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 ...

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

Shikoku island is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

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 249,865 in 122085 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 1305 persons per km².The total area of the city is .

Geography

The city is situated in the north-eastern part of Tokushima Prefecture at the mouth of the

Yoshino River The Yoshino River (吉野川 ''Yoshino-gawa'') is a river on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . It is the second longest river in Shikoku (slightly shorter than the Shimanto), and is the only river whose watershe ...

. In terms of layout and organization, Tokushima displays the typical characteristics of a Japanese castle town. Most of the city is located in the Tokushima plain and is flat, but the symbol of the city, Mt. Bizan, rises in the center, creating a scenic landscape. The southern part is a mountainous area with forests.

Mountains

Rivers

Akui River Akui is a village in the Indas CD block in the Bishnupur subdivision of the Bankura district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Akui is located at . Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the sub ...

* Imagire River *

Shinmachi River The is a river found in the heart of Tokushima City in Tokushima Prefecture. The Suketō River, Tamiya River, Sako River, and Sumiyoshijima River are its tributaries. At current, the non-profit organization Shinmachi Preservation Committee is ...

Suketō River The , also called the Fukushima River, is a river in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Course It starts on the western side of Hyōtan-jima where the Shinmachi River hits the Mitsuai Bridge and runs around to meet the river again to the east. The riv ...

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture *

Komatsushima 270px, Komatsushima panorama 270px, Kandase River in Komatsushima 270px, Komatsushima Port 270px, Statue of Minamoto no Yoshitsune 270px, Aerial View of Komatsushima city center is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city ...

* Katsuura *

Matsushige Matsushige may refer to: *Matsushige, Tokushima 270px, Tsukimigaoka-Kaihin-Koen is a town located in Itano District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 14,770 in 6794 households and a population density of 10 ...

* Kitajima * Aizumi * Ishii * Kamiyama * Sanagōchi

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tokushima has been growing steadily for the past century.

Climate

Tokushima 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 hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is high, but there is a pronounced difference between the wetter summers and drier winters.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Tokushima was part of ancient Awa Province. Tokushima was developed around

Tokushima Castle was an Edo period Japanese castle located in the city of Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1957. Its Omotegoten Gardens are designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty. Hi ...

, the seat of the

Hachisuka clan The are descendants of Emperor Seiwa (850-880) of Japan and are a branch of the Ashikaga clan through the Shiba clan (Seiwa Genji). History Ashikaga Ieuji (13th century), son of Ashikaga Yasuuji, was the first to adopt the name Shiba. The Shiba ...

, ''

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...

'' of

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima C ...

under 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 characteriz ...

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. Its prosperity was built on a strong

indigo dye Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color. Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from the leaves of some plants of the ''Indigofera'' genus, in particular ''Indigofera tinctoria''; dye-bearing ''Indigofera'' pla ...

industry. 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 city of Tokushima was established on October 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. At the time, it was the 10th largest city in Japan.

World War II air raid

Tokushima was selected as a target by the United States'

XXI Bomber Command The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in the Mariana Islands for strategic bombing during World War II. The command was established at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas on 1 March 1944. After a period of organization an ...

during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

because of the city's role as an agricultural center for the region. On July 3, 1945, at 5:45 PM (JST) 137 aircraft took off to bomb Tokushima. 1,050 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on Tokushima, destroying 74% of the built up areas of the city. Over 1000 people were killed in the bombing (431 men, 553 women, 17 of unknown gender) and over 2000 people were injured. The number of incendiary bombs dropped on Tokushima City was enormous at 354,664, and since the population of Tokushima City was 115,508 in 1944, it is calculated that 3.07 incendiary bombs were dropped per citizen.

Government

Tokushima 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 30 members. Tokushima contributes ten members to the

Tokushima Prefectural Assembly is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Tokushima 1st district Tokushima 1st district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, and consists of the city of Tokushima and the village of Sanag� ...

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

Tokushima has been the economic center of eastern Shikoku since the Edo period, when prospered as a distribution center for indigo and timber, and was one of the leading commercial cities in Japan. It has a deep connection with the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

especially

Osaka 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. ...

, which has become even more prominent in modern times after the opening of the

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge The is a suspension bridge which links the city of Kobe on the Japanese island of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island. It is part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, and crosses the busy and turbulent Akashi Strait (''Akashi Kaikyō'' in Japanese) ...

. Following the decline of the indigo industry, the accumulated wealth of the merchant class led to the development of banks and financial institutions, which in turn led to modern industries such as spinning, papermaking, pharmaceuticals, food processing and electric power. Although the city area was burnt to the ground due to the Tokushima air raid in World War II, it was quickly reconstructed. There are numerous

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

s. Agriculture and forestry both remain as major contributors the local economy. The Tokushima Plain in the Yoshino and Katsuura river basins have fertile agricultural land, and in addition to rice, some items such as cauliflower and carrots are major local products.

Education

Universities and colleges

* University of Tokushima *

Tokushima Bunri University is a private university in Tokushima, Japan. History In 1895, Sai Murasaki founded a private vocational school. In 1966, "Tokushima Women's University" was founded. In 1972, "Tokushima Women`s University" was renamed "Tokushima Bunri Univer ...

* Shikoku University

Primary and secondary education

Tokushima has 30 public elementary schools and 18 public middle schools operated by the city government and nine public high schools operated by the Tokushima Prefectural Department of Education. There are also one private elementary school, three private middle schools and five private high schools. The prefecture also operates one night school and four special education schools for the disabled.

Transportation

Airport

Tokushima Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Matsushige, Tokushima, Japan, near the city of Tokushima. In addition to scheduled passenger operations, the airport is the base of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Tokushima Air Training Group ...

, which is located in neighboring town of Matsushige

Railway

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

–

Kōtoku Line The is a railway line in northeastern Shikoku, Japan that connects the prefectural capitals Takamatsu (Kagawa) and Tokushima (Tokushima). Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) owns and operates the line, whose name comes from the characters in th ...

* - -

–

Mugi Line The is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nic ...

* - - - - JR_logo_(shikoku)

–

Tokushima Line The is a railway line in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). The Tokushima Line connects Sako Station in Tokushima and Tsukuda Station in Miyoshi from west to east in central Tokushima Pre ...

* - - -

Highways

Tokushima Expressway The is a national Expressways of Japan, expressway in the Shikoku region of Japan. The expressway is numbered E11 between Naruto and Tokushima Junctions and E32 between Tokushima and Kawanoe-Higashi Junctions under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Re ...

Tokushima-Nanbu Expressway * * * * * * * *

Sister cities

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, United States, since December 1961 *

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

, Portugal, since October 1969 *

Dandong Dandong (), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese border city, facing Sinuiju, North Korea across the ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, China, since October 1991

Local attrations

Tokushima Castle Museum opened in Tokushima, Japan, in 1992. The museum is located in a garden with the ruins of Tokushima Castle, and features exhibits about the history of the castle. See also * Tokushima Prefectural Museum is a prefectural museum in Tokushim ...

* Tokushima Archaeological Museum *

Tokushima Prefectural Museum is a prefectural museum in Tokushima, Japan, dedicated to the nature, archaeology, history, folklore, and art of Tokushima Prefecture. It first opened in 1959 and reopened in new premises in 1990. See also * List of Historic Sites of Japan (To ...

* Tokushima Domain Hachisuka clan cemetery, National Historic Site * Dainichi-ji, 13th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage * Jōraku-ji, 14th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage *

Awa Kokubun-ji Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

, 15th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage * Kan'on-ji, 16th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage * Ido-ji, 17th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage *

Shibunomaruyama Kofun The is a Kofun period kofun, burial mound, located in the Mitsuiwa hamlet of the Shibuno neighborhood of the city of Tokushima (city), Tokushima on the island of Shikoku in Japan. It was designated a Monuments of Japan, National Historic Site o ...

, National Historic Site * Ichinomiya Jinja, one of the

ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise t ...

of former Awa Province

Culture

Every August, during the

Obon Festival or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

, Tokushima holds a cultural dance festival, the

Awa Odori The is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Obon festival in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori is the largest dance festival in Japan, attracting over 1.3 million tourists every year. Groups of choreographed dancers and mu ...

. Awa Odori literally translates as "Awa Dance" (

Awa Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

being Tokushima Prefecture's ancient name). During the festival, residents ranging from young children to professional dance troupes perform a distinctive style of Japanese traditional dance in regional costumes, accompanied by strings, drums, and singing (usually by the dancers themselves).

Sports

The city's

Asty Tokushima or the is an indoor arena and conference venue in Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan. The arena opened in 1993. "ASTY" in the venue's name is an acronym which stands for "Attractive Space in Tokushima Yamashiro". Notable sports events hosted by the ...

arena hosted the official 2007 Asian Basketball Championship.

Gallery

File:Tokushima Station Bus Terminal.jpg, Tokushima Station Bus Terminal File:Awa-odori in Tokushima City.jpg, Awa Dancing Festival, well-known Bon Festival File:Tokushima Hachisuka Iemasa M3753.jpg, statue of

Hachisuka Iemasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Iemasa, the son of Hachisuka Masakatsu or ''Koroku'', was the founder of the Tokushima Domain. He was one of some daimyo who have bad terms with Ishida Mitsunari. His father was a retainer ...

References

External links

Tokushima City official website

* * {{Authority control Cities in Tokushima Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan 1889 establishments in Japan Populated places established in 1889