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

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

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 223,960 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 2400 persons per km². The total area of the city is . While the name "Atsugi" is often associated with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

base named

Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean and once housed the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which dep ...

, the base is actually not in Atsugi, but straddles the border between the nearby cities of

Ayase Ayase may refer to: Places *Ayase, Kanagawa, Japan *Ayase, an area in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan ** Ayase Station, train station in Adachi, Tokyo People *Ayase (music producer) (born 1994), Japanese vocaloid producer *, Japanese actress *, Japanese foot ...

and

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

Geography

Atsugi is located in the hilly center of Kanagawa Prefecture, approximately 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 ...

or from central

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

. It is located at the northern end of the Sagami Plain created by the Sagami River, which originates from Lake Yamanaka, and straddles the Tanzawa Mountains in the west and the plain on the west bank of the Sagami River to the southeast. The Nakatsu River and Koayu River, which originate from the Higashitanzawa Mountains, join the Sagami River, which forms the border with Ebina, Zama, and Sagamihara. Parts of the western portion of the city are within the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park and include Mount Ōyama.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture *

Isehara 260px, Isehara Shibuta River 260px, Mount Oyama Afuri Jinja is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 101,670 and a population density of 1800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Ge ...

* Ebina *

Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

* Zama *

Hadano is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,787 and a population density of 1600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hadano is located in the foothills of the ...

* Hiratsuka * Aikawa *

Samukawa is a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 48,679 and a population density of 3600 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Samukawa is located in the flatlands of central Kan ...

* Kiyokawa

Climate

Atsugi 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 Atsugi is 13.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1906 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Atsugi has grown steadily over the past century.

History

The area around present-day Atsugi city has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found ceramic shards from the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

at numerous locations in the area. By the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

, this area part of the Mōri ''

shōen A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private, ...

'', part of the holdings of

Ōe no Hiromoto Ōe no Hiromoto (, 1148–1225) was a Japanese ''kuge'' (court noble) and vassal of the Kamakura shogunate, and contributed to establishing the shogunate's governmental structure. Life A great-grandson of the famous scholar Ōe no Masafu ...

. His descendants, the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...

later ruled

Chōshū domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was base ...

. During the Kamakura period, the area was also known for its

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

industry for the production of bells for Buddhist temples. The area came under the control of the Ashikaga clan in the early

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

and was later part of the territories of the Later Hōjō clan from Odawara. With the start of 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 ...

, the area was '' tenryō'' territory controlled directly by 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 ...

, but administered through various '' hatamoto'', as well as exclaves under the control of Odawara Domain,

Sakura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of its hi ...

, Mutsuura Domain, Ogino-Yamanaka Domain and Karasuyama Domain. 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 ...

, the area was consolidated into Aikō District of

by 1876. Atsugi town was created on April 1, 1889, through merger of several small hamlets, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Atsugi was elevated to city status on February 1, 1955, through merger with neighboring Mutsuai Village, Koaiyu Village, Tamagawa Village and Minamimori Village. The city expanded on July 8, 1958, through merger with neighboring Echi Village, and with Aikawa Village from Naka District. On September 30, 1956, Ogino Village joined with Atsugi. In April 2000, Atsugi exceeded 200,000 in population and was proclaimed a special city with increased autonomy from the central government.

Government

Atsugi 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 28 members. Atsugi contributes three members to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kanagawa 16th 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

Atsugi is mainly known as a bedroom community for the

metropolitan area.

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

has operated a design center in Atsugi, Japan, since 1982.

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

operates the Atsugi Technology Center and the Atsugi Technology Center No. 2 in Atsugi.Access & Map
" ''

''. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.

Anritsu is a Japanese multinational corporation in the telecommunications electronics equipment market. A global pioneer for producing the world's first wireless telephone network, Anritsu's revenue numbers near US$782 million. History In Japan, Anri ...

is headquartered in Atsugi, as well as some of the NTT Research and Development labs.

Education

Atsugi has 23 public elementary schools and 13 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has six public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private elementary school and two private high schools.

Shoin University is a private university in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Founded as a women's school in 1941, Shoin became coeducational in 2004. It is a member of the Western Metropolitan Area University Association. History The predecessor of the school, ...

and the

Kanagawa Institute of Technology (KAIT) is a private university in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The predecessor of the school, a vocational school, was founded in 1963. It was chartered as a university in 1975. The present name was adopted in 1988. Abstract The uni ...

are based in Atsugi, and the Tokyo Polytechnic University and the Tokyo University of Agriculture has campuses in the city

Transportation

Railroad

Odakyu Electric Railway –

Odakyū Odawara Line The is the main line of Japanese private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. It extends 82.5 km from Shinjuku in central Tokyo through the southwest suburbs to the city of Odawara, the gateway to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is ...

* -

Highway

* * , to

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

* , to Hiratsuka or

* , to central

or Numazu * , to Odawara (toll) * , to Sagamiko

Sister City relations

* – Yokote, Akita, Japan, from May 24, 1985 * –

Abashiri, Hokkaidō is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the city ...

, Japan from February 5, 2005 * –

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, United States from May 31, 1983 * –

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

, China from October 23, 1984 * – Gunpo,

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, Republic of Korea from February 5, 2005

Local attractions

Iiyama Kannon is a Shingon sect Buddhist temple located outside of Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is more popularly known as the , after its primary object of worship. It is the 6th temple in the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit of 33 Budd ...

(Chokokuji temple) * Iiyama Onsen * Nanasawa Onsen
Nanasawa Forest Park
* Mount Ōyama

Notable people from Atsugi

Akira Amari is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a member of the lower house representing the Minami Kanto Bloc. Personal life Amari is a native of Atsugi, Kanagawa, where he attended Kanagawa Prefectural Atsugi High School ...

, politician * Kyōko Koizumi, actress, singer *

Azusa Senou , is a Japanese singer, actress and model. She was a former member of the Japan's idol group Coco in the late 1990s. Biography Azusa was born in Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan, and made her solo debut on 4 September 1991. She was a founding member o ...

, singer *

Nobuteru Maeda is a Japanese male singer-songwriter from Atsugi, Kanagawa. He is signed onto Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm f ...

, vocalist * Yurina Kumai, singer * Tatsunori Hara, former baseball player, manager of

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

Hitoshi Tamura Hitoshi Tamura (多村仁志, born March 28, 1977) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player who last played with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Following his release from the Yokohama DeNA Baystars ...

, baseball player *

Teruyuki Moniwa is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Maruyasu Okazaki. Club career Moniwa was born in Atsugi on 8 September 1981. He joined J1 League club Bellmare Hiratsuka (later ''Shonan Bellmare'') from youth team in 1999 ...

, football player *

Genki Nagasato is a Japanese Association football, footballer who plays for Hayabusa Eleven FC. His sisters are Japan women's national football team, Japan women's national team players Yuki Nagasato and Asano Nagasato. He primarily plays as a left-winger but ...

, football player *Miki Igarashi, guitarist of band Show-Ya *

Emi Nakamura Emi Nakamura is a Canadian-American economist. She is the Chancellor's Professor of Economics at University of California, Berkeley. Nakamura is a research associate and co-director of the Monetary Economics Program of the National Bureau of Ec ...

, singer, songwriter *Kiyoe Yoshioka, Singer of the band Ikimonogakari *

Yuki Nagasato Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

, football player *

Madoka Sugai Madoka Sugai (菅井円加, ''Sugai Madoka'', born 1994) is a Japanese ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the Hamburg Ballet. Early life Sugai was born in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. She trained at Sasaki Mika Ballet Academ ...

, ballet dancer

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Kanagawa Prefecture