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 de ...

located in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 km2 (2,359 sq mi). Yamaguchi Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to ...

, Japan, which was incorporated on July 1, 1932. As of May 31, 2016, the city has 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 ...

of 50,179 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

of 71.80 of persons per km². The total area is 698.86 km².

History

In the medieval period, Hagi was dominated by the Yoshimi clan, who built

Hagi Castle , also known as Shizuki Castle, was a Japanese castle located in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Hagi Castle was built in 1604 at the beginning of the Edo period as the main castle of the Mōri clan, and served as the seat of the Chōshū Domain fo ...

, the ruins of which can be visited today. 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 pow ...

became ''

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 nominall ...

s'' of

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 ba ...

at the beginning 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 character ...

and built

at the foot of Mt. Shizuki in 1608. They transferred the capital of the domain from Hiroshima to Hagi at the same time. Hagi then developed as the political center of Chōshū for over 250 years. When 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 r ...

came about in the 1860s, as the result of efforts by samurai from Chōshū and a number of other domains, this small city gained great historical significance. Many Japanese statesmen and Prime Ministers were born and brought up in this city. On March 6, 2005, Hagi absorbed the towns of

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

and Tamagawa, and the villages of Asahi, Fukue, Kawakami and Mutsumi (all from Abu District) to create the new, expanded city of Hagi.

Population

One of the factors underlying the continual decrease of population is said to be its poor public transport. Industry did not grow at all and the rapid economic growth of Japan only caused the town to decline. But it also kept the traditions alive and the traditional look of the town preserved.

Climate

Hagi has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen ''Cfa'') with hot, humid and wet summers combined with cool to mild winters, with a relatively high precipitation amount compared to mainland Asian locations on similar latitudes.

Economy

Iwami Airport is an airport located Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is also known as Hagi-Iwami Airport due to its proximity to the city of Hagi in Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamagu ...

in nearby Masuda,

Shimane Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamag ...

serves Hagi. Tourism is a strong factor of the town.

Military

Hagi is home to the Ground Self-Defense Force's Mutsumi Training Area, and is a proposed installation site for the Aegis Ashore missile defense system.

Hagi Pottery ''(Hagiyaki)''

Hagi ware Japanese tea bowl, 18th-19th century, Freer Gallery of Art

The city was the capital of the Chōshū Domain during the

(ca. 1603–1868). Hagi is renowned for Hagi ware, a form of

Japanese pottery , is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionall ...

dating from 1604 when two Korean potters were brought to Hagi by Lord Mōri Terumoto. Hagi was also the location for an

International Sculpture Symposium The International Sculpture Symposium movement was spearheaded by Karl Prantl in Austria in 1959. This initiative grew from the need to facilitate communication and exchange between members of the international sculpture community. It was also roo ...

in 1981. Twenty-six international sculptors worked together to create a seaside park. They created many functional sculptures, including tables and benches.

People

* Yoshida Shōin (1830-1859), intellectual, teacher and revolutionary * Inoue Masaru, known as the "Father of the Japanese Railways". * Katsura Taro, former prime minister of Japan. *

Kido Takayoshi , also known as , was a Japanese statesman, samurai and '' shishi'' who is considered one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Early life Born Wada Kogorō in Hagi, Chōshū Domain (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) as t ...

* Omura Masujiro * Takasugi Shinsaku * Tanaka Giichi, former prime minister of Japan. *

Yamagata Aritomo '' Gensui'' Prince , also known as Prince Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a senior-ranking Japanese military commander, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and a leading member of the '' genrō'', an élite group of senior statesmen who dominated J ...

, former prime minister of Japan.

Sister cities

Since 1968, Hagi has been a sister city to

Ulsan Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

References

External links

HAGI Sightseeing Guide (tourism website run by Hagi Tourism Association) (English)

Hagi City official website
* * {{Authority control Cities in Yamaguchi Prefecture