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 114,566 in 53,053 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 7800 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Fujimino is located in southern Saitama, in flat land on the northern edge of 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 ...

. It is located approximately 30 kilometers from downtown Tokyo. The

Shingashi River The is a long river that flows through Saitama and Tokyo 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 E ...

, which was a waterway for boat transportation connecting Kawagoe and Tokyo until early modern times, runs along the northern city border. The city measures approximately 7.5 kilometers from east-to-west by 6.0 kilometers from north-to-south.

Surrounding municipalities

** Kawagoe ** Fujimi ** Miyoshi

Climate

Fujimino 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 Fujimino is 14.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1426 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.0 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fujimino expanded rapidly in the late 20th century and has grown at a slower pace in the 21st.

History

Earthenware pottery fragments from the Kamifukuoka Shell Mound dating to the Early

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 ...

, were discovered beneath the Dainihon Print Company in Fujimino, indicating a long period of settlement. The city also has an important early

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 ...

archaeological site, the Gongenyama Tumuli Cluster, from the late 3rd century. 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 characteriz ...

, the port of Fukuoka was an important river port on a branch of the

Arakawa River or Ara River may refer to: * Arakawa River (Kanto) or Ara River may refer to: * Arakawa River (Kanto), which flows from Saitama Prefecture and through Tokyo to Tokyo Bay * Arakawa River (Uetsu), which flows from Yamagata Prefecture and throu ...

and was under the control of

Kawagoe Domain Kawagoe Castle daimyō residence, administrative headquarters of Kawagoe Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Musashi Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Kawagoe Castle, locate ...

. The village of Fukuoka was created within Iruma District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The first

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

estates (Uenodai and Kasumigaoka) in Japan were built in Fukuoka after the Second World War. The village was raised to town status in 1960 as population expanded rapidly due to

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

developments, and to city status on April 10, 1972, changing its name to Kamifukuoka to avoid confusion with the more famous city of

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. The city of Fujimino was established on October 1, 2005, from the merger of the city of

Kamifukuoka was 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. ...

, and the neighboring town of Ōi (from Iruma District).

Government

Fujimino 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 21 members. Fujimino, together with the town of Miyoshi, contributes two members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Saitama 8th 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

Due to its location, Fujimino is primarily a

bedroom community 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 ...

with over 25% of its population commuting to the Tokyo metropolis for work. There are a number of

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

s in the city.

Education

Fujimino has 13 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education.

Bunkyo University is a private university located in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, with campuses in Saitama and Kanagawa Prefecture. The kanji of the word "Bunkyo" mean education and learning. The university offers courses mainly in education and research of the c ...

also has a campus in Fujimino.

Public facilities

There are two libraries, two public swimming pools (summer season only), and a number of public halls and community centres.

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 ...

* Confusingly, Fujimino Station is located in the neighbouring city of Fujimi

Highway

Local attractions

*Jizoin Temple, famous for a weeping cherry tree which is more than 300 years old. *Benten-no-mori Park, which has a small temple noted for

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 in spring, and

kudzu Kudzu (; also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot) is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands, but invasive species, invasive in many ...

in autumn. *

, used for transporting goods in the

, with a warehouse from the 1870s now called the Fukuokagashi Riverside Heritage Hall. *Green Park, on the bank of the Shingashi River, noted as a location where

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 fellow ...

used to go falconing. Chūō Park during the cherry blossom season * Chūō Park.

Festivals

There are two major festivals in Fujimino: the Kamifukuoka

Tanabata , also known as the Star Festival ( 星祭り, ''Hoshimatsuri''), is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair res ...

Festival and the Oi Festival.

Kamifukuoka Tanabata Festival

This is a lively festival held on the first Saturday and Sunday of August every year since more than 50 years ago. It includes a bamboo decoration contest, ''

Awa Odori The is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Obon festival in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori is the largest dance festival in Japan, attracting over 1.3 million tourists every year. Groups of choreographed dancers and mu ...

'' dancing, ''

Bon Odori or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

'' dancing, and traditional ''

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

'' drumming.

Oi Festival

Oi Festival is held in the middle of July every year and features historic ''

mikoshi A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when ...

'' portable shrines and a parade of floats, with ''

Yosakoi Yosakoi () is a unique style of dance that originated in Japan and that is performed at festivals and events all over the country. The first Yosakoi festival was held in 1954 in Kōchi, Japan, on the island of Shikoku. Yosakoi-style dancing has ...

'' dancing by dancers with ''naruko'' clappers in their hands.

Noted people from Fujimino

* Hikari Ōta, comedian *

Yumi Kakazu , better known by the Kana form of her name , is a Japanese voice actress from Kamifukuoka, Saitama (now Fujimino, Saitama). Filmography Anime television series * ''After War Gundam X'' (Sala Tyrell) (voice acting debut) * ''AKB0048'' (Katagiri ...

, voice actress * Shigenobu Shima, professional baseball player *

Eri Nitta is a Japanese singer, actress, lyricist, and tarento. She made her professional debut as the fourth member of the all-female singing group Onyanko Club in 1985. She made her solo debut with the hit song on January 1, 1986. Nitta performed the o ...

, musician and actress * Mari Hoshino, actress *

Aoi Hiiragi is a Japanese manga artist born in Fukuoka (which became Kamifukuoka in 1972 and then Fujimino in 2005), Saitama Prefecture, Japan, though she grew up in Mibu, Shimotsuga, Tochigi Prefecture. Hiiragi currently resides in Hakodate, Hokkaid� ...

, manga artist

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Fujimino, Saitama