...

. The area also prospered from its location on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...

highway connecting

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 ...

with

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. Post stations located within the borders of modern Annaka were:

Itahana-shuku was the fourteenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Ruins of its '' honjin'' can be found at the Princess Kazunomiya Inn (皇女和宮宿泊 ''Ōjo Kazunomiya ...

Annaka-shuku was the fifteenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. ''Batō Kan'on'' (馬頭漢音 ''horsehead gods'') lined the way to the post town.Matsuida-shuku was the sixteenth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Annaka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, at the foot of Mount Myōgi. Travel towards Kyoto Usuinoseki Checkpoint was one of the four major checkpoin ...

and Sakamoto-shuku. Annaka Town was created within

Usui District, Gunma is a former rural district located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. All of the city of Annaka and a tall portion of the city of Takasaki were formerly part of the district. History Per a census conducted at the end of the Edo period, the area of Usu ...

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 ...

. On March 1, 1955, Annaka merged with neighboring Haraichi, Isobe, and Itahana towns, and Higashiyokono, Iwanoya, Akima, and Gokan villages. It was raised to city status on November 1, 1958. On March 18, 2006, the town of Matsuida, merged with Annaka. Usui District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

Government

Annaka 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 20 members. Annaka contributes two members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Gunma 5th district Gunma 5th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Gunma Prefecture and consists of the cities of Tomioka, Annaka, parts of Takasaki and Shibukawa as well as the Kita ...

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

Annaka is a regional commercial center and transportation hub.

Toho Zinc is a Economy of Japan, Japanese manufacturer of zinc related products. Established in 1937, it smelts nonferrous metals such as lead and zinc and produces electronic components. There are seven branches in Japan and two branches in China, in Hon ...

operates a large plant in the city, as does Shin-Etsu Chemical.

Education

Annaka has 12 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private combined middle/high school.

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 ...

– Hokuriku Shinkansen * JR logo (east)

–

Shin'etsu Main Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . S ...

* - - - -

Highway

* – Masuida-Myogi IC, Usui-Karuizawa IC, Yokogawa SA *

Local attractions

240px, Entrance to Isobe Onsen *Ruins of Matsuida Castle * Yanase Futagozuka Kofun, a National Historic Site *Isobe Onsen *Kirizumi Onsen *Asazuma Art Museum *Myogi Sanroku Art Museum *

*Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park

Sister-city relations

* Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada, friendship city since December 16, 2005

References

External links

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