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

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 ...

, Japan. , 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 167,647 in 70,928 households, 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 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is . In 2006, Oyama became the second most populous city in

, with the capital

Utsunomiya is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its '' gyoza' ...

retaining the number one spot.

Geography

Oyama is located in the far southeastern corner

, bordered by

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 ...

to the south and east. The terrain is almost flat, and the city is in the north-central part of the Kanto plain. The Omoigawa, a branch of the

Watarase River The is a major river in the northern Kantō region of Japan. A tributary of the Tone River, it is in length and drains an area of .Kinugawa River , is a river on the main island of Honshu in Japan. It flows from the north to the south on the Kantō plain, merging with . At 176.7 km in length, it is the longest tributary of Tone-gawa. From ancient times, it has been known to cause flood ...

is on the eastern end. Oyama is approximately 60 kilometers north of the

Tokyo metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and approximately 30 kilometers south of the prefecture capital of

Surrounding municipalities

* Tochigi * Shimotsuke * Mooka * Nogi

* Yūki * Chikusei *

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 ...

Climate

Oyama has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Oyama 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 Oyama has grown steadily over the past 100 years.

History

Oyama-shuku was a post station on the

Nikkō Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now called the Rinnō-ji and Tōshōgū), which are located in the present-day ...

connecting Edo with the shrines at

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

, and was controlled by Utsunomiya Domain 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 ...

. Oyama town was established within Shimotsuga District, Tochigi with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Oyama merged with the neighboring village of Otani on March 31, 1954 and was elevated to city status. On April 18, 1963, Oyama annexed the town of Mamada and village of Mita, both from Shimotsuga District. This was followed by the town of Kuwakinu on September 30, 1965.

Government

Oyama 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 legislature of 40 members. Oyama, together with the town of Nogi collectively contributes five members to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tochigi 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Oyama is a regional commercial center with a mixed economy. In agriculture, cultivation of rice, kanpyō and sericulture are important. The

yuru-chara is a Japanese term for a category of mascot characters; usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by their ''kawaii'' (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that ...

for Oyama is (, an anthropomorphized

calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

of the type used for kanpyō. One of the major employers in the city is Komatsu making iron castings, diesel engines, fork lift trucks and other hydraulic equipment.

Education

* Hakuoh University

Primary and secondary schools

Oyama has 25 public

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s and ten public

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

s operated by the city government. The city has four public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s operated by the Tochigi Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private school. The prefectural also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The city also has a North Korean school, Tochigi Korean Elementary and Junior High School ( 栃木朝鮮初中級学校).

Transportation

Railway

JR East –

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main ...

JR East – Tōhoku Main Line (

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 ...

) * -

JR East –

Ryōmō Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Oyama in Tochigi Prefecture with Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture. long, the line is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The name refers to the fact that Gunma and Tochigi pre ...

* -

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

* *

Local attractions

* Otomefudōhara Tile Kiln ruins, National Historic Site * Deranohigashi ruins, National Historic Site * Washi Castle, Gion Castle and Nakakuki Castle ruins, collectively a National Historic Site * Biwazuka Kofun, National Historic Site * Marishitenzuka Kofun, National Historic Site

External relations

* - Mission City,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, sister-city since October 7, 1996 * - Cairns, Australia, sister-city since March 15, 2006 * - Lübz, Germany, since January 2, 2003 Lübz official home page
/ref> * –

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

, China, friendship-city since October 22, 2010 * –

Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,655 ...

, Liaoning, China, friendship-city since October 26, 2014

Noted people from Oyama

* Yasushi Iihara, professional baseball player * Masashi Ebinuma, Olympic judoka * Hiromichi Kataura, scientist *

Hiroaki Takaya Hiroaki Takaya (高谷裕亮, born November 13, 1981) is a Japanese former professional baseball catcher, and currently the second squad battery coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for ...

, professional baseball player
baseball-reference.com * Kosuke Hagino, Olympic gold medallist swimmer

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Tochigi Prefecture Oyama, Tochigi