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 84,161 in 42,434 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 7600 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Wakō is located on the southern border of Saitama Prefecture, bordering Nerima Ward and Itabashi Ward in Tokyo. Topographically, it is located on the

Musashino Terrace The , also translated as Musashino Platform and also named as Musashino Region, is a large tableland (known as a fluvial terrace) in the Kantō region of Honshu, Japan. The Musashino Plateau is a plateau that extends between the Arakawa and Tama R ...

, with the Shirako River flowing along the border with Itabashi Ward, Tokyo on the east side of the city, and the Arakawa and Shingashi Rivers at the northern end of the city.

Surrounding municipalities

** Asaka ** Toda *

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Itabashi is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it calls itself Itabashi City. Itabashi has sister-city relations with Burlington, Ontario, in Canada; Shijingshan District of Beijing in the People's Republic of China; and ...

Nerima is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Nerima City. , the ward has an estimated population of 721,858, with 323,296 households and a population density of 15,013 persons per km2, while 15,326 f ...

Climate

Wakō 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 Wakō is 14.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Wakō has increased rapidly over the past 80 years.

History

Archaeological examination of several sites around Wakō has revealed the remains of a number of villages in the area, including a large amount of

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

pottery, stone tools and other remains. Signs of early rice cultivation coinciding with the

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

as well as quantities of Yayoi period pottery and implements have also been found. The area of modern Wakō developed from 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 ...

as Shirako-juku, a post station on the Kawagoe-kaidō highway. The villages of Shirako and Niikura were created within Niikura District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Niikura District was abolished in 1894, becoming part of Kitaadachi District. The two villages were merged on April 1, 1943, becoming the town of Yamato. Yamato was elevated to city status on October 31, 1970 and was renamed Wakō.

Government

Wakō 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 18 members. Wakō contributes one member to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Saitama 4th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called Parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional r ...

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

Since it is adjacent to Tokyo metropolis, the population of Wakō rapidly increased as a

commuter town 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 ...

after World War II. It developed as an industrial city due to the construction of a factory of Honda Motor Company, (since closed, but Honda's R&D Center remains in Wakō). The head offices of RIKEN, a large

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

research institute in Japan, are also located in the city.

Education

Wakō has eight public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, the prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and '' keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second long ...

Tōbu Tōjō Line The is a 75.0 km suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred to ...

Tokyo Metro The is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.84 million passengers, the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the two subway operators in the city; the other being the Toei ...

- Yūrakuchō Line/

Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,654 ...

Highway

* * *

Sister city relations

Longview, Washington Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 37,818 at the time of the 2 ...

, United States, since October 1, 1999

Local attractions Wakō

Myoten-ji

This temple was consecrated by Sudagoro Tokimitsu, the local administrator of Shimoniikura (1278–1287). A statue of

Nichiren Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of ...

and a wooden plaque with the inscription: "Namu myoho rengekyo" reside in the temple. They are important treasures of Wakō city.

Koyasu no Shimizu (Temple for Safe Childbirth)

Per local legend, Nichiren called at the house of his old friend, Tokimitsu while on his way to exile in Sado. Tokimitsu's wife was going through a difficult childbirth. When Nichiren prayed for a safe delivery and made a blessing with a willow twig a spring of pure water sprang up on the spot. Nichiren then had Tokimitu's wife hold the willow twig while water from the spring was poured into her mouth whereupon she soon gave birth to a healthy baby boy. There used to be a large willow tree beside the pond at the temple, and it is said that this tree grew from the twig that Nichiren used to bless the birth. The tree is no longer there today.

Kawagoe Kaidō

The Kawagoe Kaidō was a highway completed in 1633 when the third ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...

visited Kawagoe Senpa Tōshōgū (

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 ...

). At that time,

Kawagoe Castle is a flatland Japanese castle in the city of Kawagoe, in Japan's Saitama Prefecture. It is the closest castle to Tokyo to be accessible to visitors, as Edo castle is now the Imperial palace, and largely inaccessible. Along with a number of othe ...

played an important role in governing the northern part of

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

. Kawagoe was 10 ''Ri'' (about ) from

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...

in the old part of Edo and there were six ''

shukuba were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called ''shuku-eki'' (宿駅). These post stations (or "post towns") were places where travelers could r ...

'' along the way, namely: Kamiitabashi, Shimonerima, Shirako, Hizaori, Ōwada, and Ōi. These post stations were officially regulated settlements catering to travelers. Shirako-juku was from Edo and travelers often stopped there for lunch. After a steep winding hill and with ample spring water, Shirako-juku was a good rest stop. Travelers came from the direction of Nittazaka then went up O-saka and down Kurayami-zaka, which was dark even in the daytime.

Choshōji (Temple of the Shingon Sect)

The origin of this

Shingon file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks suc ...

sect temple pre-dates 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 ...

. The temple was dedicated to the Juichimen

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

(Kannon with eleven faces). The wooden statue may have been made at the beginning of the Edo period. There is a huge

Ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus within ...

tree in the temple grounds. The tree is estimated to be over 700 years old, has a diameter of more than 7.5 meters and stands nearly 30 meters tall. It is designated as a natural monument of the Wako City.

Ikkan-ji , Gorintō Pagoda

Ikkan-ji is a

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān L ...

sect temple built during the Kan'ei era (1624–43) and was consecrated by Sakai Tadashige, a local administrator of Shimoniikura in the

. It served as the family temple of the Sakai clan. ''

Gorintō ("five-ringed tower") is a Japanese type of Buddhist pagoda believed to have been first adopted by the Shingon and Tendai sects during the mid Heian period. It is used for memorial or funerary purposesKōjien Japanese Dictionary and is therefore ...

'', or stone five level pagodas were placed at graves as a memorial and to console the spirits of the departed. Three ''gorinto'' can be found at Ikkan-ji at the graves of Tadashige Sakai, his wife, and a former administrator's wife.

Notable people

Keisuke Kato Keisuke (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese general *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, Japanese footballer * ...

, actor * Toshio Kayama, politician *

Kaori Matsumura is a Japanese tarento who is a former member of SKE48's Team KII. Career Mastumura applied for SKE48's 2nd generation auditions in March 2009 but failed to make the cut. She passed SKE48's 3rd generation auditions on 13 November 2009. Duri ...

, tarento, former idol * Yumi Kajihara, cyclist

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wako, Saitama Cities in Saitama Prefecture