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

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakaya ...

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 n ...

. As of April 1, 2017, 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 usi ...

of 66,400 and 29,713 households. The

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 RosenberPopu ...

is 4,000 persons per km², and the total area is 16.48 km². The city continues to develop as a local business and government center in the center of Nara Prefecture.

History

Inhabited since the Paleolithic age, the city area nurtured

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-A ...

agriculture in the fertile Nara Basin since ancient times. Large keyhole type burial mounds (''

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典� ...

'') were constructed in the northwestern part of the city around the 5th century. A local samurai family ruled the area in the medieval age, but the lord of Takada perished in 1580 at the hand of a local vassal of the powerful

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

. In the early modern age, the city area developed as a local market town with a big Buddhist temple at its core. With the introduction of Western Civilization into Japan, a modern spinning factory was set up here at the end of the nineteenth century. Since then, the city became a center of the modern textile industry. After the Second World War, Takada was designated as a city in 1948. In 1963, the city of Yamatotakada was established, through the arrangement of an Australian

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

father (

Paul Glynn Paul Glynn (1928) is a Marist missionary priest and writer from Australia. He is the author of several books, including ''The Song of Nagasaki'' (1988) and ''The Smile of the Ragpicker'' (1992), both best-sellers and translated into several lan ...

), a sister-city relationship with Lismore,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. It is known as the first such relationship between the two countries. Toshiharu Matsuda, who served as mayor of the city since 1992, resigned in 2003. During his terms of office he executed ambitious construction plans resulting in burdensome debt. He was also criticized for his connection with a gangster boss in the city of

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

. Masakatsu Yoshida, elected as new major in April, 2003, has had to cope with the deteriorating financial problems combined with a curtailed national subsidy and mounting unpaid city tax. A citizens' group advocates new friendship relation with

Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level cit ...

Jiangxi Province Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...

in central

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, though city administrators are still reluctant.

Neighboring municipalities

** Kashihara **

Gose Gose () is a warm fermented beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Dominant flavours in gose include a lemon sourness, a herbal characteristic, and a strong salti ...

** Kashiba ** Katsuragi ** Kōryō

Sister cities

Outside Japan

* Lismore,

Education

* Primary Schools ** Takada Elementary School ** Iwasono Elementary School ** Katashio Elementary School ** Ukiana Elementary School ** Ukiananishi Elementary School *

Junior High Schools A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

** Takada Junior High School ** Takadanishi Junior High School ** Katashio Junior High School *

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s ** Takada High School ** Takadahigashi High School ** Nara Culture High School **

Japan Aviation High School The is a private high school in Kai, Yamanashi, Japan. It was established by Japan Aviation in partnership with Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as ...

** Takada Commerce High School *

Universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

** Nara Culture Women's Junior College * Other ** Bigei Gakuen Vocational School ** Apollo Gakuin Fashion Business School

Transportation

Rail

West Japan Railway Company , 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 ...

Wakayama Line The is a railway line that links Nara Prefecture to Wakayama Prefecture in Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Ōji Station on the Yamatoji Line to Wakayama Station on the Hanwa Line and Kisei Main Line, with ...

;

Sakurai Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Nara Prefecture. It connects Nara on the Yamatoji Line to Takada on the Wakayama Line, with some services continuing on the Wakayama Line to Ōji Station, and then to ...

(Manyō-Mahoroba Line): Takada Station *

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...

Osaka Line 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 2.7 ...

: Tsukiyama Station-

Yamato-Takada Station is a railway station in Yamatotakada, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Line *Kintetsu Railway **Osaka Line Layout The elevated station has two side platforms A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a plat ...

- Matsuzuka Station **

Minami Osaka Line is a railway line operated by Kintetsu Railway connecting in Osaka and in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture via Osaka's southern suburb cities of Matsubara, Fujiidera and Habikino in Osaka Prefecture, and Katsuragi and Yamato-Takada in Nara Pref ...

Takadashi Station is a railway station in Yamatotakada, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Lines * Kintetsu Railway :*Minami Osaka Line is a railway line operated by Kintetsu Railway connecting in Osaka and in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture via Osaka's southern suburb ...

- Ukiana Station

Road

Expressways Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limi ...

** Keinawa Expressway * Japanese National Route Sign 0024

Japan National Route 24 * Japanese National Route Sign 0165

Japan National Route 165 * Japanese National Route Sign 0166

Japan National Route 166 National Route 166 is a national highway of Japan connecting Habikino, Osaka and Matsusaka, Mie in Japan, with a total length of 125.4 km (77.92 mi). References 166 Year 166 ( CLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday ( ...

Japan National Route 168

References

External links

Yamatotakada City official website

{{Authority control Cities in Nara Prefecture