250px, Fukuchiyama Castle 250px, Fukuchiyama city center 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 ...

in northern Kyoto Prefecture,

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 76,037 in 36412 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 140 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Fukuchiyama is located in northwestern Kyoto Prefecture, bordering Hyogo Prefecture to the west. It is centered on the Fukuchiyama Basin formed by the Yura River, and is surrounded by mountains to the south, west, and east. It is located about 70 kilometers from downtown Osaka, 60 kilometers from Kyoto or Kobe City, and about 30 kilometers from Toyooka or Maizuru. The highest elevation in the city is 839.17 meters above sea level, and the lowest is 7.11meters. The city center extends along the Yura River.

Neighbouring municipalities

Kyoto Prefecture *

Maizuru is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Pref ...

Ayabe is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 31,082 in 13660 households and a population density of 90 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ayabe is situated in th ...

* Miyazu *

Kyōtango is a city located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 52,683 in 22,886 households and a population density of 110 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kyōtango is located on the coast o ...

* Yosano Hyōgo Prefecture * Tamba * Toyooka * Asago * Sasayama

Climate

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

''Cfa''), featuring a marked seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation. Summers are hot and humid, but winters are relatively cold with occasional snowfall. The average annual temperature in Fukuchiyama is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Its record high is , reached on 22 August 2018, and its record low is , reached on 16 February 1977.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Fukuchiyama population statistics
/ref> the population of Fukuchiyama has remained relatively stable over the past 60 years.

History

Fukuchiyama is part of ancient

Tanba Province was a province of Japan in the area of central Kyoto and east-central Hyōgo Prefectures. Tanba bordered on Harima, Ōmi, Settsu, Tajima, Wakasa, and Yamashiro Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō sys ...

. From various excavated items, people have been living along the Yura River since at least 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 ...

and the area was a transportation hub since ancient times. In the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

, the Fukuchiyama basin was developed into a number of ''

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, ...

'' landed estates by the

Five regent houses The Five Regent Houses (五摂家; ''go-sekke'') is a collective term for the five families of the Fujiwara clan that monopolized the regent position of '' Sekkan'' in Japan from 1252 until 1868. The five houses are Konoe, Takatsukasa, Kujō, Ic ...

in Kyoto. In the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, the area came under the control of

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

and a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

developed around

Fukuchiyama Castle is a castle located in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. History Fukuchiyama Castle was originally built and ruled by the Yokoyama family. Following the capture of Tanba in 1576, Akechi Mitsuhide reconstructed the castle on the foundati ...

. In 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 ...

, it was the center of

Fukuchiyama Domain 250px, Kutsuki Moritsuna, final ''daimyō'' of Fukuchiyama was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tanba Province in what is now the west-central portion of modern-day Kyoto Prefecture. It was centere ...

, which was ruled by a succession of ''

fudai daimyō was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa admini ...

''. 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 town of Fukuchiyama was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to city status on April 1, 1937, becoming the third city in Kyoto Prefecture after Kyoto and Fushimi. The city borders expanded in 1936, 1949, 1955. On January 1, 2006, the towns of Miwa and Yakuno (both from Amata District), and the town of Ōe (from Kasa District) were merged into Fukuchiyama. Amata District was abolished by this merger.

Government

Fukuchiyama 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 24 members. Fukuchiyama contributes two members to the

Kyoto Prefectural Assembly The is the prefectural parliament of Kyoto Prefecture. Overview Kyoto Prefecture is a stronghold of the Japanese Communist Party, which continued with the revolutionary government of Torazō Ninagawa over the seventh term over 28 years. The t ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Kyoto 5th 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

Fukuchiyama has a mixed economy with commerce, light manufacturing and agriculture. Traditionally, the local economy was noted for indigo dying, cotton and silk production; however, the city industrialized as a supplier of components for the military. Postwar, a number of

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

s, notably the Osadano Industrial Park, have developed.

Education

Fukuchiyama has 19 public elementary schools and eight public middle schools and one combined elementary/middle school operated by the city government and two public high schools and one combined middle/high school operated by the Kyoto Prefectural Department of Education. There are also two private high schools and one private combined middle high school. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. A private college, the

University of Fukuchiyama is a public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as ...

, is located in Fukuchiyama and the

Kyoto Institute of Technology Kyoto Institute of Technology (京都工芸繊維大学, Kyōto Kōgei Sen'i Daigaku) in Kyoto, Japan is a Japanese national university established in 1949. The Institute's history extends back to two schools, Kyoto Craft High School (established i ...

has a campus in the city.

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'in Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

* - - - - JR logo (west)

–

Fukuchiyama Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Osaka and Fukuchiyama, Kyoto, Fukuchiyama, Japan. Within JR West's "Urban Network" covering the Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto metropolitan region, the line from Osaka to S ...

Kyoto Tango Railway The , or , is a railway system in Kyoto Prefecture and Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan operated by Willer Trains Inc. headquartered in Miyazu, Kyoto. Company The operating company Willer Trains Inc. is a subsidiary of Willer Alliance Inc. Willer Train ...

–

Miyafuku Line The is a railway line of Kyoto Tango Railway in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Trains on the line are operated by Willer Trains Inc. as part of its Kyoto Tango Railway system. History Building of the line was approved in 1953, with construction comme ...

* - - - - - - - - -

Highway

Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway * * * * * *

Local attractions

Sports

Fukuchiyama is the birthplace of

tambo rugby Tambo rugby (Japanese 田んぼラグビー ''tambo ragubii'', from 田んぼ ''tambo'' 'rice field') is a Japanese form of tag rugby played in flooded (and muddy) rice fields. It is played by men and women, adults and children together. Smaller, l ...

Noted people from Fukuchiyama

Osamu Shimomura was a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist, and Professor Emeritus at Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and Boston University School of Medicine. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008 for th ...

, a Nobel Prize–winning chemist *

Kenta Kobashi is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, where he became one of the promotion's top stars, holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship three times, and winning the Champ ...

, a professional wrestling icon *

Sadakazu Tanigaki is a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2016, as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006, as President of the Liberal Democratic Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2009 to 2012, as Minist ...

, Secretary-General of the LDP

References

External links

Fukuchiyama City official websiteFukuchiyama High Resolution Symbol
Cities in Kyoto Prefecture Fukuchiyama, Kyoto {{Kyoto-geo-stub