is the capital

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 787,592 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

of 880 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Overview

Toponymy

Kōfu's name means "capital of Kai Province". During the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, it was famous as the stronghold of

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

Cityscapes

File:Kofu Castle2.jpg, Kōfu Castle ( Maizuru Castle Park) File:Takeda-jinja 201905b.jpg, Tsutsujigasaki Castle (2019)
( Takeda Shrine) File:DownTown of Kofu City.jpg,

Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

of Kōfu City (2018) File:Kofu City Hall-1.jpg, CBD of Kōfu City (2014) File:View kofu celeo.JPG,

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

of Kōfu City (2015) File:Kasuga Avenue mall Kofu-City.JPG,

Kasuga

Geography

Kōfu is located in north-central

which is in Central Honshu. It extends from the northern border of the prefecture with

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

to the south until it almost reaches the prefecture's southern border. It is narrow along its east–west axis. The city bisects the Kōfu Basin and is 250 to 300 meters above sea level. Kōfu is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Three quarters of Kōfu's territory is a part of

Mount Kinpu , or is a mountain and the main peak in the Okuchichibu Range in Kantō Mountains. It is located in Chichibu Tama Kai National Park

in the north. Much of the northern portion of the city is within the

Chichibu Tama Kai National Park is a national park in Japan at the intersection of Saitama, Yamanashi, Nagano and Tokyo Prefectures. With eight peaks over 2000 m scattered over 1250 km2, there are numerous hiking trails and ancient shrines. The best known landmarks a ...

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

is visible in the distance from Kōfu to the south.

Climate

Kōfu has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa''), though it is less wet than either the south or

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

coast due to its location in a shielded mountain valley. Temperature ranges are noticeably greater than in coastal regions: in 2004 Kōfu reached a temperature of previously almost unknown in Japan, and it has fallen below as early as 26 October, which is about a month before the earliest freezing temperatures in such coastal cities as

Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazaw ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Surrounding municipalities

;

* Kawakami ;

* Chūō * Fuefuki * Fujikawaguchiko * Hokuto *

Ichikawamisato is a List of towns of Japan, town located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,799 in 6679 households., and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Ichika ...

* Kai * Minobu * Shōwa * Yamanashi

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kōfu has remained relatively stable over the past 50 years.

History

Prehistoric ages

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of human settlement in the Kōfu area dating to the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC, with recent authors suggesting that there is good evi ...

period, with continuous settlement through the Jōmon,

Yayoi The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

and

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

s. File:Kai Choshizuka Kofun zenkei.JPG, Kai Chōshizuka Kofun

Ancient ages

During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, the

provincial temple The are Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). The official name for each temple was Konkomyo Shitenno Gokoku-ji (Konkōmyō Shitennō ...

of Kai Province was established in what is now Kōfu, indicating that the Nara period provincial capital was located nearby, as the name of the city implies. During 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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, a branch of the

Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, imperial family who were excluded from the List of emperors of Japan, line of succession and demoted into the ranks of Nobili ...

, the "Kai-Genji" ruled over vast ''

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

'' estates, and developed a military force noted for its use of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

Feudal period

By the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, a branch of the Kai-Genji, the

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

came to dominate the area, and built a castle in what is now part of Kōfu. Under the rule of

Takeda Nobutora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father and predecessor of the famous Takeda Shingen. Biography Nobutora’s son was Harunobu, la ...

, Kōfu was rebuilt as 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, ...

starting in 1519, and remained the capital of the Takeda clan under

and his son

Takeda Katsuyori was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (military lord) of the Sengoku period, who was famed as the head of the Takeda clan and the successor to the legendary warlord Takeda Shingen. He was son-in-law of Hojo Ujiyasu, ''daimyō'' of Hojo clan. Early life H ...

. File:躑躅ヶ崎館.jpg, Tsutsujigasaki Castle File:Kai-Zenkoji-temple Kofu-city Yamanashi Japan.JPG, Kai Zenkō-ji

Early modern ages

During the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, Kai Province was ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territory ruled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, and Kōfu Castle remained its administrative center. In 1705, in a signal honour, it was conferred on Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu a favourite of the fifth shōgun. He was a member of the Yanagisawa clan descendants of the "Kai-Genji", the branch of the

which had been enfeoffed with the province of Kai in the eleventh century. His son, Yoshiyasu was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama Castle in 1724 after which Kofu Castle was again held directly by the Shogunate. File:Kofu Castle 201904q.jpg, Kōfu Castle File:Chuo district intersection. Kofu city.jpg, Kōshū Kaidō ( Kōfu-shuku)

Late modern ages

Following 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the town of Kōfu was proclaimed on July 1, 1889. The city experienced a major flood disaster in 1907 (明治40年の大水害) caused by heavy rain in a typhoon from the night of August 21, 1907 and by deforestation which was accelerated in Yamanashi Prefecture, due to the need for wood for fuel of the steam engines of the growing industrial policy of the Fujimura Prefectural Government. A police officer inspected the stricken area from August 23 to October 10, 1907. Patrol diaries of Masaki Tsukasa Kasaburo said "This heavy rainfall causes rivers to run down, landslides and levee failures, bridge piers destruction, etc., resulting in the destruction of homes and villages, village isolation, runoff, and traffic disruptions caused serious damage 233 people died, 5757 houses were run out, 650 hectares of lands have been buried or run down, 3353 landslides, collapse and damage distance of about 140 kilometers of levees, runoff and burial of roads, the damage distance was about 500 kilometers, 393 telephone poles collapsed. It was the largest natural disaster in modern times in Yamanashi Prefecture. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, much of the city was destroyed by

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

bombers during a major air raid during the night of 6 July 1945. File:Flood disaster of 1907 of Kofu-City.jpg, 1907 Kōfu Flood File:Yoka-Machi Street Kofu-City 1912.JPG, 1912 Yoka-Machi Street File:Kofu city hall building of the second. Taken in 1918.jpg, 1918 Kōfu city hall building File:Air raid Kofu-City.jpg, Kōfu after the 1945 air raids ( Bombing of Kōfu in World War II)

Contemporary ages

Kōfu was designated as one of the

special cities of Japan A of Japan was a category of Cities of Japan, cities in Japan in operation until 2015. Each special city had a population of at least 200,000, and was delegated functions normally carried out by Prefectures of Japan, prefectural governments. Thos ...

on April 1, 2000. On March 1, 2006, Kōfu, with a population of 193,795, absorbed the town of Nakamichi (from Higashiyatsushiro District), and the northern part of the village of Kamikuishiki (from Nishiyatsushiro District) increasing the population to 201,184. On April 1, 2019, Kōfu's city status was elevated to a

core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...

Government

Council

Kōfu 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city legislature of 32 members. The city supplies nine members to the Yamanashi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Yamanashi 1st district and the Yamanashi 2nd district for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, the lower house of the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

of Japan.

Sister cities

International

National

Economy

The city is a regional commercial and transportation center for central Yamanashi Prefecture. Local industries include food processing including

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

production, textiles and crystalware.

Media

Yamanashi Broadcasting System , also known as YBS, is a Japanese broadcast network based in Kōfu, Yamanashi. Its radio division, callsign JOJF is an affiliate of the Japan Radio Network and the National Radio Network while its television division, callsign JOJF-DTV (ch ...

* UHF Television Yamanashi

Education

Universities and colleges

;Public * University of Yamanashi *

Yamanashi Prefectural University is a public university in Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The university was established in 2005 as a result of the merger of Yamanashi College of Nursing and Yamanashi Women's Junior College. Undergraduate Program * School of International ...

;Private * Yamanashi Eiwa College * Yamanashi Gakuin Junior College * Yamanashi Gakuin University

Primary and secondary education

* Kōfu has 25 public elementary schools and 11 public junior high schools operated by the city government, as well as one national combined elementary/middle school. In addition, there are two private elementary schools and three private junior high schools. The city has eight public high schools operated by the Yamanashi Prefectural Board of Education, and five private high schools.

Transportation

Airways

Airports

The nearest airport is Matsumoto Airport & Shizuoka Airport or

Haneda Airport , also known as and sometimes abbreviated to ''Tokyo-Haneda'', is the busier of the two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary domestic base of J ...

Narita International Airport , also known as Tokyo-Narita International Airport or simply Narita Airport, formerly and originally known as , is the secondary international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the only other one being Haneda Airport (HND). It is about e ...

Railways

Conventional Lines

;

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East) * JR CO line symbol

Chūō Main Line The , commonly called the Chūō Line, is one of the major trunk railway lines in Japan. It connects Tokyo and Nagoya, although it is the slowest direct railway connection between the two cities; the coastal Tōkaidō Main Line is slightly faste ...

: - - - ;

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...

(JR Tōkai) * JR Central Minobu Line

Minobu Line: - - - - - -

Buses

Bus Terminus

* Kōfu Station Bus Terminu

Roads

Expressway

Chūō Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by NEXCO Central. Naming Officially the expressway is designated as the Chūō Expressway Nishinomiya Route (from Takaido Interchange to Komaki Junction), the Chūō Expressway N ...

Japan National Route

* * * * * *

Local attractions

Historical Sites

* Kai Zenkō-ji * Kōfu Castle * Ōmaruyama Kofun * Takeda Shrine * Tsutsujigasaki Castle * Yōgaiyama Castle

Other sites

* Yamanashi Prefectural Art Museum * Yamanashi Science Museum * Yumura Onsen

Culture

Festivals

Shingen-ko Festival

The biggest festival in Kōfu is the . It is held annually on the first or second weekend of April and celebrates the legacy of Takeda Shingen. The festival is three days long. Usually a famous Japanese celebrity plays the part of Takeda Shingen. There are several parades going to and from the Takeda Shrine and Kōfu Castle. This is the largest public

history play History is one of the three main genres in Western theatre alongside tragedy and comedy, although it originated, in its modern form, thousands of years later than the other primary genres. For this reason, it is often treated as a subset of trage ...

in Japan. In 2012 the event was included in the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

as the "largest gathering of samurai" in the world with 1061 participants.

Sports

File:Vfk2009112101.jpg, JIT Recycle Ink Stadium File:Midorigaoka sports park.JPG, Kofu Midorigaoka Sports Park Stadium File:Kose sports park gymnasium.JPG, Arena of Kose sports park gymnasium File:Arena of Kose sports park gymnasium-1.JPG, Arena of Kose sports park gymnasium

Notable people from Kofu

* Saiki Atsumi – lead singer of the rock band

Band-Maid Band-Maid is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in 2013, comprising singer Saiki Atsumi, guitarist/singer Miku Kobato, lead guitarist Kanami Tōno, bassist Misa, and drummer Akane Hirose. The band combines hard rock music with costumes mode ...

* Banjō Ginga – voice actor * Ryūden Gōshi - sumo wrestler * Hideo Hagiwara – woodblock print artist * Tsuneo Horiuchi – former manager of Yomiuri Giants baseball team * Takao Kajimoto – former professional baseball player and sports announcer * Junichi Kanemaru - voice actor * Yoshinobu Kanemaru – professional wrestler * Hiroki Nakamura – founder and designer of cult fashion brand Visvim * Hidetoshi Nakata -

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who last played with the

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, but has since retired following the 2006 World Cup. * Naoko Takeuchi – manga artist, creator of ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

'' and other comics. * Mariko Tsutsui - actress with notable lead roles in Kōji Fukada's ''

Harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

'' and '' A Girl Missing'' * Fujizakura Yoshimori – former sumo wrestler

List of mayors of Kofu

This is a list of Kofu majors starting from 1889. *Itsupei Wakao (若尾逸平) 29 August 1889 to 3 June 1890 *Tadao Takagi (高木忠雄) 11 July 1890 to 28 September 1897 *Hikotaro Ishihara (石原彦太郎) 6 November 1897 to 18 June 1898 *Kunsaku Kobayashi (小林董作) 19 September 1898 to 18 June 1906 *Tamizo Wakao (若尾民造) 24 July 1906 to 5 March 1907 *Heishiro Kato (加藤平四郎) 20 April 1907 to 17 August 1915 *Tadayoshi Natori (名取忠愛) 15 January 1916 to 25 June 1919 * 23 September 1922 to 14 March 1923 *Nobutsugu Hori (堀信次) 23 October 1919 to 19 June 1922 *Atsuo Ishii (石井淳雄) 31 July 1923 to 30 July 1927 *Jihei Narishima (成島治平) 8 October 1927 to 8 August 1931 *Eiji Shinkai (新海栄治) 24 August 1931 to 26 August 1935 * 12 September 1939 to 11 September 1943 *Itsuzo Saiki (斎木逸造) 27 August 1935 to 11 September 1939 *Jiro Noguchi (野口二郎) 12 September 1943 to 27 February 1946 *Moemon Imai (今井茂右衛門) 18 March 1946 to 3 September 1947 *Shigehisa Kawamura (川村茂久) 10 October 1947 to 25 December 1948 *Tatsuo Yamamoto (山本達雄) 25 February 1949 to 22 February 1953 *Keijiro Takano (鷹野啓次郎) 25 February 1953 to 11 November 1968 *Kiyoshi Akiyama (秋山清) 29 November 1968 to 24 February 1971 *Chikayoshi Kawaguchi (河口親賀) 25 April 1971 to 26 April 1983 *Chuzo Hara (原忠三) 27 April 1983 to 26 April 1991 *Hidehiko Yamamoto (山本栄彦) 27 April 1991 to 19 December 2002 *Masanobu Miyajima (宮島雅展) 3 April 2003 to 1 February 2015 *Yuichi Higuchi (樋口雄一) 2 February 2015 to Incumbent

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kofu, Yamanashi Cities in Yamanashi Prefecture