240px, Ichikawa City Hall is a city in western

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

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 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 491,716 in 251,142 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 8559 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city has a concentration of the wide-area traffic network that connects the center of Tokyo with many areas of Chiba Prefecture. Major rail routes and roads pass through the city.

Geography

Ichikawa is located in the northwestern part of Chiba prefecture, about 20 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Chiba and within 10 to 20 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The western border of the city is separated from Edogawa Ward of Tokyo by the Edogawa River. The southern part of the city is an

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the smal ...

about two meters above sea level, and the northern part is part of the gentle Shimosa Plateau rising about 20 meters above sea level. The highest point is 30.1 meters in Satomi Park. Parts of the city are on reclaimed land at sea level.

Surrounding municipalities

Chiba Prefecture * Urayasu *

Funabashi is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 644,668 in 309,238 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . It is the Greater Tokyo Area's 7th most populated city (aft ...

Matsudo 260px, Matsudo City Hall is a city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 498,575 in 242,981 households and a population density of 8100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Matsudo is ...

Kamagaya is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 109,941 living in 50,485 households and a population density of 5200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kamagaya is located i ...

Tokyo Metropolis * Edogawa

Climate

Ichikawa 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 Ichikawa is 15.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1404 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ichikawa has increased fifteen-fold over the past century.

History

The area around present-day Ichikawa has been inhabited since the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...

period. Archaeologists have found

stone tool A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric (particularly Stone A ...

s dating to some 30,000 years ago. Numerous shell middens 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 hundreds of burial tumuli from the

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 ...

have been found in numerous locations around Ichikawa. During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the c ...

, Ichikawa was the provincial capital of Shimōsa Province and is mentioned in the ''

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

''. During the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japan ...

, this area was the center of the rebellion by

Taira Masakado was a Heian period provincial magnate (''gōzoku'') and samurai based in eastern Japan, notable for leading the first recorded uprising against the central government in Kyōto. Early life Masakado was one of the sons of Taira no Yoshimasa ...

. 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 ...

, it was the site of a major battles ( Battle of Kōnodai) between the Satomi clan and the Later Hōjō clan. In more recent history, the area was also the site of some minor battles during 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 ...

of 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 ...

and was promoted as a possible site for the new

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 ...

by Katsu Kaishu, who envisioned a structure to be built on the Edogawa River similar to the Houses of Parliament in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. Ichikawa Town was organized in 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. On November 3, 1934 Ichikawa merged with the neighboring towns of Yawata, Nakayama and village of Kokubun to form the city of Ichikawa. The city expanded by annexing the village of Okashiwa on November 3, 1949, the town of Gyotoku on March 31, 1955 and town of Minami-Gyotoku on October 1, 1956.

Government

Ichikawa 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 council of 42 members. Ichikawa contributes six members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Chiba 5th district and the

Chiba 6th 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

Economy

Ichikawa during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

was considered a desirable location for politicians, industrialists and many cultural figures, and had the highest assessed land prices in Chiba Prefecture. Many modern writers and poets have either lived in Ichikawa, or had written works set in Ichikawa, including Soseki Natsume, Shiki Masaoka, Akiko Yosano,

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...

Nagai Kafu Nagai may refer to: *Nagai (surname), a Japanese surname *Nagai, Yamagata, a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan *An alternative name for Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in ...

Hisashi Inoue was a leading Japanese playwright and writer of comic fiction. From 1961 to 1986, he used the pen name of Uchiyama Hisashi. Early life Inoue was born in what is now part of Kawanishi in Yamagata Prefecture, where his father was a pharmacis ...

and Koda Rohan. The area around

Ichikawa Station is a junction passenger railway station in the city of Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Ichikawa Station is served by the Sōbu Line (Rapid) and all-stations Chūō-Sōbu Line services, and is l ...

and

Motoyawata Station is a junction passenger railway station in the city of Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei Subway). It is the only station on the Toei Subway that is loca ...

later developed into a commercial area with many high-rise condominiums, commercial facilities, and companies. The area around Motoyawata Station is also an administrative center where many city facilities such as the city hall are located. The Gyotoku district in the south is an area which once had salt pans in the Edo Period, but was transformed in modern times into

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 with good access to Tokyo via the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line. The bay area along the Keiyo Line and Japan National Route 357 (Metropolitan Expressway Bayshore Line /

Higashi Kanto Expressway Higashi is the Japanese word for ''east''. In kanji it is represented as 東. Higashi may also refer to: Places *Higashi, Shibuya, a district of Shibuya, Tokyo * Higashi, Fukushima, a village in Fukushima Prefecture *Higashi, Okinawa, a village i ...

) is an industrial area as part of the Tokyo-Chiba industrial zone, and is a distribution base where factories and warehouses of various companies are lined up.

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 ...

–

Sōbu Line (Rapid) The Sōbu Line (Rapid) ( ja, 総武快速線, ) is a railway service on the Sōbu Main Line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Tokyo Station in Chūō, Tokyo with Chiba Station ...

– Chūō-Sōbu Line * - JR logo (east)

–

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a 100.6 km unclosed loop around central Tokyo. Passenger operations a ...

–

Keiyō Line The is a railway line connecting Tokyo and Chiba in Japan, paralleling the edge of Tokyo Bay. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line forms part of what JR East refers to as the around Tokyo, consisting of the ...

* -

Keisei Electric Railway -

Keisei Main Line {{Infobox rail line , name = Keisei Main Line , native_name = 京成本線 , native_name_lang = ja , color = 005aaa , logo = {{KSLS, KS, 50 , logo_width = , image = Keisei-Series3000-3042.jpg , image_width = 3 ...

* - - - - PrefSymbol-Tokyo

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation The , also known as , is a bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which operates public transport services in Tokyo. Among its services, the Toei Subway is one of two rapid transit systems which make up the Tokyo subway system, the othe ...

- Shinjuku Line * Tokyo Metro logo (full)

Tokyo Metro - Tōzai Line * - - 40px Hokusō Railway - Hokusō Line * - <' - ' - '> -

Highway

* * * 22px

Bayshore Route The signed as Route B, is one of the routes of the tolled Shuto Expressway system in the Greater Tokyo Area. The Bayshore Route is a stretch of toll highway that runs from the Kanazawa ward of Yokohama in the west, northeast to the city of ...

* * * *

Education

Universities

* Chiba University of Commerce *

Wayo Women's University is a private women's college in Ichikawa, Chiba 240px, Ichikawa City Hall is a city in western Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 491,716 in 251,142 households and a population density of 8559 persons per km2. ...

Tokyo Medical and Dental University is a Japanese national university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1928, it was the first national school of dentistry in Japan. TMDU is one of top 9 Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of Top G ...

(Ichikawa campus) *

Showagakuin Junior College is a private junior college in the city of Ichikawa in Chiba 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 ...

Tokyo Management College is a private junior college in the city of Ichikawa in Chiba 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 o ...

Primary and secondary schools

*Ichikawa has 39 public elementary schools and three private elementary schools. The city has 27 public middle schools and five private combined middle/high schools, including Ichikawa Gakuen. The city also has seven public high schools and two private high schools.

Twin towns

Ichikawa is twinned with: * Gardena, United States (1962) *

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cat ...

, France (2012) *

Leshan Leshan, formerly known as Jiading or Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Sichuan Basin in southern Sichuan, abo ...

, China (1981) *

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four mai ...

, Indonesia (1989) *

Rosenheim Rosenheim is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn at the confluence of th ...

, Germany (2004)

Local attractions

* Nakayama Hokekyō-ji: A Buddhist temple with several national important cultural assets, including a gate and a Hokke-dō Hall from the

and a Five-story Pagoda built in 1622. * Katsushika Hachiman Shrine: A

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The ''honden''Also called (本殿, meanin ...

built in the Heian period. * Osu Disaster Prevention Park: Usually used as a recreation and relaxation site, this park is designated as a temporary evacuation and rescue site in times of disaster. * Satomi Park: One of Ichikawa's main parks, Satomi Park stands on the hilly part of Konōdai, with the Edo River running below. It is famous for its

cherry trees A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

. * Wild Bird Observatory: This facility is equipped with observation telescopes, and it has an exhibition room which is open to visitors. * Zoological & Botanical Garden: This garden houses 70 species of animals, mainly small animals such as lesser pandas and

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...

s. Nearby is the Natural Museum, Nature Park (Rose Garden), Youth Nature House (Planetarium), and privately managed athletic facilities. * Teramachi-dori: Formerly called "Narita-michi" ("Narita Road"), this street was once used by pilgrims on their way to

Narita-san Narita-san (成田山 "Narita mountain") Shinshō-ji ( 新勝寺 "New victory temple") is a Shingon Buddhist temple located in central Narita, Chiba, Japan. It was founded in 940 by Kanchō Daisōjō, a disciple of Kōbō Daishi. It is a lead te ...

Temple. * Guhō-ji and the nearby Mama Well of Kamei-in, mentioned in Takahashi Mushimaro's poem in the

. * Higashiyama Kaii Memorial Hall: Designed based on Germany, where Higashiyama studied, this two-story building is European in appearance with an octagonal tower. * Lifelong Learning Center: Nicknamed "Media Park Ichikawa," this center supports learning for everyone from infants to seniors. The center's main attraction is the Central Library, along with the Audio Visual and Children's Hall. * Clean Spa Ichikawa: Powered by heat from garbage incineration, this facility provides a swimming pool, warm bath, and gymnastic equipment.

Noted people from Ichikawa

* Masa Takanashi, professional wrestler * Sakaigawa Namiemon, Meiji period sumo wrestler * Wakashima Gonshirō, Meiji period sumo wrestler * Kōji Nakano, novelist *

Kuniko Inoguchi is a Japanese political scientist and politician. She served as Japan's first Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs from 2005 to 2006, and is currently a member of the House of Councillors representing Chiba Prefecture for the ...

, Cabinet minister * Michio Hoshino, photographer *

Kazuki Kosakai (born January 3, 1956) is a Japanese comedian and actor from Ichikawa, Chiba. He is attached to Asaikikaku. Roles Television programs Television drama *'' Sērā Fukudōri'' (1986) (Tanaka-sensei) *''Furuhata Ninzaburō'' (1994) (Shigeo Sakomizu ...

, comedian * Yūko Andō, newscaster * Koji Ishikawa, illustrator * Taiji, musician * yukihiro (musician), musician * Kazuo Takahashi, mixed martial artist *

Shigeki Maruyama Shigeki Maruyama (丸山茂樹, ''Maruyama Shigeki''; born 12 September 1969) is a Japanese professional golfer. Career Maruyama was born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. He attended Nihon University and turned professional in 1992. He is ...

, professional golfer * Oginishiki Yasutoshi – sumo wrestler * Tomo Sakurai, Voice actress * Tōki Susumu, sumo wrestler * Ryoji Aikawa, professional baseball player * Ryoji Aikawa, professional soccer player * Kazushige Nosawa, professional wrestler *

G.G. Sato , also known as G. G. Sato, is a former professional player for the Philadelphia Phillies organization, Saitama Seibu Lions, Chiba Lotte Marines, and Fortitudo Baseball Bologna. Career Sato began his professional career signing with the Philad ...

, professional baseball player *

Moe Oshikiri is a Japanese model best known her work with fashion magazine '' AneCan'' and its sister magazine ''CanCam'', which Oshikiri was a former top model for. She is also a designer, starting her own Kimono line branded under her name, as well as a h ...

, fashion model *

Yuki Abe is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He played 53 times for Japan between 2005 and 2011 and was a member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. Club career JEF United Chiba Born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Abe ...

, professional soccer player * Atsuko Maeda, singer, actress, former member of

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with i ...

Norimitsu Onishi is a Japanese Canadian journalist. He is a Paris correspondent for the ''New York Times'', after holding the position as Bureau Chief in Johannesburg, Jakarta, Tokyo and Abidjan. He was a member of ''The New York Times'' reporting team that r ...

, Journalist *

Tatsuhisa Suzuki is a Japanese voice actor and singer from Ichikawa, Chiba. He is affiliated with I'm Enterprise and Lantis. He is the former lead vocalist of Oldcodex, in which he performed under his stage name Ta_2. Biography '' Shūkan Bunshun'' reported t ...

, Voice actor *

Peter Takeo Okada was a Japanese prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Tokyo from 2000 to 2017. Okada was born in Ichikawa in Chiba Prefecture. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with the LL.B. He was ordained a priest on 3 Nov ...

, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tokyo *

Yoko Narahashi is a prominent Japanese casting director and film producer. She gained prominence due to her involvement with '' The Last Samurai'', ''Babel'', and ''Memoirs of a Geisha''. ''The Japan Times'', the only independent English-language newspaper in ...

, film producer and casting director *

Tao Okamoto , known professionally as Tao, is a Japanese actress and model, who is alongside Ai Tominaga and Hiroko Matsumoto, one of the biggest models from Japan. In 2009, she was one of the faces of Ralph Lauren. She made her film debut as the female l ...

, actress and model *

Yoshino Takamori is a Japanese voice actress from Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Biography Takamori was born in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. She has younger sister. Her father is a dentist and professor of dentistry.『フューチャーランド』1990年10月号、p ...

, Voice actress

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Chiba Prefecture Populated places established in 1934 1934 establishments in Japan