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 ...

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi ...

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 ...

. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 310 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Aizuwakamatsu is located in the western part of Fukushima Prefecture, in the southeast part of Aizu basin.

Mountains

* Mount Ōtodake (1416 m) * Mount Seaburi * Mount Oda * Mount Iimori

Rivers

* Aga River * Nippashi River * Yugawa River * Sesenagi River

Lakes

Lake Inawashiro is the fourth-largest lake in Japan, located in central Fukushima Prefecture, south of Mount Bandai. It is also known as the . The lake is located within the borders of Bandai-Asahi National Park. It is a surface area of , circumference of , dept ...

Lake Wakasato A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Lake Higashiyama A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Lake Sohara A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Hot springs

Higashiyama Onsen Higashiyama may refer to multiple things associated with Japan, including: * Higashiyama (surname), a Japanese surname * Higashiyama, Iwate, a former town in Iwata Prefecture * Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, a ward of the city of Kyoto * Higashiyama cultu ...

* Ashinomaki Onsen

Administrative divisions

There are 11 administrative divisions (hamlets or ) in the city. * Wakamatsu * Machikita * Kouya * Kouzashi * Monden * Ikki * Higashiyama * Ōto * Minato * Kitaaizu * Kawahigashi

Neighboring municipalities

Fukushima Prefecture *North: Kitakata,

Aizubange Eryū-ji temple in Aizubange is a town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,159 in 5487 households, and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the town was . Geography Aizu ...

, Yugawa,

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine ...

*East: Koriyama, Inawashiro *West: Aizumisato *South: Shimogo, Tenei

Climate

Aizuwakamatsu has a hot-summer

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(Köppen Dfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. Although it is located in an inland valley, Aizuwakamatsu's climate resembles that of the

Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-mod ...

on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

coast. Snowfall is very heavy during the winter at , and snow cover reaches an average maximum of and has reached as much as for short periods, a figure one would usually associate with much colder regions like the

Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the so ...

. The average annual temperature in Aizuwakamatsu is 11.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1270 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.2 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Aizuwakamatsu peaked around the year 1990 and had since declined to pre-1960 levels.

History

The area of present-day Aizuwakamatsu was part of ancient

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the co ...

, and was settled from prehistoric times. The Aizu-Otsuka Kofun within the city borders dates from the 4th century AD, and is an Important Cultural Property. According to legend, in 88 BCE,

Emperor Sujin , also known as in the ''Kojiki'', and or in the '' Nihon Shoki'' was the tenth Emperor of Japan. While Sujin is the first emperor whose existence historians widely accept, he is still referred to as a "legendary emperor" due to a lack of info ...

sent two generals; Ohiko and Takenukawa-wake to the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku reta ...

for the purpose of establishing peace after the quashing of a rebellion in the region. Before the late 12th century, Aizuwakamatsu was mainly a market town and a base for regional warlords. Starting in 1192, Aizuwakamatsu became part of the regions that were controlled by the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no ...

. Soon after taking power, Yoritomo granted a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

named Suwara Yoshitsura (from the

Miura clan Miura may refer to: Places *Miura, Kanagawa *Miurakaigan Station * Miura District, Kanagawa * Miura Peninsula * Ganadería Miura, the home of the Miura fighting bull line People * Miura (surname) * Miura clan, Japanese descended clan of the Ta ...

) all of Aizu. A descendant of Suwara, Ashina Morinori, began construction of the first castle in the city in 1384. During the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

the final lord of Aizu, Ashina Moritaka, died in 1583 and soon the Ashina clan lost power. After the

Satake clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's service as vass ...

took control of the castle, they placed a twelve-year-old member of their clan who was renamed Ashina Morishige and proclaimed lord of Aizu. The Ashina clan regained control of Aizu for a brief time in 1589 with the help of

Date Masamune was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made ...

. However, Masamune took over the domain for himself soon after. He surrendered in 1590 to

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 ...

. Toyotomi gave Aizu to one of his allies, Gamo Ujisato who then began construction in 1592 of a new castle at the site. It was during this time that the town was renamed "Wakamatsu" (young pine). During 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 character ...

, Aizu was controlled briefly by Uesugi Kagekatsu in 1600 after the death of Gamo Ujisato in 1596.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

accused Uesugi of gathering troops in Aizu. Ieyasu then transferred the Uesugi to Yonezawa. Through inheritance, Aizu was passed to

Hoshina Masayuki was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period, who was the founder of what became the Matsudaira house of Aizu. He was an important figure in the politics and philosophy of the early Tokugawa shogunate. Biography Hoshina Masayuki was born ...

(a brother of the third Tokugawa shogun) in 1643. The

saw the economic and cultural growth of Aizu. Hoshina's descendants would rule the

Aizu Domain was a Han (Japan), domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Tsuruga Castle in ...

for the next 200 years, adopting the

Matsudaira The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of th ...

name until the ninth generation

Daimyō 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 nominall ...

Matsudaira Katamori Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He i ...

, backed the

bakufu , 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 Kamakura ...

in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

Aizuwakamatsu Castle , also known as Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城 ''Tsuru-ga-jō'') is a concrete replica of a traditional Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. Background Aizu Wakamatsu Castle is locate ...

would fall during the

Battle of Aizu The Battle of Aizu (Japanese: 会津戦争, "War of Aizu") was fought in northern Japan from October to November in autumn 1868, and was part of the Boshin War. History Aizu was known for its martial skill, and maintained at any given time a st ...

and the domain forfeit. A group of 22, including loyal retainers and their families, managed to escape to California and lend the name of their home to establish the first Japanese colony in America, the ill fated

Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony is believed to be the first permanent Japanese settlement in North America and the only settlement by samurai outside of Japan. The group was made up of 22 people from samurai families during the Boshin Civi ...

in 1869. After 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 ...

, Wakamatsu Town was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It became Wakamatsu City in 1899. On April 1, 1937, a part of Machikita village (from Kitaaizu District) was merged into the city of Wakamatsu. The remained was annexed on April 1, 1951. The name of the city was changed to Aizuwakamatsu on January 1, 1955 when Wakamatsu merged with seven villages of Kitaaizu District (Kouya, Kouzashi, Monden, Ikki, Higashiyama, Ōto and Minato). . A part of the town of Hongō (locality of Oya) (from Ōnuma District) was merged into Aizuwakamatsu on April 1, 1955. Aizuwakamatsu further expanded by annexing the village of Kitaaizu (from Kitaaizu District) on November 1, 2004 and the town of Kawahigashi (from Kawanuma District) on November 1, 2005.

Government

Aizuwakamatsu 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 legislature of 29 members The city contributes four members to the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Fukushima Electoral District 4 for 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 paral ...

Economy

Aizuwakamatsu is a local commercial center. The area is traditionally noted for ''

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and in ...

'' brewing and lacquerware. Modern industries include textiles, wood processing and electronics.

Education

Aizuwakamatsu has one prefectural university and a private junior college. The city has 19 public elementary school and 11 public junior high schools operated by the city government. In addition, there is one private elementary school and one private junior high school. The Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education operates five public high schools and one combined junior/senior high school. The prefecture also operates two special education schools.

Universities and colleges

* University of Aizu * Junior College of Aizu

Senior high schools

Public (prefectural)

*Aizu High School (会津高等学校) *Aoi High School (葵高等学校) *Aizu Gakuhō High School (会津学鳳高等学校) *Wakamatsu Shōgyō High School (若松商業高等学校) *Aizu Kōgyō High School (若松工業高等学校) *Aizu Second High School (会津第二高等学校)

Private

*Aizuwakamatsu Xaverio Gakuen High School (会津若松ザベリオ学園高等学校) *Wakamatsu 1st High School (若松第一高等学校) *Jinai High School (仁愛高等学校)

Junior high schools

Public (municipal)

*Aizuwakamatsu First Junior High School (会津若松市立第一中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Second Junior High School (会津若松市立第二中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Third Junior High School (会津若松市立第三中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Fourth Junior High School (会津若松市立第四中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Fifth Junior High School (会津若松市立第五中学校) *Aizuwakamatsu Sixth Junior High School (会津若松市立第六中学校) *Ikki Junior High School (一箕中学校) *Ōto Junior High School (大戸中学校) *Minato Junior High School (湊中学校) *Kitaaizu Junior High School (北会津中学校) *Kawahigashi Junior High School (河東中学校) *Aizu Gakuhō Junior High School (会津学鳳中学校, prefectural) **Note: All junior high schools are municipal except for Aizu Gakuhō Junior High School.

Private

*Aizuwakamatsu Xaverio Gakuen Junior High School (会津若松ザベリオ学園中学校)

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

–

Banetsu West Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and Niitsu Station in Akiha Ward, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture. The name "Banetsu" is taken f ...

* – – – JR logo (east)

–

Tadami Line The is a scenic railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Aizu-Wakamatsu Station at Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture with Koide Station at Uonuma in Niigata Prefecture. The line opened in discon ...

*Aizu-Wakamatsu – – – Aizu Tetsudo logo 1

Aizu Railway , is a third-sector Japanese railway company whose major shareholders include the Fukushima prefectural and Aizuwakamatsu city governments. It owns and operates its only line, the Aizu Railway Aizu Line. The names of the company and the line ...

–

Aizu Line The is a long railway line from Nishi-Wakamatsu Station in Aizuwakamatsu to Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi Station in Minamiaizu, Fukushima, Japan. It is owned and operated by Aizu Railway. Services The train operation is controlled from Aizu-Tajima St ...

*Nishi-Wakamatsu – Minami-Wakamatsu – Monden – Amaya – Ashinomaki-Onsen – Ōkawa-Dam-Kōen – Ashinomaki-Onsen-Minami

Highway

* – Bandai-Kawahigashi IC – Aizu-Wakamatsu IC * * * * * *

Media

Television

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

Fukushima * Fukushima Television Broadcasting * Fukushima Central Television * Fukushima Broadcasting *TV-U Fukushima

Newspapers

*''Fukushima Mimpō'' *''Fukushima Min-Yū''

Radio

*FM Aizu

Sister city relations

Japanese sister cities

Mutsu, Aomori is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 56,244, and a population density of 65 persons per km2, in 28,778 households. The total area of the city is , making it the largest municipality in Aomori P ...

(Since September 23, 1984) *

Naruto, Tokushima is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 54,989 in 26,206 households and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Naruto is located in the northea ...

(Since October 30, 1999) *

Ina, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 68,177 in 27587 households, and a population density of 100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . In 2016, the former town of Takatō, no ...

(Since September 24, 2000) *

Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

(Since April 17, 2005)

International sister cities

* –

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

(Since June 15, 1991) * –

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

(Since September 22, 2006)

Local attractions

Fukushima-Aizu Buke-Yashiki (Samurai Residence)-m

(Tsuruga-jo) * Aizu Matsudaira's Royal Garden (Oyakuen) * Mount Iimori ** Byakkotai graves ** Sazaedo * former Takizawa

Honjin The ''honjin'' at Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku.">Ōhara-shuku.html" ;"title="Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku">Inaba Kaidō's Ōhara-shuku. is the Japanese word for an inn for government officials, generally located in post stations (''shukuba'') dur ...

* Aizu Matsudaira clan grave * Nisshinkan * Aizu Samurai Residences * Nanukamachi-dori Street

Culture

Festivals

* Aizu Festival

Foods

* Kozuyu * Sauce Katsu-don * Basashi (horse sashimi) *

Soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found ...

* Boutara *

Sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and in ...

Others

Akabeko is a legendary cow from the Aizu region of Japan, who inspired a traditional toy. In legend, Akabeko the cow was present at the building the Enzō-ji temple of Yanaizu in the ninth century, and became a permanent fixture there, with some stori ...

Okiagari-koboshi is a Japanese traditional doll. The toy is made from papier-mâché and is a roly-poly toy, designed so that its weight causes it to return to an upright position if it is knocked over. Okiagari-kobōshi is considered a good-luck charm and a sy ...

Notable people from Aizuwakamatsu

Sōichirō Hoshi is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with Arts Vision. Some of his major anime roles include Son Goku in '' Saiyuki'', Kira Yamato in '' Gundam Seed'', '' Gundam Seed Destiny'', Kazuki Fuuchouin in ''GetBackers'', Masaru Daimon in ...

, voice actor *

Hiroshi Sasagawa is a Japanese creator of several anime and manga series. His name is romanized in some sources as ''Hiroshi Sasakawa''. Career Born in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, he is well known as one of creators of '' Time Bokan'' series (w ...

, anime creator

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Fukushima Prefecture