260px, Gongendō Park 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

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders 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 152,569 in 67,339 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 1900 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kuki is located in northeastern Saitama Prefecture, approximately 50 kilometers from downtown Tokyo in the

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

s of the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kantō ...

Surrounding municipalities

* Kazo * Satte * Okegawa *

Kōnosu is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,995 in 50,801 households and a population density of 1700 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located in east-central Saitama ...

Hasuda is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,540 in 27,461 households and a population density of 2300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located in east-central Saitama Pr ...

* Shiraoka * Sugito *

Miyashiro is a town located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 33,823 in 15,234 households and a population density of 2100 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Miyashiro is located in centra ...

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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, ...

Koga KOGA is a Dutch bicycle manufacturer based in Heerenveen, Friesland. The company is known for its long time partnership with Japanese frame manufacturer Miyata, producing bicycles and sponsoring racing teams under the brand name Koga Miyata. As ...

* Goka

Climate

Kuki 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 warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kuki is 14.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1338 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.6 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kuki has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

History

During 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 Koga kubō Ashikaga Masauji retired to the temple of Kantō-in, which is located within what is now Kuki. 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 characteriz ...

, Kuki Domain (10,000 ''koku'') under the control of the Yonekitsu clan existed from 1684 to 1798. The town of Kuki was created within

Minamisaitama District, Saitama is a district located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the district has an estimated population of 33,405 and a density of 2,090 persons per km2. The total area is 15.95 km2. Towns and villages *Miyashiro District timeline *1871 (first wav ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On July 1, 1954, Kuki merged with the neighboring villages of Ota, Ezura and Kiyoku. Kuki was elevated to city status on October 1, 1971. On March 23, 2010, Kuki absorbed the town of Shōbu (Minamisaitama District), and the towns of Kurihashi and Washimiya (both from Kitakatsushika District).

Government

Kuki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral

city council of 27 members. Kuki contributes two members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the

Saitama 13th 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 r ...

and Saitama 14th districts 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

Kuki remains primarily an agricultural area, with rice as the predominant crop. The city has three industrial parks.

Education

Tokyo University of Science , formerly "Science University of Tokyo" or TUS, informally or simply is a private research university located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. History Tokyo University of Science was founded in 1881 as The Tokyo Academy of Physics by 21 graduates ...

has a campus at Kuki. *Kuki has 23 public elementary schools and 11 public middle schools operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is 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 ...

–

Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line ( ja, 宇都宮線, ) is the name given to a 163.5 kilometer section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Compan ...

(

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

), * – –

Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and '' keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second long ...

–

Tōbu Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asakusa ...

* –

–

Tōbu Nikkō Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway. It branches from Tōbu Dōbutsu Kōen Station in Miyashiro, Saitama on the Skytree Line, extending north to Tōbu Nikkō Station in Nikkō, Tochigi. Th ...

* –

Highway

* – Shobu Parking Area – Kuki-Shiraoka Junction * – Kuki-Shiraoka Junction – Kuki Interchange * * *

Local attractions

The city is famous as the setting of anime series '' Lucky Star'' and ''

The Fruit of Grisaia is a Japanese adult visual novel, the first in a series of visual novels by Frontwing, with character designs by Akio Watanabe and Fumio. It was released in February 2011 for Windows, and it was later ported to the PlayStation Porta ...

'', bringing thousands of anime tourists to see Washinomiya Shrine each year.

Sister city relations

* -

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is in the Umpqua River, Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon and is the county seat and most populous city of Douglas County, Oregon, Douglas County. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 a ...

, USA

References

External links

Official Website

Kuki-citizen website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Kuki, Saitama