270px, Bitchū Kokubun-ji 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

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

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 69,428 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 330 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Sōja is located ancestral Okayama Prefecture. The Takahashi River runs through the city from northwest to south. The northern and western parts are located in the southern part of the Kibi plateau, and the southern part also forms a hilly area. The central area, which is the urban area, originally formed a small basin in the floodplain of the Takahashi River.

Adjacent municipalities

Okayama Prefecture *

Kita-ku, Okayama is one of four wards of Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The ward has an area of 451.03 km² and a population of 295,312. The population density is 655 per square kilometer. The name means "North Ward." The wards of Okayama were establi ...

* Kurashiki *

Ibara is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on March 30, 1953. , the city has an estimated population of 41,460 and a population density of 170 people per km². The total area is . Mergers On March 1, 2005, the town ...

Takahashi is the third most common Japanese surname. Less common variants include , , , , , , , and . Notable people with the surname include: * Aaron Takahashi, American actor * , Japanese singer and actress * , Japanese kickboxer * , Japanese classica ...

Yakage is a town located in Oda District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. As of june 1 2020, the town has an estimated population of 14,041 and a density of 147 persons per km². The total area is 90.62 km². The town is home to a former post sta ...

* Kibichūō

Rivers

* Takahashi River * Shinpon River * Makidani River

Mountains

* Kijōyama * Mount Fuku * Mount Karube

Climate

Sōja 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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with very warm summers and cool winters. The average annual temperature in Sōja is 14.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1392 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Sōja population statistics
/ref> the population of Sōja has been increasing for the past 50 years.

History

The Sōja area is part of ancient

Bitchū Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan on the Seto Inland Sea, Inland Sea side of western Honshū, in what is today western Okayama Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Bizen Province, Bizen and Bingo Province, Bingo Provinces; those t ...

and was the center of the ancient Kingdom of Kibi. The Tsukuriyama Kofun, the 10th largest burial mound in Japan, and the mountain-fortress of

Ki Castle was a Japanese castle of the ''kōgoishi'' type, constructed in the late 7th century by the Yamato Imperial court. The site, atop Kijō Mountain in what is today the Okayama Prefecture town of Sōja, is considered a national monument. Portions o ...

are among the many surviving relics of that period. During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

, the Bitchū Kokubun-ji and provincial capital were located in what is now Sōja. The area prospered in the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

onwards as a "temple town" at the gates of the Bitchū-no-kuni Sōja-gū from which it derives its name. Following 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 village of Sōja was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 and was raised to town status on February 26, 1896. Sōja was elevated to city status on March 31, 1954. On March 22, 2005, the villages of

Yamate is the name of a historic neighbourhood in Naka-ku, Yokohama often referred to in English as ''The Bluff.'' The neighbourhood is famous as having been a foreigners' residential area in the Bakumatsu, Meiji and Taishō periods. While still domi ...

and Kiyone (both from Tsukubo District) were merged into Sōja.

Government

Sōja 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. Sōja contributes two members to the Okayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Okayama 3rd 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

Sōja has a mixed economy. Production of automobile parts dominates the local industry, although food processing is also important. The city also has a strong agricultural sector.

Education

Sōja has 15 public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Okayama prefectural Board of Education.

Okayama Prefectural University is a public university in Sōja, Okayama, Japan, established in 1993. Faculties and graduate schools Faculties *Faculty of Health and Welfare Science *Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering *Faculty of Design Graduate Schools *Gra ...

is also located in Sōja.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , 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 ...

(JR West) -

Hakubi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region of Japan. It begins at the south end of Okayama Prefecture at Kurashiki Station in Kurashiki, passing through Niimi Station on ...

* - - - - JR logo (west)

(JR West) -

Kibi Line is a railway line in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is also referred to as the . Stations All stations are in Okayama Prefecture. Rolling stock * KiHa 40 series diesel multiple units Fi ...

* - -

Ibara Railway Company Ibara Line * -

Highways

Okayama Expressway * * *

Sister cities

Sōja has been twinned with

Chino, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,673 in 23,236 households, and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Chino is located in a mountainous ...

in Japan since 1984.

Local attractions

* Kōmorizuka Kofun *

* Tsukuriyama Kofun * Bitchū Kokubun-ji ruins *

Fukuyama Castle , sometimes called or was the castle of the Bingo-Fukuyama Han during the Edo period of Japanese history. The castle is located in Fukuyama Park in Fukuyama, Hiroshima near Fukuyama Station. Overview The castle was built on a hill on the Fukuya ...

ruins

References

External links

* Cities in Okayama Prefecture Sōja, Okayama {{Okayama-geo-stub