is a city located in

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama P ...

, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city has 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 58,386, and 24,629

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s. The

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 ...

is , and the total area is .

History

Sakurai was briefly the

capital of Japan The current capital of Japan is Tokyo."About Japan"
The Government of Japan. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

during the reign of

Emperor Yūryaku (418 - 8 September 479) was the 21st legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 雄略天皇 (21) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. He is remembered as a patron of sericulture.Nippon ...

. The life of the Imperial court was centered at ''Hatsuse no Asakura'' Palace where the emperor lived in 457–479.Koch, W. (1904)
''Japan; Geschichte nach japanischen Quellen und ethnographische Skizzen. Mit einem Stammbaum des Kaisers von Japan,'' p. 13
Other emperors also built palaces in the area, including * ''Iware no Mikakuri'' Palace, 480–484 in reign of

Emperor Seinei (444 — 27 February 484) was the 22nd legendary Emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 清寧天皇 (22) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's ...

* ''Nimiki'' Palace, 499–506 in reign of

Emperor Buretsu (489 — 7 January 507) was the 25th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 武烈天皇 (25)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but ...

* ''Iware no Tamaho'' Palace, 526–532 in reign of

Emperor Keitai (died 10 March 531) was the 26th legendary emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 継体天皇 (26)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor's life or reign, but h ...

* ''Hinokuma no Iorino'' Palace, 535-539 in reign of

Emperor Senka (467 — 15 March 539) was the 28th legendary Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 宣化天皇 (28)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. No firm dates can be assigned to this Emperor's life or reign, but ...

* ''Osata no Sakitama'' Palace or ''Osada no Miya'', 572–585 in reign of Emperor BidatsuPonsonby-Fane, p. 18. The modern city was founded on September 1, 1956. Sakurai is home to

Ōmiwa Shrine , also known as , is a Shinto shrine located in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is noted because it contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve Mount Miwa, the mountain on which it stands. For the same re ...

, traditionally considered one of the oldest

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrines in Japan dedicated to the god of

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 ...

. Sake dealers across Japan often hang a wooden

sugi ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' ...

ball, made at Ōmiwa Shrine, as a

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

to the god of sake. It was featured in

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Nationalism, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was ...

's novel ''

Runaway Horses is a 1969 novel by Yukio Mishima, the second in his ''Sea of Fertility'' tetralogy. Mishima did much research to prepare for this novel, visiting locations recorded in the book and studying historical information about the Shinpūren Rebellio ...

''.

Famous places

Buddhist temples A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

** Miwasanbyōdō-ji **

Hase-dera is the main temple of the Buzan sect of Shingon Buddhism. The temple is located in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Main Hall is a National Treasure of Japan. Overview According to the description on , which is enshrined at Hase-dera, t ...

** Asuka-dera ** Tachibana-dera **

Abe Monju-in is a Buddhist temple in the Abe area of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Dating to the seventh century, it houses a sculptural group by Kaikei, and a kofun within its grounds has been designated a Special Historic Site. History Founded as ...

** Seirin-ji *

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

s **

Tanzan Shrine , also known as the Danzan Shrine, the and the , is a Shinto shrine in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. History The shrine traces its origin to a Tendai temple built in the Asuka period (538 – 710) called Tōnomine-ji, built by the monk ...

** Kasayamakō Shrine ** Tamatsura Shrine

Transportation

Rail

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

Sakurai Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Nara Prefecture. It connects Nara on the Yamatoji Line to Takada on the Wakayama Line, with some services continuing on the Wakayama Line to Ōji Station, and then to JR ...

(Man-yō Mahoroba Line): Makimuku Station - Miwa Station - Sakurai Station *

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...

Osaka Line is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...

Daifuku Station is a train station in Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Line * Kintetsu Railway ** Osaka Line Layout This station has two side platforms a track each. Adjacent stations

Railway stations in Nara Prefecture {{ ...

- Sakurai Station - Yamato-Asakura Station -

Hasedera Station is a train station in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan, operated by Kintetsu Railway. Line Hasedera Station is served by the Osaka Line. Layout The station has two side platforms serving one track each. Platforms Adjacent stations ...

Road

Japan National Route 165 is a national highway connecting Kita-ku in the city of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, and the city of Tsu, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Route description *Length: 126.5 km *Origin: Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture (originates at the terminus of ...

Japan National Route 166 * Japanese National Route Sign 0169

Japan National Route 169

Sister cities

In Japan

Kumano, Mie is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 16,232 in 8,746 households and a population density of 43 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumano is located near the southern tip ...

Taisha, Shimane is a town located in Hikawa District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 15,733 and a density of 376.39 persons per km2. The total area was 41.80 km2. On March 22, 2005, Taisha, along with th ...

Outside Japan

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

, France.

References

External links

*
Sakurai City official website (in English)
* Cities in Nara Prefecture Former capitals of Japan {{Nara-geo-stub