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 ...

Iburi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Geography Located in south-central Hokkaido, Iburi stretches East-West and North-South. Iburi covers an area of . Iburi borders Oshima Subprefecture to the West, Shiribeshi, Ishikari, an ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

, Japan. Date was established around 1869, and became a city on April 1, 1972.

History

Remains of settlements from the Jōmon period have been found in the Date area. The Ainu, the native inhabitants of Hokkaido, also maintained a settlement at another location nearby until the beginning of the 20th century, when the Ainu were mostly assimilated into Japanese society. The name of the area comes from the

Date clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Date family was founded ...

, who rose to power in the 12th century in

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

, on the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

. Before 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 characte ...

, their home castle was the

Yanagawa castle is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 71,848, with 24,507 households and a population density of 934.55 persons per km². The total area is 76.88 km². On March 21, ...

Date District, Fukushima is a district located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As of 2008, the district has an estimated population of 39,633 and a density of 190 persons per km2. The total area is 208.53 km2. Towns and villages * Kawamata *Koori * Kunimi Mergers ...

. Later, it became the Sendai castle. The Date clan ruled the whole of Miyagi Prefecture as well as the southern part of Iwate Prefecture, and was one of the most influential ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

s''. During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, many samurai, including the Date clan, lost their territories due to the political changes of 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 ...

. In 1869, a branch family of the Date clan from Watari-Date moved to and settled at the south coast of the then-uncultivated Hokkaido. This was the foundation of Date. On March 1, 2006, the village of Ōtaki, from Usu District, was merged into Date.

Geography

Date is home to

Mount Usu is an active stratovolcano in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaido, Japan. It has erupted four times since 1900: in 1910 (which created Meiji-shinzan 神沼克伊,小山悦郎 ''日本の火山を科学する　日本列島津々浦々、 ...

() and the Osaru River. As a result of city and village merges, Date can essentially be divided into two sections: the Otaki Forest area and the Date Historic City area. Otaki Forest is home to Sankaidaki Falls and the Shirakinu River Bed. Date Historic City contains buildings that were built by the samurai, the most famous of which is the Usu-Zenkou temple.

Climate

Education

High schools

* Hokkaido Date High School * Hokkaido Date Midorigaoka High School

Transportation

Date lies at the conjunction of National Highway Route 37 and Route 453. Date can be accessed via the Date Interchange from the expressway or via Date-Mombetsu Station operated by

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

. *

Muroran Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Oshamambe Station in Oshamambe and Iwamizawa Station in Iwamizawa, approximately paralleling the coast of Iburi Subprefecture. There also is a branc ...

: Usu - Nagawa - Date-Mombetsu - Kita-Funaoka - Mareppu - Kogane * hokkaido Expressway: Usuzan SA - Date IC

Partner cities

Watari, Miyagi is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 33,459, and a population density of 450 persons per km² in 12,643 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Watari is located in the Tōhoku r ...

(sister town) *

Shinchi, Fukushima is a Towns of Japan, town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the town has an estimated population of 8,152, and a population density of in 2832 households. The total area is . Geography Shinchi is located in the far northeastern Hamadō ...

(sister town) *

Yamamoto, Miyagi is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 12,100, and a population density of 190 persons per km² in 4794 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Yamamoto is located in south-east Miy ...

(sister town) *

Shibata, Miyagi is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 37,617, and a population density of 700 persons per km² in 15,590 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Shibata is located in south-centra ...

(friendship town) *

Lake Cowichan Lake Cowichan ( Nitinaht: ʕaʔk̓ʷaq c̓uubaʕsaʔtx̣) (pop. 2,974) is a town located on the east end of Cowichan Lake and, by highway, is west of Duncan, British Columbia. The town of Lake Cowichan was incorporated in 1944. The Cowichan R ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(sister town) *

Hirakata, Osaka 260px, Hirakata Park is a city in northeastern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 397,681 in 183075 households and a population density of 6100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Hirakat ...

(cultural exchanges) *

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

, China (sister city)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Date, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido

History

Geography

Climate

Education

High schools

Transportation

Partner cities

See also

References

External links