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 149,826 in 69,859 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 3100 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Sayama is located in south-central Saitama Prefecture, on the alluvial lowland of the

Iruma River The , is a river in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . The river rises from Mount Ōmochi in Hannō, Saitama and flows to the Arakawa River at Kawagoe, Saitama is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city ...

, which flows through the city towards the northeast (toward Kawagoe) . The

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfa ...

Iruma Air Base is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) base located in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, north of western Tokyo, Japan. It was the airfield for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy until 1945, when it became Johnson Air Fo ...

is located in the south of the city hall, 90% of which is in Sayama city area (and only 10% in Iruma city area).

Surrounding municipalities

* Kawagoe *

Hannō is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 79,123 in 35,440 households and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hannō is located on the southern ...

Tokorozawa is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 344,194 in 163,675 households and a population density of 4800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is located in the ce ...

* Hidaka * Iruma

Climate

Sayama 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 Sayama is 14.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1485 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.6 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sayama increased nearly fivefold from 1960 to 1990. It peaked at just over 160,000 people around the year 2000 and has declined since.

History

During the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

, the area developed as a post station on the

Kamakura Kaidō is the generic name of a great number of roads built during the Kamakura period which, from all directions, converged on the military capital of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei The term itself however was created pr ...

highway, as the dividing point on the routes to

Kōzuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered by Echigo, Shinano, Musashi and Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Kōzuke was ran ...

and

Shimotsuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Tochigi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''SHimotsuke''" in . Shimotsuke was bordered by Kōzuke Province, Kōzuke, Hitachi Province, ...

. The town of Irumagawa was established within Iruma District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On July 1, 1954, Irumagawa merged with the neighboring villages of Mizutomi, Kashiwahara, Okutomi, Hirokane, and Irima to create the city of Sayama. The city was the location of the Sayama Incident, a 1963 murder and trial which resulted in the false accusation and conviction of an innocent man, a member of the

Burakumin is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese people with occupations considered as being associated with , such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners. During Japan's ...

minority group, of murder.

Government

Sayama 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 multic ...

city council of 22 members. Sayama contributes two members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 9th district 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

Sayama is one of the major industrial centers of Saitama Prefecture, although it is also a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

with over 15% of its population commuting to Tokyo for work. The city, along with neighboring Iruma, is a well known tea growing region, producing Sayama Tea.

Honda assembly plant

Sayama is the location of an automobile assembly plant, which opened in 1964, for

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

Acura Acura is the luxury vehicle, luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched in the United States and Canada on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. It ...

vehicles, currently including the Fit,

Honda Odyssey (international) The is a minivan manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda since 1994, marketed in most of the world and currently in its fifth generation in Japan. The Odyssey had originally been conceived and engineered in Japan, in the wake of the country's ...

CR-V The Honda CR-V (also sold as the Honda Breeze in China since 2019) is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by the Japanese automaker Honda since 1995. The early model was built using the same platform as the Civic. Honda began producing the CR ...

, RLX, and

Clarity Clarity may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Clarity, a magic spell in the online game ''EverQuest'' * Clarity, a fictional drug from the film ''Minority Report'' Music Albums * ''Clarity'' (Jimmy Eat World album) * ...

and in the past the Accord, Prelude,

Vigor Vigor or vigour may refer to: Companies * Vigor S.A., a Brazilian food company * Vigor Industrial, an American shipbuilding, ship repair, and industrial service provider in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska ** Vigor Shipyards, four shipyards in Was ...

Inspire The following is a thematic list of Directive (European Union), European Union directives: For a date based list, see the :European Union directives by number Numbering From 1 January 1992 to 31 December 2014, numbers assigned by the General ...

Legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

and Integra. The plant was briefly closed, but not damaged, following the March

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

, and restarted production in April 2011, albeit at lower production levels. In 2017, Honda announced that the Sayama plant will close in March 2022, after production of the Odyssey and Clarity models end. Honda will consolidate production at its Yorii factory for future models.

Other businesses

The Lotte candy and food processing company operates a facility in Sayama.

Dai Nippon Printing , established in 1876, is a Japanese printing company. Dai Nippon operates its printing in three areas: information communications, lifestyle and industrial supplies, and electronics. The company is involved in a wide variety of printing processe ...

Company, Ltd. imaging media division operates a large coating facility in the city.

Sankyo Flute Company Sankyo Flute Manufacturing Co., Ltd, located in Sayama, Japan, produces handmade flutes, piccolos and head joints at the professional level. A number of prominent flautists, such as Walter Auer of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Julien Beaudiment ...

is located in Sayama. Sayama Haselfoods is the only

baklava Baklava (, or ; ota, باقلوا ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. The pre- Ottoman origin of the ...

manufacturing facility in Japan. Located in Aoyagi, Sayama, Haselfoods also imports food products from the Mediterranean.

Education

University

Tokyo Kasei University is a private university in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan, established in 1949. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1881. Tokyo Kasei University is a women's university, with a focus on education in the fields of home economics, the humanities ...

– Sayama campus * Bunri University of Hospitality * Musashino Gakuin University

Primary and secondary education

* Sayama has 15 public elementary schools and eight public middle schools operated by the city government, and four public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, there are one private elementary school, one price junior high school and two private high schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

Seibu Railway is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbreviati ...

Seibu Shinjuku Line The is a Japanese railway line owned by the private railway operator Seibu Railway, connecting Seibu Shinjuku Station in Shinjuku, Tokyo with Hon-Kawagoe Station in Kawagoe, Saitama. The Shinjuku Line is one of two main lines of the Seibu Rail ...

* - -

Seibu Ikebukuro Line The is a railway line of the Japanese private railway operator Seibu Railway. It originates at Ikebukuro Station, a large railway junction in north-western Tokyo, extending to northwest suburbs as far as Tokorozawa, Saitama, and nominally term ...

Highway

* * * *

Military facilities

Sister cities

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus. The population in the 2020 Census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, who was later elected to ...

, United States since November 1, 1999 *

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

, China (friendship city) since July 8, 1996 *

Tongyeong Tongyeong () is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In 2010, it had an area of and a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup (town), 6 myeon (township) and 11 dong (neighborhood). Chungmu city and Tongyeong cou ...

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World ...

, South Korea, since July 4, 1973

Local attractions

* Irumagawa

Tanabata , also known as the Star Festival ( 星祭り, ''Hoshimatsuri''), is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair res ...

Matsuri. *Sayama Ski Area, an

Indoor ski slope Indoor skiing is done in a climate-controlled environment with artificially produced snow. This enables skiing and snowboarding to take place regardless of outdoor temperatures. Facilities for both alpine skiing and nordic skiing are availabl ...

*Sayama Inariyama Park *Shimizu Hachiman-gu

Sports

The

Secom Rugguts Secom Rugguts is a Japanese rugby union team founded in 1985 by SECOM. Its name is a portmanteau of "Rugger" and "Guts". The club was in the Top League for the first season of the league but was demoted at the end of the season. As the top team of ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team, and the Saitama Soccer Club of the

Kantō Soccer League , abbreviated as KSL, is a Japanese football league covering the Kantō region, the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, Tochigi, Tokyo and Yamanashi. Its area is thus coextensive with the National Capital Region A capital ...

, are located in Sayama.

In popular culture

*Asteroid 4461 Sayama was named after the city.

Noted people from Sayama

Matsushige Ohno is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Sayama, Saitama and high school graduate, he was elected to the assembly of Saitama Prefecture ...

, politician *

Shiori Kazama is a Japanese feminine given name. Possible writings Shiori can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *栞, "bookmark / guide" *撓, "lithe" *詩織, "poem, weave" *汐里, ''tide, village'' The name can also be written in ...

, director, ''

The Mars Canon is a 2002 Japanese film directed by Shiori Kazama. Themes of the film include adultery and homosexuality, as Mars connotes both fighting and sexual intercourse. Plot The film explores the relationship problems of two couples, Kohei and Kinuko, a ...

'' * Mitsuo Hashimoto, manga artist * Yohei Hayashi, footballer *

Ryuji Hijikata (born May 17, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler also known under the ring name . Hijikata is best known for his tenure in Battlarts and All Japan Pro Wrestling since 2002 where he is a former World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Professi ...

, professional wrestler *

Tetsurō Araki is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, and director. He goes by the alias when working as an episode director and key animator. His most notable direction titles include '' Death Note'' and the first three seasons of '' Attack on Titan''. ...

, anime director *

Kensuke Kazama was a Japanese photographer who photographed the one-time mining town of Yūbari, Hokkaidō. Born in Mie Prefecture, Kazama moved to Tokyo in 1978. He held exhibitions in Tokyo two years later. In 1987 he moved to Nanporo in Hokkaidō, and two ...

, photographer

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Sayama