270px, Uwajma City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Uwajma city center
270px, Japan National Route 320 in Uwajma city center
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
Ehime Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...
, 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 70,440 in 35429 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 150 persons per km².
The total area of the city is .
Geography
Uwajima is located in southwestern Ehime Prefecture, facing the wide rias coastline and remote islands, Uwa Bay on the
Seto Inland Sea to the east, and with the other three sides surrounded by mountains. Although it is actually located to the south-southeast of Yawatahama, as it is the terminus of the limited express train on the
JR Shikoku
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 ...
Yosan Line
The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately p ...
, people other than local residents tend to think that it is the westernmost city in Ehime Prefecture.
Neighbouring municipalities
Ehime Prefecture
*
Seiyo
*
Kihoku
*
Matsuno
Kōchi Prefecture
*
Shimanto city
*
Sukumo
Climate
Uwajima has a
humid subtropical climate (
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 significant throughout the year, but is highest from June to September.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Uwajima has been decreased steadily since the 1960s.
History
The area of Uwajima was part of ancient
Iyo Province
was a province of Japan in the area of northwestern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Iyo bordered on Sanuki Province to the northeast, Awa to the east, and Tosa to the south. Its abbreviated form name was . In te ...
. During the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...
, Uwajima (notably the island of Hiburijima in Uwajima Bay) was center of piracy in the
Seto Inland Sea and became the stronghold of
Fujiwara no Sumitomo
was a Japanese Heian era court noble and warrior. From 939 to 941 he aided the Taira clan in a series of revolts.
Sumitomo built his power base in Northern Kyushu. After making a secret agreement with Taira no Masakado, who was leading a revo ...
in his rebellion. During 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 ...
, a branch of the
Saionji family {{Infobox Japanese clan
, surname nihongo = 西園寺家
, home province = Kyoto, Yamashiro Province
, parent house =Northern Fujiwara
, titles = Rokuhara Tandai Genrō Kantō Mōshitsugi Udaijin Sadaijin
, founder =Saionji Michis ...
was appointed as governor of the area by the
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669.
The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...
, but was constantly being invaded his more powerful and aggressive neighbors, including
Ouchi Yoshitaka Ouchi or Ōuchi may refer to:
Geography
* Ouchi, Hubei (), a town in Gong'an County, Jingzhou, Hubei, China
Japan
* Ōuchi, Akita, a town now merged into Yurihonjō, Akita
* Ouchi, Saga, a town now merged into Karatsu-city, Saga
* Ōuchi-juku, ...
,
Mōri Motonari,
Ōtomo Sōrin
, also known as Fujiwara no Yoshishige (藤原 義鎮) and Ōtomo Yoshishige (大友 義鎮), was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Ōtomo clan, one of the few to have converted to Roman Catholicism (Christianity). The eldest son of , he ...
, the
Tosa-Ichijo clan and the
Chōsokabe clan
, also known as , was a Japanese samurai kin group. Over time, they were known for serving the Hosokawa clan, then the Miyoshi clan and then the Ichijo clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géograph ...
. The Saionji survived by the fluid loyalties and fierce resistance, but were eventually overcome by
Chōsokabe Motochika
was a prominent '' daimyō'' in Japanese Sengoku-period.
He was the 21st chief of the Chōsokabe clan of Tosa Province (present-day Kōchi Prefecture), the ruler of Shikoku region.
Early life and rise
He was the son and heir of Chōsokabe Ku ...
, who was in turn overthrown by the forces of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
. Iyo Province was given to
Kobayakawa Takakage
was a samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) during the Sengoku period and Azuchi–Momoyama period. He was the third son of Mōri Motonari who was adopted by the Kobayakawa clan and became its 14th clan head. He merged the two branches of the Kob ...
, who assigned the area around Uwajima to his adopted son and half-brother, Hidekane. Takakage was later transferred to
Kyushu and was replaced by Hideyoshi's general Toda Katsutaka. In contrast the Kobayakawa, the Toda ruled with extreme harshness, murdering the descendants of the Saiōnji family and thinking nothing of robbery, rape and murder of the local inhabitants. When ordered to send troops to the
invasion of Korea in 1592, he cut down large trees in shrines and temples throughout his domain to construct ships. He went insane during the campaign, and died in Korea without heir. Hideyoshi then assigned
Tōdō Takatora
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of Tōdō clan from the Azuchi–Momoyama to Edo periods. He rose from relatively humble origins as an ashigaru (a light foot soldier) to become a ''daimyō''.
Biography
During his lifetime he changed his feudal ...
to the domain. A noted castle designer, Takatora spent six years building Itajima Castle, which would later be called
Uwajima Castle
270px, Aerial view of Uwajima Castle
is a ''hirayama-jiro'' Japanese castle located in the city of Uwajima, Ehime, Japan. An alternate name for this castle is Tsurushima-jō. The castle is one of twelve Japanese castles to still have an original ...
. Following the
Battle of Sekigahara and other campaigns, he was promoted to
Tsu Domain
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province and in Iga Province in what is part of now modern-day Tsu, Mie. It was centered around Tsu Castle. Tsu Domain was controlled the '' tozama'' Tōdō ...
in
Ise Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .
History
The name of Ise appears ...
. In 1614,
Date Hidemune
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. He was the eldest son of Date Masamune, born in 1591 by Shinzo no Kata (a concubine). Coming of age while living with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he received a character from Hideyoshi's name and took ...
, the illegitimate eldest son of
Date Masamune , was awarded the 100,000 ''koku''
Uwajima Domain
270px, Date Munenari
270px, Uwajima Date Museum
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now western Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Uwajima Castle, and was ruled throu ...
by Shogun
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Early life (1579–1593)
Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...
, and moved into Uwajima Castle the following year. His descendants would rule the domain until 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 ...
.
Following the Meiji restoration, the town of Uwajima was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. In 1917, Maruho Village was merged into Uwajima. The town of Uwajima merged with the village of Yahata on August 1, 1921 and was raised to city status. The city was extended by combining Kushima Village in 1934 and renovating the bay area for factory usage. The center of the city was largely destroyed by bombing during World War II in 1945; however, post-war reconstruction was rapid. In 1955, Uwajima annexed Miura and Takamitsu Villages and Uwaumi village in 1974. On August 1, 2005 Uwajima absorbed the towns of
Mima,
Tsushima and
Yoshida (all from
Kitauwa District) .
Government
Uwajima 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 council of 24 members. Uwajima, together with Kihoku and Matsuno, contributes four members to the Ehime Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Ehime 4th district of the
lower house of the
Diet of Japan.
Economy
Uwajima is the largest municipality of southwestern, but industry is poorly developed except for a single shipyard.
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
, taking advantage of the ria coastline, aquaculture and
cultured pearls is the mainstay of the local economy.
Education
Uwajima has 30 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has five public high schools operated by the Ehime Prefectural Board of Education.
Transportation
Railways
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 i ...
-
Yosan Line
The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately p ...
* - - - -
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 i ...
-
Yodo Line
The is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Station, Shimanto, Takaoka District in Kōchi Prefecture and Uwajima in Ehime Prefecture. Its name comes from the ancient provinces of ( ...
* - - - - - ()
Highways
*
Matsuyama Expressway
The is a national expressway in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The expressway is numbered E11 between Kawanoe Junction and Matsuyama Interchange and E56 between Matsuyama and Uwajima-Kita Interchanges under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Realization ...
*
*
*
*
Ports
*
Port of Uwajima
Local attractions
*
Uwajima Castle
270px, Aerial view of Uwajima Castle
is a ''hirayama-jiro'' Japanese castle located in the city of Uwajima, Ehime, Japan. An alternate name for this castle is Tsurushima-jō. The castle is one of twelve Japanese castles to still have an original ...
is well known as one of the 12 Japanese castles to have an original donjon built in the Edo Period.
*Date Family Museum which features many historically important objects tied to the history of the region and the Daimyō family Date which ruled this area.
*
Taga Shrine, a
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
shrine which features a large, realistic phallus carved from a log approximately 9 feet in length, 1 foot in diameter. Next to the shrine is a graphic
sex museum, filled with artifacts and paintings from around the world.
*
Uwajima Ushi-oni Festival
is a festival and purification event held annually July 22–24 in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The festival derives from an incident in the 16th-century Japanese invasions of Korea, and includes an ''ushi-oni'' parade, bull fighting, firewo ...
, also known as "Gaiya Festival," or the "Warei Shrine Festival." Held in July, among the festivities are ushioni teams parading down the street, a dance contest to the town song known as the "Gaiya" dance, traditional dancing, and a bullfight. The word "Gaiya" is in a local dialect, approximately translating to "awesome" in English.The city is known for
bullfighting, which differs from the more widely known Spanish bullfights in that there is no
matador
A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...
. Two bulls fight in a ring until one bull's knees touch the ground or flees, marking it the loser. Bullfights are generally held in January, April, July, and August.
*
Ryūkō-ji, 41st temple on the
Shikoku Pilgrimage
The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...
*
Butsumoku-ji, 42nd temple on the
Shikoku Pilgrimage
The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...
Tsushima
Tsushima occupies an area of approximately 200 km
2 and has a significant proportion of Uwajima's current land area, despite not being highly populated (fewer than 15,000 people). It's made up of small villages that shared a municipal government as Tsushima until they were amalgamated into Uwajima.
Tsushima is known for the Iwamatsu River and its annual festival where people eat tiny, live fish, as well as pearl and fish farming. It is part of the prefecture's
mikan
''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as miyagawa mandarin, unshu mikan, cold hardy mandarin, satsuma mandarin, satsuma orange, naartjie, and tangerine. ''Citrus unshiu'' was named after Unshu (Wenzho ...
industry.
Notable people from Uwajima, Ehime
*
Umetaro Azechi, Japanese
printmaker and
mountain climber
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
*
Masafumi Hirai, Japanese professional
baseball pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a ...
*
Tadashi Irie,
yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...
, the head (''kumicho'') of the
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 ...
-based 2nd
Takumi-gumi and the grand general manager (''so-honbucho'') of the 6th
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest '' yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II.
It is one of the largest criminal organizations i ...
*
Kazuyoshi Ishii
is a Japanese master of Seidokaikan karate and founder of the K-1 fighting circuit, a widely televised international martial arts competition combining Muay Thai, karate, sanshou, taekwondo, kenpo, boxing, and kickboxing.Maylam, J. (2001)K-1 h ...
, Japanese
master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
of
Seidokaikan
is a traditional full contact karate derived from Kyokushin by Kazuyoshi Ishii. Seidokaikan organized the first professional full contact karate tournament named the Karate World Cup. The Karate World Cup had special extension rounds; if the j ...
karate and founder of the
K-1 fighting circuit
*
Daisuke Itō,
Japanese film director and screenwriter
*
Akinori Iwamura
is a former Japanese baseball infielder, who currently is a manager for the Fukushima Red Hopes in Japan's Baseball Challenge League. He made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2007.
He earned the nickname Aki while in M ...
, Japanese
baseball manager
''Baseball Manager'' is a 1963 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. The magna on canvas measures 68 x 56 inches. The painting is visible at Marlins Park
LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is t ...
and former
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
infielder
*
Kenta Kawai, Japanese former
football player
*
Susumu Koshimizu, Japanese sculptor,
installation artist
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...
and member of
Mono-ha
*
Shingo Matsumoto, Japanese amateur
Greco-Roman wrestler
*
Ryuji Miyade, former
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
*
Shinro Ohtake,
Japanese artist (born in Tokyo, Japan but raised in Uwajima, Ehime)
*
Masayoshi Ōishi
is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter from Uwajima, Ehime. His professional music career began in 2001 as vocalist of the band Sound Schedule. Following the band's disbandment in 2006, he began a solo career, releasing his debut single " ...
, Japanese musician and singer-songwriter
*
Tetchō Suehiro,
Japanese politician, novelist, and journalist
*
Mutsumi Tamabayashi, Japanese
football player (
Ehime FC
is a professional football club based in Matsuyama, the capital city of Ehime Prefecture of Japan. After winning the JFL championship in 2005, the club now plays in .
History
The club was founded in 1970 as Matsuyama Soccer Club and renamed ...
,
J2 League)
*
Sho Tanaka
(born August 27, 1989), known mononymously as Sho (stylized as SHO), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club, and its sub-group House of Torture.
He i ...
,
Japanese professional wrestler
*
Raymond Ken'ichi Tanaka
Raymond Ken'ichi Tanaka (August 31, 1927 – July 29, 2021) was a Japanese Roman Catholic prelate. Tanaka served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyoto, seated in Kyoto, from July 8, 1976, until March 3, 1997.
Tanaka was born on Au ...
, Bishop of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyoto
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyoto ( la, Kyoten(sis), ja, カトリック京都教区 ) is a diocese located in the city of Kyoto in the Ecclesiastical province of Osaka 大阪 in Japan.
History
* June 17, 1937: Established as Apostolic Pref ...
(1976–1997)
*
Koichi Yamamoto,
Japanese politician, member of
Liberal Democratic Party and member of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
in the
Diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
(national legislature)
*
Haruhiro Yamashita, Japanese
gymnast
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...
and 2x
Olympic gold medalist (
1964 Summer Olympics)
*
Kyoichi Katayama
is a Japanese author.
Biography
Katayama was born in the Ehime Prefecture and graduated from Kyushu University. Katayama's first major book was '' Kehai'' (Sign). The book won the Bungakkai Newcomers award.
Katayama wrote the book ''Socrates i ...
, the author of the novel ''
Socrates in Love
is a 2001 Japanese melodrama novel, written by Kyoichi Katayama and published by Shogakukan, which revolves around narrator Sakutaro Matsumoto's recollections of a school classmate whom he once loved.
It is also known as , which author Ka ...
'', is from Uwajima. The novel was turned into a movie.
*
Shinro Ohtake, a contemporary Japanese artist, has lived and worked in Uwajima since 1987.
Gallery
File:Uwajima-jo.JPG, Uwajima Castle
270px, Aerial view of Uwajima Castle
is a ''hirayama-jiro'' Japanese castle located in the city of Uwajima, Ehime, Japan. An alternate name for this castle is Tsurushima-jō. The castle is one of twelve Japanese castles to still have an original ...
File:Uwajima.JPG, Uwajima as viewed from the castle
File:Warei-jinja through Gate.JPG, Warei Shrine
File:Taga-jinja Statues.JPG, Taga Shrine statues
References
External links
Uwajima City official website
Nanrakuen Website
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Ehime Prefecture
Port settlements in Japan
Populated coastal places in Japan