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 western

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

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 of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was .

Overview

Hamamatsu is a member of the World Health Organization’s Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC).

Cityscapes

File:Hamamatsu Castle, enkei-3.jpg, Hamamatsu Castle（2021） File:Views from Hamamatsu Castle20211002.jpg, City views from Hamamatsu Castle（2021） File:Hamamatsu view - panoramio.jpg, CBD of Hamamatsu File:Hamamatsu from Mount Tonmaku.jpg, Part of Hamamatsu Skyline File:Skyline of Hamamatsu01.jpg, Skyline of Hamamatsu File:Arco Mall Yurakugai in Hamamatsu City（2）.jpg, Yūrakugai File:Night view of Hamamatsu city.jpg, Night view of Hamamatsu

Geography

Tenryū River, Tenryū Ward Hamamatsu 2012

Hamamatsu is southwest of Tokyo.Fukue, Natsuko.
Nonprofit brings together foreign, Japanese residents in Hamamatsu

Archive
. '' The Japan Times''. March 13, 2010. Retrieved on October 12, 2015. Hamamatsu consists of a flat plain and the Mikatahara Plateau in the south, and a mountainous area in the north. It is roughly bordered by Lake Hamana to the west, the Tenryū River to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Climate

The climate in southern Hamamatsu 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° ...

with cool to mild winters with little snowfall; however, it is windy in winter because of the dry monsoon called ''Enshū no Karakaze'', which is unique to the region. The climate in northern Hamamatsu is much harsher because of foehn winds. Summer is hot with the highest temperature often exceeds 35 degrees in the Tenryu-ku area, while it snows in winter.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hamamatsu has been increasing over the past 70 years.

Foreign population

Hamamatsu has a significant non-Japanese population. The population of

Nikkei Nikkei can refer to: *, abbreviated , Nikkei, a large media corporation in Japan *, abbreviated , Nikkei, a major business newspaper published in Japan *, a Japanese stock market index, published by ''Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' *, often simply ''Nikkei ...

foreigners, especially Brazilians increased after a 1990 change in Japanese immigration law allowed them to work in Japan. At one point, Hamamatsu had the largest Brazilian Nikkei population of any Japanese city,Sugino, Toshiko (

National Defense Academy of Japan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

).
Linguistic Challenges and Possibilities of Immigrants In Case of Nikkei Brazilians in Japan
(Country Note on Topics for Breakout Session 4)
Archive
. Centre for Education Research and Innovation (CERI),

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

br>See list of reports
p. 1/8. Retrieved on October 12, 2015. Many foreigners work in the manufacturing sector, taking temporary jobs in Honda,

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

, and Yamaha plants. the number of non-Japanese in Hamamatsu was 33,332,Aparecida, Tsutsumi Angela (Burajiru Fureai Kai).
The Contradiction Between "Being and Seeming" Reinforces Low Academic Performance

Archive
. ''US-China Education Review'' B 2 (2012) p. 217-223. CITED: p. 217. and by 2010 the number exceeded 30,000. The city has a lot of Portuguese signage. It includes a Brazilian school, and many businesses catering to Brazilians display Brazilian flags. However, Natsuko Fukue of '' The Japan Times'' wrote in 2010 that many foreign children have difficulty integrating to society in Hamamatsu because "Japanese and foreign communities live largely separate from one another." The foreign population dropped significantly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008, with the Hamamatsu city government offering aid for some foreign nationals to return to their home countries. The foreign population was estimated as 25,084 as of August 1, 2019, per official city statistics,

Neighboring municipalities

;

* Iwata * Kosai * Shimada * Mori *

Kawanehon 270px, Kawanehon Town Hall is a town located in Haibara District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,731 in 2895 households and a population density of 13.4 persons per km². The total area of the town w ...

;

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

* Toyohashi *

Shinshiro is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 44,581 in 17,691 households, and a population density of 89.3 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Shinshiro is located in east-cent ...

* Tōei * Toyone ;

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

* Iida * Tenryū

History

Prehistoric Ages

The area now comprising Hamamatsu has been settled since prehistoric times, with numerous remains from the

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 ...

and

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

having been discovered within the present city limits, including the

Shijimizuka site The is an archaeological site containing a late to final Jōmon period settlement trace and shell middens, located in what is now Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The settlement was inhabited from approximately 2000 BC to 1000 B ...

shell mound and the

Akamonue Kofun is a keyhole-shaped ''kofun'' burial mound located in the Uchino district of Hamakita-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture Japan. It is protected by the prefectural government as a national historic site. Located on the eastern edge of the Mikatah ...

ancient tomb. File:Shijimizuka Site, tatemono.jpg,

File:Komyosan Kofun, kouenbu-1.jpg,

Kōmyōsan Kofun The is a ''Kofun period'' burial mound located in the Yamahigashi neighborhood of Tenryū-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan. The tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2020. Overview The K� ...

Ancient Ages

In the Nara period, it became the capital of Tōtōmi Province.

Middle Ages

During the Sengoku period, Hamamatsu Castle was the home of future '' shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieyasu. File:高根城（浜松市）.jpg, Takane Castle File:井伊谷宮 - panoramio (2).jpg,

Iinoya-gū is a Shinto shrine in Kita-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1872, and its main festival is held annually on September 22. It is one of the Fifteen Shrines of the Kenmu Restoration. History Iinoya-gū is dedicated ...

File:Hamamatsu Castle Park 浜松城公園3 - panoramio.jpg, Tokugawa Ieyasu File:Hamamatsu Castle, enkei-2.jpg, Hamamatsu Castle File:Battle of Mikatagahara.jpg,

Battle of Mikatagahara The was a battle of the Sengoku period of Japan fought between Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu in Mikatagahara, Tōtōmi Province on 25 January 1573. Shingen attacked Ieyasu at the plain of Mikatagahara north of Hamamatsu during his cam ...

（1573）

Early Modern Ages

Hamamatsu flourished during the Edo period under a succession of '' daimyō'' rulers as a castle town, and as a post town on the Tōkaidō highway connecting

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

with Kyoto. File:Brooklyn Museum - Hamamatsu from Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido Highway (Tokaido Goju-san Tsugi no Uchi) - Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando).jpg,

Hamamatsu-juku was the twenty-ninth of the fifty-three stations (''shukuba'') of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now Hamamatsu's Naka-ku in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. History During the Tenpō era (1830–1844), Hamamatsu-juku was located in Hamam ...

File:Hamamatsu (5759536694).jpg,

File:NDL-DC 2554563 04-Utagawa Hiroshige-東海道五拾三次舞坂-crd.jpg,

Maisaka-juku was the thirtieth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in the western portion of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. During the Edo period, the area was part of Tōtōmi Province. The ''kanji'' for the post station ...

File:Maisaka Gyosho Tokaido.jpg,

Late Modern Ages

After the Meiji Restoration, Hamamatsu became a short-lived prefecture from 1871 to 1876, after which it was united with Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu Station opened on the Tōkaidō Main Line in 1889. The same year, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, Hamamatsu became a town. * July 1, 1911: Hamamatsu is upgraded from a town to a city * 1918:

Rice riots of 1918 The were a series of popular disturbances that erupted throughout Japan from July to September 1918, which brought about the collapse of the Terauchi Masatake administration. Causes A precipitous rise in the price of rice caused extreme econom ...

affect Hamamatsu * 1921: The village of Tenjinchō merges with Hamamatsu * 1926: Imperial Japanese Army Hamamatsu Air Base opens * 1933: Imperial Japanese Army Flight School opens * 1936: The villages of Hikuma and Fujizuka merge with Hamamatsu * December 7, 1944: Tonankai earthquake causes much damage * June 1945: Hamamatsu largely destroyed by US air raids File:Hamamatsu Hirokoji Dori in 1930s.jpg, Hirokoji Street in the 1930s File:Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha headquarter & factory in Hamamatsu, c.1935.jpg, Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha headquarter & factory（1935） File:Hamamatsu after the 1945 air raid.JPG,

Bombing of Hamamatsu in World War II The was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States of America against military and civilian targets and population centers of the Empire of Japan during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing states of World War II. ...

（1945）

Contemporary Ages

* 1948: Hamamatsu Incident, ethnic rioting of Zainichi Korean residents. * 1951: The villages of Aratsu, Goto, and Kawarin merge with Hamamatsu * 1954: Eight villages in Hamana District merge with Hamamatsu * 1955: The village of Miyakoda merges with Hamamatsu * 1957: The village of Irino merges with Hamamatsu * 1960: The village of Seto merges with Hamamatsu * 1961: The village of Shinohara merges with Hamamatsu * 1965: The village of Shonai merges with Hamamatsu * May 1, 1990: Hamamatsu Arena opened * January 1, 1991: The village of Kami in Hamana District merges with Hamamatsu. * April 1, 1991: The first

Hamamatsu International Piano Competition The Hamamatsu International Piano Competition has been held every 3 years since 1991 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan, and is open to pianists up to 30 years old. History The Piano Competition was inaugurated in 1991 to commemorate the 80th anniversar ...

was held. * May 1, 1994:

Act City Tower is a skyscraper in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is tall, and has 45 floors, making it the tallest building in Hamamatsu. It was constructed in 1994, and houses the Okura City Hotel in its top 17 floors, as well as observation deck ...

opened. * October 1, 1995: Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments opened. * April 1, 1996: Hamamatsu is designated a core city by the central government. * June 1, 1996: Hamamatsu City Fruit Park opened. * April 1, 1997: Hamamatsu is designated as an Omnibus Town. * April 1, 1998: Act City Musical School opened. * April 3, 2000: Shizuoka University of Art and Culture opened. * July 1, 2001: The city's 90th anniversary is commemorated * August 1, 2002: Launched the conference on Pan-Hamanako Designated City Simulation. * April 1, 2003: Shizuoka New Kawafuji National High School Competition was held. * June 1, 2003: Launched Tenryūgawa-Hamanako Region Merger Conference. * April 8 – October 11, 2004: Pacific Flora 2004 (Shizuoka International Garden and Horticulture Exhibition) was held at Hamanako Garden Park. * July 1, 2005: Hamamatsu absorbed the cities of

Hamakita was a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. On April 1, 2005, the city had an estimated population of 86,653 and a density of 1,300.00 persons per km2. The total area was 66.64 km2. It is now part of ward of Hamakita when th ...

and Tenryū; the town of Haruno (from Shūchi District), the towns of Hosoe, Inasa and Mikkabi (all from Inasa District), the towns of Misakubo and Sakuma, the village of Tatsuyama (all from Iwata District), and the towns of Maisaka and Yūtō (both from Hamana District) were merged into Hamamatsu. Inasa District and Iwata District were both dissolved as a result of this merger. Therefore, there are no more villages left in Shizuoka Prefecture. * April 1, 2007: Hamamatsu became a city designated by government ordinance by the central government.

Government

Hamamatsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 46 members. The city contributes 15 members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly.

Wards

Hamamatsu is administratively divided into seven

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

External relations

Twin towns – sister cities

International

;Sister City Hamamatsu has ratified Music Culture Exchange Treaty with the following cities (however, of the following Rochester is the only official sister city): ;Twinned Cities Hamamatsu is twinned with: ;Friendship cities

Economy

Hamamatsu Metropolitan Employment Area 2010

Hamamatsu has been famous as an industrial city, especially for

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

s and motorcycles. It also has been known for fabric industry, but most of those companies and factories went out of business in the 1990s. As of 2010, Greater Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu Metropolitan Employment Area, has a GDP of US$54.3 billion. 2014 Hamamatsu's GDP per capita(PPP) was US$41,470.

Companies headquartered in Hamamatsu

Enkei Corporation is a Japanese motorcycle and passenger car wheel manufacturer for both motorsport and street use. The company was founded in 1950 and it is also an OEM manufacturer of wheels for production vehicles, mainly in Aluminium wheels for sporty mod ...

* Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. * Kawai Musical Instruments Mfg. *

Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has fact ...

* Suzuki Motor Co. * Tōkai Gakki (also known as ''Tokai Guitars Company Ltd.'') * Yamaha Corporation

Companies founded in Hamamatsu

Honda Motor Co. is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

\
Acty System
File:The frontview of Suzuki SWIFT HYBRID RS (DAA-ZC53S).jpg, Suzuki Motor File:Yamaha MT-10.jpg, YAMAHA Motor

Media

Radio stations

FM Haro! FM Haro! (JOZZ6AB-FM, 76.1 MHz) is an FM radio station based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. It is the seventh "community FM radio station" opened in Japan. Broadcasting area is roughly bounded by Kikugawa, Shizuoka and Omaezaki, Shizuoka in the ...

(JOZZ6AB FM, 76.1 MHz) * K-MIX (JOKU FM, 78.4 MHz) *

NHK FM is the official music and news FM radio station of the NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation). See also * NHK External links

* NHK, FM Radio in Japan Publicly funded broadcasters Radio stations established in 1969 1969 establishme ...

(JOPK FM, 82.1 MHz) * SBS Radio (1404 kHz / 94.7 MHz) * Radio Phoenix (internet)

Transportation

Airways

Airport

* Hamamatsu Air Base There are no civilian airports in Hamamatsu. Shizuoka Airport () is the closest, located from Hamamatsu Station, between Makinohara and Shimada. Chūbu Centrair International Airport in

, located about west of the city, is the second closest.

Railways

High-Speed Rail

;

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...

* Tōkaidō Shinkansen：- - **JR Central Hamamatsu workshop: maintenance facility for the Tōkaidō Shinkansen

Conventional Lines

;

* Tōkaidō Main Line：- - * Iida Line：- - ; Entetsu logo

Enshū Railway *

Enshū Railway Line The Enshū Railway Line, officially the , is a Japanese railway line in Shizuoka Prefecture, running north from Shin Hamamatsu, Naka Ward through Nishi Kajima, Tenryū Ward, all within Hamamatsu. This is the only railway line Enshū Railway ( ...

：- ; Tenryū Hamanako Railroad * Tenryū Hamanako Line：- -

Roads

Expressways

* Tōmei Expressway (Hamamatsu interchange, Hamamatsu Nishi interchange, and Mikkabi interchange) * Shin-Tōmei Expressway

Hiways

* San-en Nanshin Expressway (under construction)

Bypasses

*Hamamatsu Bypass *Hamana Bypass

Japan National Highways

** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Education

Shizuoka University of Art and Culture - Courtyard

Hamamatsu-Municipal-SeniorHighSchool-2014072102

Colleges and universities

Hamamatsu Gakuin University is a private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public stude ...

* Hamamatsu University * Hamamatsu University School of Medicine *

Seirei Christopher University is a co-educational private university in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Prefecture Japan. History Seirei Christopher University began as the “Bethel Home”, a private tuberculosis sanatorium established in 1932 by local Japanese Christians in Hama ...

* Shizuoka University (Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Informatics) * Shizuoka University of Art and Culture * Seisa University, Hamamatsu campus *

Tokoha University is a private university in the Aoi ward of Shizuoka City, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1946, and it was chartered as a university in 1980. The university is operated by the foundation that also operates Tokoha Gakuen Junio ...

, Hamamatsu campus

Primary and secondary schools

Senior high schools operated by Shizuoka Prefecture: *

Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu North High School Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

( 静岡県立浜松北高等学校) * Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu Nishi (West) Senior and Junior High Schools ( 静岡県立浜松西高等学校・中等部) *

Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu East High School Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

( 静岡県立浜松東高等学校) * Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu South High School ( 静岡県立浜松南高等学校) * Shizuoka Prefectural Kiga High School ( 静岡県立気賀高等学校) *

Shizuoka Prefectural Kohoku High School Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

( 静岡県立浜松湖東高等学校) *

Shizuoka Prefectural Mikkabi High School Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefectur ...

( 静岡県立三ヶ日高等学校) There is one senior high school operated by the city government:

Hamamatsu Municipal Senior High School is a senior high school in Hamamatsu, Japan, operated by the city government. Because the city of Hamamatsu has one of the largest non-Japanese populations in the country, 60% of which is composed of expatriates of Brazilian descent.Sugino, Tos ...

Elementary and junior high schools are operated by the city government. , the city had 117 public elementary schools and 52 public junior high schools.Aparecida, Tsutsumi Angela (Burajiru Fureai Kai).
The Contradiction Between "Being and Seeming" Reinforces Low Academic Performance

Archive
. ''US-China Education Review'' B 2 (2012) p. 217-223. CITED: p. 218.

Multicultural education

The city has the following Brazilian international schools: * Escola Brasil (former Escola Brasileira de Hamamatsu) – Primary and secondary schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. *

Escola Alegria de Saber is a network of Brazilian international schools in Japan. It has campuses in Aichi, Gunma, Mie, and Shizuoka prefectures. The campuses, which have about 2,000 students as of 2015,ペルー学校) and Brazilian primary school,

Mundo de Alegría is a Peruvian international school ( ペルー学校) in Nishi-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. The school, which has primary and secondary levels, uses Spanish as the medium of instruction. In 2013 the Embassy of Peru celebrated the school's 10 year anniv ...

. The city formerly hosted other Brazilian schools, Colégio Pitágoras Brasil and Escola Cantinho Feliz. As of May 1, 2009, the municipal elementary and junior high schools had 1,638 non-Japanese students.Kitawaki, Yasuyuki (北脇保之) (Former mayor of Hamamatsu, Director of the Center for Multilingual Multicultural Education and Research, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (CEMMER, 東京外国語大学多言語・多文化教育研究センター)).
A Japanese approach to municipal diversity management: The case of Hamamatsu City

Archive
. ''Managing Diversity: Stronger Communities, Better Cities''
Information about the bookArchive
. At the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

website. Retrieved on October 12, 2015. PDF p. 7-8/13. , there were 932

Brazilians Brazilians ( pt, Brasileiros, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, which me ...

enrolled in Hamamatsu's municipal elementary and junior high schools: 646 Brazilians were enrolled in 61 public elementary schools, and 286 Brazilians were enrolled in 38 public junior high schools. Within public schools Brazilian students have the same academic programs and take the same classes as Japanese nationals. Special teachers and assistants work with foreign students at municipal elementary and junior high schools with significant numbers of non-Japanese enrolled.Kitawaki, Yasuyuki (北脇保之) (Former mayor of Hamamatsu, Director of the Center for Multilingual Multicultural Education and Research, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (CEMMER, 東京外国語大学多言語・多文化教育研究センター)).
A Japanese approach to municipal diversity management: The case of Hamamatsu City

Archive
. ''Managing Diversity: Stronger Communities, Better Cities''
Information about the bookArchive
. At the

website. Retrieved on October 12, 2015. PDF p. 8/13. In particular the schools use their part-time interpreters to assist Brazilian students. The interpreters are not formal teachers, yet Tsutsumi Angela Aparecida of Hamamatsu's Burajiru Fureai Kai wrote that " eir assistance has become very useful". Toshiko Sugino of the

wrote that the municipal and prefectural schools in Hamamatsu "follow traditional views of education and enforce rigid school rules" despite the reputation of open-mindedness in the residents of Hamamatsu, causing some foreigners to send their non-Japanese children to foreign private schools.Sugino, Toshiko (

See list of reports
. p. 4/8. Retrieved on October 12, 2015. many Brazilian parents have difficulty in deciding whether to send their children to Japanese schools or Brazilian schools, and it is common for Brazilian children attending Japanese schools to switch to a Brazilian school and vice versa. By 2010 many Brazilian parents had lost their jobs due to an economic decline, and many were unable to afford the Brazilian school monthly tuitions of ¥30,000 to ¥40,000. about 50% of Brazilians of high school age in Hamamatsu do not attend high school. The inability to afford high school and difficulty with Japanese resulted in lower high school attendance rates. Hamamatsu NPO Network Center has made efforts to increase school attendance. In Hamamatsu volunteers and a non-profit organization have established Japanese-language classes and native language classes for foreign children.

Local attractions

Observatory: Hamamatsu's only

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

, situated next to JR Hamamatsu Station, is a symbol of the city. It was designed to resemble a

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

, a reminder that Hamamatsu is sometimes known as the "City of Music". The building houses shopping and a food court, the Okura Hotel, and an observatory on the 45th floor overlooking all of central Hamamatsu, even down to the sand dunes at the shore. * Chopin Monument This is a 1:1-scale replica of the famous

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

bronze statue of Chopin by the famed artist

Wacław Szymanowski Wacław Szymanowski (23 August 185922 July 1930) was a Polish sculptor and painter. He is best known for his statue of composer Frédéric Chopin in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park (Łazienki Park). Life Szymanowski was born in Warsaw and was the so ...

. The original is in Hamamatsu's sister city, Warsaw.　 * Hamamatsu Castle: Hamamatsu Castle Park stretches from the modern city hall building to the north. The castle is located on a hill in the southeast corner of the park, near city hall. It was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu. His rule marks the beginning of the Edo period. Tokugawa Ieyasu lived here from 1571 to 1588. There is a small museum inside, which houses some armor and other relics of the period, as well as a miniature model of how the city might have looked 400 years ago. North of the castle is a large park with a Japanese garden, a koi pond, a ceremonial teahouse, and some commons areas. *

Nakatajima Sand Dunes are located at the southern part of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture at the Pacific Ocean coast of Japan. The sand dune area measures approximately 0.6 km from north to south and 4.0 km from east to west. It is considered one of Japan ...

: one of the three largest sand dune areas in Japan * Hamamatsu Flower Park * Hamamatsu Fruit Park * Hamamatsu Municipal Zoo *

shrine *

Motoshirochō Tōshō-gū is a Shinto shrine in Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1886, and its main festival is held annually on October 10. It is also sometimes known as the History Motoshirochō Tōshō-gū is one of many shrines i ...

shrine File:Hamamatsu Castle, enkei-3.jpg, Hamamatsu Castle File:Nakatajima sand dunes.jpg, Nakatajima Sand Dunes File:Flower park 1.JPG, Hamanako Garden Park File:Wedding Central Park.JPG, Hamamatsu Wedding Central Park File:Lake Hamana.JPG, Lake Hamana File:Pacific ocean.JPG, Hamamatsu Pacific Ocean File:Kanzanji ropeway.JPG, Lake Hamana PALPAL

Culture

Festivals

Akiha Fire Festival

: Haruno, Tenryu-ku: December Long ago, Mount Akiha was believed to have supernatural powers to prevent fires. Bow and arrow, sword, and fire dances are performed at the Akiha Shrine. At the Akiha Temple, a firewalking ceremony is performed where both believers and spectators celebrate the festival.

Enshū Dainenbutsu

: Saigagake Museum, Hamamatsu City: July 15 When a family commemorates the first ''Obon'' holidays after the death of a loved one, they may request that a '' dainenbutsu'' (Buddhist chanting ritual) be performed outside their house. This is one of the local performing arts of the region. The group always forms a procession in front of the house led by a person carrying a lantern and marches to the sound of

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

s, Japanese

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s and

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

Hamamatsu Kite Festival

: Naka-ku, Minami-ku, others: May

Hamamatsu Kite Festival Hamamatsu Kite Festival (浜松まつり) is Japanese festival in Hamamatsu. It is generally known to have multiple kites, along with a lot of kite battles through the days it is held. The festival also displays examples of Japanese culture thro ...

is also called Hamamatsu Festival. Hamamatsu Kite Festival held from May 3 to May 5 each year, includes a ''Tako Gassen'', or kite fight, and luxuriously decorated palace-like floats. The festival originated about 430 years ago, when the lord of Hamamatsu Castle celebrated the birth of his first son by flying kites. In the Meiji Era, the celebration of the birth of a first son by flying ''Hatsu Dako'', or the first kite, became popular, and this tradition has survived in the form of Hamamatsu Kite Festival. During the nights of Hamamatsu Kite Festival, people parade downtown carrying over 70 ''yatai'', or palace-lake floats, that are beautifully decorated while playing Japanese traditional festival music. The festival reaches its peak when groups representing the city's various districts compete by energetically marching through the downtown streets.

Hamakita Hiryu Festival

: Hamakita-ku: June This festival is held in honor of Ryujin, the god believed to be associated with the Tenryū River, and features a wide variety of events such as the Hamakita takoage (kite flying) event and the ''Hiryu himatsuri'' (flying dragon fire festival) which celebrates water, sound, and flame.

Hamamatsu International Piano Competition

: November This festival celebrates Hamamatsu's history as a city of musical instruments and music, and brings dozens of the best young pianists from all over the world. It has been held triennially since 1991 at the Act City Concert Hall and Main Hall.

Hamakita Man'yō Festival

: Hamakita-ku, Hamamatsu: October This event takes place in Man'yō-no-Mori Park to commemorate the Man'yō period and introduce its culture. As part of the festival, people reenact the ancient past by wearing traditional clothes from the Heian period and presenting

Japanese poetry Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in t ...

readings.

Inasa Puppet Festival

: Inasa, Kita-ku: November One of the few

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

festivals held in Japan, featuring 60 performances of about 30 plays by puppet masters from all over the country. The shows provide a full day of enjoyment for both children and adults.

Princess Road Festival

: Hosoe, Kita-ku: April This reenactment of a procession made by the princess in her palanquin along with her entourage of over 100 people including maids, samurai, and servants makes for a splendid scene beneath the

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

s along the Toda River. In the Edo period, princesses enjoyed traveling this road which came to be known as a '' hime kaidō'' (''princess road'').

Samba Festival

The Hamamatsu

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

Festival is held in the city.Kitawaki, Yasuyuki (北脇保之) (Former mayor of Hamamatsu, Director of the Center for Multilingual Multicultural Education and Research, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (CEMMER, 東京外国語大学多言語・多文化教育研究センター)).
A Japanese approach to municipal diversity management: The case of Hamamatsu City

Archive
. ''Managing Diversity: Stronger Communities, Better Cities''
Information about the bookArchive
. At the

website. Retrieved on October 12, 2015. PDF p. 9/13.

Shoryu Weeping Ume Blossom Festival

: Inasa, Kita-ku: late February to late March In Ryusui Garden there is a stream with seven small waterfalls and about 80 weeping '' ume'' trees pruned to give the appearance of

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

s riding on clouds to the heavens. There are also 200 young trees planted along the mountainside.

Sports

File:Hamamatsu stadium.JPG, Hamamatsu stadium File:Hamamatsu Arena.jpg, Hamamatsu Arena File:HondaFC miyakoda1.JPG,

Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium is a stadium located in Kita-ku, Hamamatsu. It is owned by the Honda Motor Company and is the home ground of Honda F.C. in the Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese ...

Football

Honda FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. They play in the Japan Football League. History The club was founded as Honda Motor, Honda works team in 1971. They were promoted to the Japan Soccer League Division 2 i ...

which plays Japan Football League (third division) games at their own

Miyakoda Soccer Stadium Honda Miyakoda Soccer Stadium is a stadium located in Kita-ku, Hamamatsu. It is owned by the Honda Motor Company and is the home ground of Honda F.C. in the Japan Football League The also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japane ...

. Honda competed in the Japan Soccer League's First Division from 1981 to 1991, but chose to relegate itself and not compete in the professional divisions due to parent company Honda's choice to retain team ownership. Many Hamamatsu football fans prefer to follow

Júbilo Iwata is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For ...

, across the Tenryū River in Iwata. Júbilo maintains a club shop within Hamamatsu. *

Volare FC Hamamatsu Volare is the Latin and Italian verb ''to fly''; with an acute accent added to the final ''e'' ("volaré"), it also becomes Spanish for ''I will fly''. It may refer to: * "Volare" (song), a popular Italian song officially titled "Nel blu, dipinto ...

, an autonomous club who competed in the Tokai Regional Football League Division 2 in 2011, flouted plans to either overtake Honda FC or merge with it, but it finished last in the Tokai League and was relegated. Hamamatsu University also keeps a team in the said division, but college teams cannot be promoted to the top three tiers.

Basketball

SAN-EN NeoPhoenix is a B.League professional basketball team, based in the eastern Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan. The team was founded in 1965 as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a Toyokawa-based machine parts manufa ...

plays in the

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

, Japan's first division of professional basketball. The team plays its home games at the Toyohashi City General Gymnasium. The Hamamatsu Arena was one of the host arenas of the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. Hamamatsu 3x3 FIBA: Placed Second at FIBA World Tour FInal in ABU Dhabi in 2016. (Bikramjit Gill, Inderbir Gill, Chiro Kheda)

Women's volleyball

Hamamatsu was one of the host cities of the official

2010 Women's Volleyball World Championship The 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship was the sixteenth edition of the competition. Like the previous tournament, the 2010 edition also was held from 29 October to 14 November 2010 in Japan, though the range of venues and locations was modifie ...

Notable people

Hiroshi Amano is a Japanese physicist, engineer and inventor specializing in the field of semiconductor technology. For his work he was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Isamu Akasaki and Shuji Nakamura for "the invention of efficient bl ...

, 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics winner * Haruhi Aiso, singer, songwriter * Barasui, manga artist * Yuri Chinen, J-pop talent, singer *

Yōsuke Fujigaya is a former Japanese football player. Club career Fujigaya was born in Hamamatsu on 13 February 1981. After graduating from high school, he joined Consadole Sapporo in 1999. He became a regular goalkeeper instead Yohei Sato from 2003. He moved ...

, professional football player * Yuji Fujimoto, politician *

Ken Fujita (former name; Ken Ota, 太田健) is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Fujita was born in Hamamatsu on August 27, 1979. He joined J1 League club Júbilo Iwata from a youth team in 1998. However he did not play in any matches and ...

, professional football player * Hironoshin Furuhashi, Olympic swimmer *

Kazuhiro Furuhashi is a Japanese anime director and supervisor. He is amongst anime's most foremost directors, having directed and helmed the ''Rurouni Kenshin'' series (including the original television series, and its subsequent much-lauded OVA iterations), '' Z ...

, anime movie director * Tatsuya Furuhashi, professional football player * Taketoshi Gotoh, professional baseball player * Akari Hibino, voice actress * Coco Hayashi, voice actress * Soichiro Honda, engineer, industrialist, founder of Honda Motor Company * Yusuke Inuzuka, professional football player *

Yasuhide Ito is a contemporary Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry o ...

, composer * Toshio Kakei, actor *

Takeshi Kamo was a Japanese football player who represented the Japan national team. His brother Shogo Kamo also played for Japan national team. National team career Kamo was born in Hamamatsu on February 8, 1915. In 1936, when he was a Waseda University ...

, Olympic football player *

Yoko Kando is a retired butterfly swimmer from Japan. She competed for her native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the auton ...

, Olympic swimmer * Naoyuki Kato, illustrator * Genichi Kawakami, former president of Yamaha *

Keisuke Kinoshita was a Japanese film director and screenwriter.Ronald Berganbr>"A satirical eye on Japan: Keisuke Kinoshita" ''The Guardian'', 5 January 1999. While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasu ...

, movie director *

Naoyuki Kinoshita is a Japanese art historian. He currently works in the University of Tokyo. He was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture and graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He took part in publishing the book ''The History o ...

, art historian *

Sanae Kobayashi is a Japanese voice actress formerly affiliated with Production Baobab, and now with Sigma Seven. She has voiced in a number of anime shows and films. Some of her major roles are Allen Walker in '' D.Gray-man'', Akira Toya in ''Hikaru no Go'', ...

, voice actress *

Shigetatsu Matsunaga is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Club career Matsunaga was educated at and played for Hamana High School and Aichi Gakuin University. After graduating from the university, he joined Nissan Motors (later ...

, professional football player *

Takuya Matsuura is a Japanese football player currently playing for Yokohama FC is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the first ...

, professional football player * Kanako Momota, J-pop singer and leader of Momoiro Clover Z * Kiiti Morita, mathematician *

Ken Namba is a Japanese composer, performer and researcher. Biography Namba was born in Hamamatsu. He studied at Toho College of Music. He studied with Kazuaki Ogikubo, Jun Nagao, Tomiko Kohjiba, Carlo Forlivesi and René Staar. His works have been pe ...

, composer * Jiro Ono, renowned sushi chef *

Yuki Oshitani is a Japanese football player currently playing for Fukui United. Career Oshitani signed transfer to J3 club, Fujieda MYFC in 15 January 2021. On 11 January 2023, Oshitani announcement officially transfer to Fukui United for upcoming 20 ...

, professional football player *

Ken'ya Ōsumi is a Japanese dancer, and singer. He was married to singer Rumiko Koyanagi between 1989 and 2000. Appearances * ''You Gotta Quintet is a Japanese children's television program which aired on NHK Educational. About the show The program of ...

, dancer * Keisuke Ota, professional football player * Yoshiaki Ota, professional football player *

Fumiya Sankai is a Japanese vlogger, actor, recording artist and influencer in the Philippines. He has been active in his YouTube Channel, FumiShun Base, since 2015. His fame grew when he became the first pure Japanese official housemate in Pinoy Big Brothe ...

, Vlogger and actor in the Philippines, recording artist, and a businessman * Kentaro Sato, composer * Shinichiro Sawai, movie director, screenwriter * Goro Shimura, mathematician * Ryu Shionoya, politician * Hideto Suzuki, professional football player * Koji Suzuki, science-fiction writer *

Michio Suzuki Michio Suzuki may refer to: *, Japanese businessman, inventor and founder of the Suzuki Motor Corporation *, Japanese mathematician {{hndis, Suzuki, Michio ...

, founder of Suzuki Motors * Yasutomo Suzuki, politician, mayor of Hamamatsu * Saya Takagi, actress * Kenjiro Takayanagi, engineer, pioneer in development of the television * Nobuhiro Takeda, professional football player *

Kenji Tsuruta is a Japanese manga artist. Among his most famous works is the science fiction series ''Spirit of Wonder'', which has been adapted into an anime series and brought him much acclaim. Profile During his formative years in university as a student of ...

, manga artist * Kōji Tsuruta, actor * Azumi Uehara, J-pop singer * Hiromi Uehara, Jazz composer, pianist * Tetsuya Wakuda, Japanese-Born Australian Chef *

Kosuke Yamamoto is a Japanese footballer who plays for Júbilo Iwata. Mainly as a defensive midfielder. Career Júbilo Iwata Yamamoto, who was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, started his career at Seirei Junior Football Club before transferring to J� ...

, professional football player * Masaaki Yanagishita, professional football player * Kisho Yano, professional football player

References

External links

* *
In Hamamatsu
* *

{{Authority control Brazilian communities Cities in Shizuoka Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan