is the capital
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 ...
of
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 ...
, in the northern
Kantō region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Sl ...
of
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 n ...
. , 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 usi ...
of 269,330 in 123,282 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 RosenberPopu ...
of 1239 persons per km
2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 27.1%.
The total area of the city is .
Geography
Mito is located in central Ibaraki Prefecture.
Mito Station is about 10 km inland from the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
which
Naka River, flowing from the north to the east of the city, pours into. Immediately south is
Lake Senba
is a lake in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan.
The lake is part of Senba Park. It is located next to Kairaku-en, a large park built in the Edo period known for its large number of plum blossoms. The Ibaraki Prefectural Cultural Center is also located nearby ...
, a recreational area. A main street extends from Mito Station to the west, and residential areas to the south and the west in particular.
Surrounding municipalities
Ibaraki Prefecture
*
Hitachinaka
250px, Hitachinaka city hall
is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 154,663 in 64,900 households and a population density of 1547 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 w ...
*
Kasama
*
Naka
*
Ibaraki Ibaraki may refer to any of the following places in Japan:
* Ibaraki Prefecture, one of the 47 prefectures of Japan
**Ibaraki, Ibaraki, a town in Ibaraki Prefecture
**Ibaraki Airport, an airport in Omitama, Ibaraki
**Ibaraki dialect, the dialect sp ...
*
Ōarai
*
Shirosato
Climate
Mito 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 cold winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mito is 13.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1353.8 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.0 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,
Mito population statistics
/ref> the population of Mito has steadily increased over the past century.
History
The Yamato people
The (or the )David Blake Willis and Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu''Transcultural Japan: At the Borderlands of Race, Gender and Identity,'' p. 272: "“Wajin,” which is written with Chinese characters that can also be read “Yamato no hito” (Ya ...
settled in Mito around the 4th century CE. Around the end of 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 Japan ...
, Baba Sukemoto, a warlord of the Heike clan, moved to Mito and built a castle there. Mito Castle changed hands several times after that; coming under the control of the Satake clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's service as vass ...
won it in 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 ...
, but the Satake were forced to surrender it to Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...
in 1603 after the Battle of Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
. Ieyasu's son Tokugawa Yorifusa was then given Mito Castle, becoming head of one of the three " gosanke" branches of the clan qualified to provide a new shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamaku ...
should the main family line fail. During this period, Mito was the seat of the so-called Mito School
refers to a school of Japanese historical and Shinto studies that arose in the Mito Domain (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture).
Early
The school had its genesis in 1657 when Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628–1700), second head of the Mito Domain, commissi ...
, a congregation of nativist scholars of Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
persuasion led by Aizawa Seishisai, who during the 18th and 19th centuries advocated Western learning as a means not only to further Japanese technological development and international strength, but as means to prove Japanese uniqueness and superiority among nations. The Kōdōkan
The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology
Literally, ''kō'' ...
was the largest of the han schools. The capital of Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
was directly connected to Mito by the Mito Kaidō.[Chiba Kokaidō Rekishi Sanpo](_blank)
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Accessed December 28, 2007. The Tokugawa ruled Mito until 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 city of Mito was formed on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. It was one of the first 31 cities to be established in Japan. With a population of 25,000, it was designated as the prefectural capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. By 1900, the 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, ...
connected Mito to Tokyo, and by 1910, telephones and electric lighting were available throughout the city. More than three-quarters of the city was burned to the ground during the Mito air raid of August 2, 1945, just before the end of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
The borders of Mito expanded in 1955 through 1958 through the annexation of the neighboring villages of Kamiono, Watari, Yoshida, Sakedo, Kawawada, Yanagawa, Kunita and Iitomi and Akatsuka. The village of Tsunezumi was annexed in 1992. In 2001, Mito was designated a special city with increased local autonomy. The neighboring town of Uchihara was annexed in 2005. The city suffered from severe damage in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peni ...
with 25,982 houses completely or partially destroyed; however, there were only two fatalities.
Mito was designated a core city, with further increases in local autonomy on April 4, 2020.
Government
Mito 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 multi ...
city council of 28 members. Mito contributes six members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Ibaraki 1st district 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 r ...
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 paral ...
.
Economy
Mito is primarily a regional commercial center and administrative city as most industry in Ibaraki is concentrated around the nearby cities of Tsukuba
is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...
and Hitachi
() is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo G ...
. Mito has a modest but thriving tourism industry, centered on the Kairaku-en gardens and local museums dedicated to the Tokugawa family.
Education
* Ibaraki University
*Tokiwa University
is a private university in Mito, Ibaraki, 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, wh ...
*Tokiwa Junior College is located in Mito City, Ibaraki 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, w ...
*Mito has 32 public elementary schools and 15 public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the national government. The city also has one private elementary school and two private middle schools. Mito has seven public high school operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education and seven private high schools, as well as one public and one private high school which offers only night and correspondence courses. The prefecture also operates six special education schools for the handicapped.
* Ibaraki Korean Primary, Middle and High School, a North Korean school, is in the city.
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 ar ...
- Mito Line / 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
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 ar ...
– Suigun Line
*
Kashima Rinkai Railway Ōarai Kashima Line
* - -
Highway
* – Mito Interchange
* – Mito Minami Interchange
* – Mito-Oarai Interchange
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Media
*Ibaraki Shimbun
* Ibaraki Broadcast System
Local attractions
* Mito is the site of the Japanese garden
are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden des ...
Kairaku-en
is a Japanese garden located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Along with Kenroku-en and Koraku-en, it is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan.
Overview
Kairaku-en was built in the year 1842 by Tokugawa Nariaki, ''daimyō'' of ...
which is counted as one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Constructed by Tokugawa Nariaki in 1842, the park is known nationwide for its '' ume'' trees. Many people come to the park in spring to view the blossoms, particularly during the Ume Festival. In summer, Mito also holds the Mito Koumon Festival.
* Art Tower Mito
is an arts complex in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan. It opened in 1990 as part of the centennial celebrations of the municipality of Mito. There is a concert hall that seats 680, a theater for up to 636, a contemporary art gallery, and a landmark towe ...
* Ibaraki Museum of Modern Art
* Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of History
* Kōdōkan School
* Lake Senba
is a lake in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan.
The lake is part of Senba Park. It is located next to Kairaku-en, a large park built in the Edo period known for its large number of plum blossoms. The Ibaraki Prefectural Cultural Center is also located nearby ...
* Mito Castle
* Mito Municipal Botanical Park
* Tokiwa Jinja
is a Shinto shrine adjacent to the gardens of Kairakuen in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan. Founded in 1874, enshrined are Tokugawa Mitsukuni, second ''daimyō'' of the Mito Domain and compiler of Dai Nihonshi, and Tokugawa Nariaki, ninth lord and founder ...
Professional sports
* Mito HollyHock, J. League
* Ibaraki Robots
The is a professional basketball team that competes in the Eastern Conference of the First Division of the Japanese B.League.
Roster
Notable players
*Toarlyn Fitzpatrick
*Chukwudiebere Maduabum
* Yusuke Okada
* Juan Pattillo
* ...
, B. League
* Malva FC, F. League
The F. League (in Japanese: "F・リーグ", officially "日本フットサルリーグ", Nihon Futtosaru Rīgu) is the top league for Futsal in Japan. The winning team obtains the participation right to the AFC Futsal Club Championship.
Histo ...
Sister city relations
* – Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, United States, since December 21, 1976
* – Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...
, China, friendship city since June 6, 2000
* – Tsuruga, Fukui
is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 66,123 in 28,604 households and the population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Geography
Tsuruga is located in cen ...
, Japan, since October 10, 1964
Notable people
*Yuko Suzuhana
() is a Japanese singer, composer, pianist, and poet, best known as the leader of Wagakki Band.
Biography
At the age of three, Yuko Suzuhana began studying classical piano. She began studying Shigin and Kenshibu at the age of five. After gra ...
, musician
* Yokoyama Taikan, artist
*Nakamura Tsune
(3 July 1887 – 24 December 1924) was a Japanese yōga painter best known for his portraits of Sōma Toshiko including ''Girl, Shojo'' (1914).
Life
Nakamura Tsune was born in 1887 in what is now Mito City, into a family that had served ...
, artist
*Stomu Takeishi
Stomu Takeishi (born 1964, in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture) is a Japanese experimental and jazz bassist. He is known for playing fretless five-string electric bass guitar and a Klein five-string acoustic bass guitar, often using extended techniques a ...
, musician
* Aritomo Gotō, IJN admiral
* Takeo Kurita, IJN admiral
* Kinji Fukasaku, movie director
* Takashi Koizumi, movie director
*Teru Shimada
Teru Shimada (島田輝 ''Shimada Teru'', born Akira Shimada (島田明 ''Shimada Akira''); November 17, 1905 – June 19, 1988) was a Japanese-American actor.
A '' Nikkeijin'' (first-generation Japanese-American), Shimada emigrated to the Unit ...
, actor
*Yutaka Nakajima
is a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 30 films since 1977.
Selected filmography
External links
*
*
1952 births
Living people
Japanese film actresses
{{Japan-film-actor-stub ...
, actor
* Hiroyuki Watanabe, actor
* Mika Katsumura, actress
* Shin’ichirō Ikebe, musician
*Mayumi Gojo
is a Japanese singer from Ibaraki Prefecture. She formerly worked under Hyper Voice Managements. Currently she is affiliated with the Love&Light talent management agency. Gojo is known for her theme song performances for anime series such as '' ...
, singer
*Nobuo Tobita
is a Japanese voice actor and narrator from Ibaraki Prefecture. He is represented by Arts Vision.
He is most known for the roles of Kamille Bidan (''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam''), Albert Heinrich/004 (''Cyborg 009'' (2001)), and Sueo Maruo (''Chibi ...
, voice actor
*Megumi Nakajima
is a Japanese voice actress and singer, who is affiliated with Stay Luck. Her involvement in the entertainment industry began in 2003 when she participated in an audition held by the talent agency Stardust Promotion, becoming affiliated with the ...
, voice actress, singer
*Azusa Tadokoro
is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is affiliated with the talent agency HoriPro International and signed to record label Lantis. She participated in an audition sponsored by this agency. Her notable roles include Aoi Kiriya in ''Aikats ...
, voice actress, singer
* Mitoizumi Masayuki, sumo wrestler (Sekiwake
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
This is the o ...
)
* Musōyama Masashi, sumo wrestler (Ōzeki Ozeki or Ōzeki may refer to:
* Ōzeki, a rank in ''Makuuchi'', the top division of professional sumo
** List of ōzeki
* Ōzeki station (disambiguation), the name of two railway stations in Japan
* Ōzeki Masutoshi (1849–1905), 16th daimyō o ...
)
* Miyabiyama Tetsushi, sumo wrestler (Ōzeki Ozeki or Ōzeki may refer to:
* Ōzeki, a rank in ''Makuuchi'', the top division of professional sumo
** List of ōzeki
* Ōzeki station (disambiguation), the name of two railway stations in Japan
* Ōzeki Masutoshi (1849–1905), 16th daimyō o ...
)
* Takashi Yagihashi, chef
* Sugiura Shigemine, World War 2 fighter pilot
* Hitachiyama Taniemon, sumo wrestler ( Yokozuna)
Gallery
File:Mito Art Tower.JPG, Art Tower Mito
File:MitoPlumFestival.jpg, '' Ume'' Festival at Kairaku-en Park
File:Daidarabou.JPG, Legend of Daidarabotchi
File:水戸・千波湖 - panoramio.jpg, LakeSenba & Duck
File:Senbacho, Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture 310-0851, Japan - panoramio (4).jpg, Lake Senba & Mito city
File:View from Art Tower Mito south.jpg, Downtown of Mito city
References
External links
Official Website
Public Interest Incorporated Foundation The Tokugawa Museum
{{Authority control
Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture
Populated places established in 1889
1889 establishments in Japan