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

Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi 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 73,805 in 29,362 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 307 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 32.2%. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kasama is located in the central Ibaraki Prefecture, bordering on

Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the ...

to its extreme northwest. Kasama is surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Surrounding municipalities

Ibaraki Prefecture *

Mito Mito may refer to: Places *Mito, Ibaraki, capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan *Mito, Aichi, a Japanese town *Mito, Shimane, a Japanese town * Mitō, Yamaguchi, a Japanese town * Mito District, a district in the province of Concepción, Per ...

Ishioka 260px, Ishioka City Hall is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 72,351 in 28,291 households and a population density of 336 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was ...

* Sakuragawa *

Omitama 280px, Lake Kasumigaura from Omitama is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,776 in 18,311 households and a population density of 337 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged ove ...

* Ibaraki * Shirosato

* Motegi

Climate

Kasama 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 hot summers and mild winters with rare snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kasama 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 .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kasama peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly since.

History

Kasama was once 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, a ...

for

Kasama Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kasama Castle in what is now the city of Kasama, Ibaraki. It was ruled by a number o ...

and post-station 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 characte ...

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 ...

. It continued to prosper as a shrine town of

Kasama Inari Shrine Kasama Inari Shrine ( ) is one of the three largest Inari Okami shrines in Japan, having been awarded the ancient court rank of Senior First Grade. According to legends associated with the shrine, it was founded in 651 during the reign of Emp ...

in 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 ...

(1868–1912). Stone quarrying was its main activity. Utensils for the Japanese tea ceremony, flower vases, and ''

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

'' containers made from the

Kasama ware is a style of Japanese pottery made in Kasama, Ibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. History During the mid-Edo period, many potters from the Shigaraki area traveled the country to sell their wares or to simply find employment. During the An'ei ...

pottery continued to the economy. 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 Kasama was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, within Nishiibaraki District. The town of Shishido, a former castle town of

Shishido Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shishido Jin'ya in what is now part of the city of Kasama, Ibaraki. It was ruled for m ...

, was likewise established within Nishiibaraki District on the same day. In 1955, Shishido merged with the neighboring villages of Kitakawane and Ohara to form the town of Tomobe. Kasama was elevated to city status on August 1, 1958. On March 19, 2006, Kasama absorbed the towns of Tomobe and Iwama (both from Nishiibaraki District), and the new city hall was located at the former Tomobe Town Hall. Tomobe became the new city's administrative center, since it was more populous than the former Kasama town. The former town of Iwama is known for having been the residence of

Ueshiba Morihei was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher/Old Teacher (old as opposed to ''waka (young) sensei'')". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Ueshiba st ...

, founder of

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...

, from 1942 until his death. Popular singer and songwriter Sakamoto Kyu also lived in Kasama as a child. Twice daily, chimes announce the time of day to the tune of his songs. His song "

Ue o muite arukō , alternatively titled "Sukiyaki", is a song by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, first released in Japan in 1961. The song topped the charts in a number of countries, including the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1963. The song grew to become one o ...

" also plays at Tomobe train station to announce departures.

Government

Kasama 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 22 members. Kasama contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is split between the

Ibaraki 1st district Ibaraki 1st district (茨城県第1区, ''Ibaraki-ken dai-ikku'' or simply 茨城1区, ''Ibaraki-ikku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located in the central region of Ibaraki ...

and the

Ibaraki 2nd district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional ...

of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Kasama has a mixed industrial base of light manufacturing and food processing. The main agricultural crops are rice and chestnuts. The area is also famous for stone quarrying of a form of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

called ''mikage-ishi'', widely used in construction and for grave stones.

Education

Kasama has ten public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR East –

Jōban Line The Jōban Line ( ja, 常磐線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, ...

* -

JR East –

Mito Line The is a railway line connecting Oyama Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Tomobe Station in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The line is long and is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Joban Line E501 series and E531 ...

* - - - -

Highway

* – Iwama Interchange, Tomobe Junction * – Kasama-Nishi Interchange, Kasama Parking Area, Tomobe Interchange, Tomobe Junction * *

Local attractions

*Ruins of

Kasama Castle is a Japanese castle located in Kasama, central Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Kasama Castle was home to a junior branch of Makino clan, ''daimyō'' of Kasama Domain, but castle and domain went through many changes in ...

, one of the main Inari shrines in Japan *Shofuku-ji, one of the

Bandō Sanjūsankasho The ("The Bandō 33 Kannon Pilgrimage") is a series of 33 Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan sacred to Goddess Kannon. Bandō is the old name for what is now the Kantō region,Donald Richie used in this case because the temples are all in the Pref ...

temples *Shishido Jin’ya * Kasama Nichido Museum of Art (笠間日動美術館) which opened on November 11, 1972 houses a collection which includes

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, and

Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

. *Ibaraki Prefectural Ceramics Museum * Kasama-yaki ceramics *The house of calligrapher and ceramicist Kitaoji Rosanjin (北大路魯山人) is located in Kasama, and it has become a museum.

Notable people from Kasama

Morihiro Saito Morihiro Saito (斉藤守弘 ''Saitō Morihiro'', March 31, 1928–May 13, 2002) was a teacher of the Japanese martial art of aikido, with many students around the world. Saito's practice of aikido spanned 56 years, from the age of 18, when h ...

, aikido teacher * Kimura Buzan, Nihonga painter * Nasa Hataoka, professional golfer *

Yamashita Rin was a painter of icons for the Japanese Orthodox Church. She was one of the first independent Japanese female artists, the first recognized female '' yōga'' painter. She studied in Russia, and her work can be found in over forty churches across ...

, female icon painter *

Zatoichi is a fictional character created by Japanese novelist Kan Shimozawa. He is an itinerant blind masseur and swordsman of Japan's late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). He first appeared in the 1948 essay , part of Shimozawa's ''Futokoro Techō'' se ...

, fictional blind masseuse swordsman

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture