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

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

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 84,675 in 35,082 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 1437 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 29.5%. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Ushiku is located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture, in the low-lying marshy flatlands south of

Lake Kasumigaura is the second-largest lake in Japan, located 60 km to the north-east of Tokyo. In a narrower sense and officially, Lake Kasumigaura refers to a waterbody with an area of 167.63 km2. In a wider sense, Lake Kasumigaura can also refer t ...

. It is about 50 kilometers from central Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities

* Ibaraki Prefecture **

Tsuchiura is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 138,033 in 60,069 households and a population density of 1123 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 29.7%. The total area of t ...

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

** Ryūgasaki ** Inashiki **

Ami AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

Climate

Ushiku has a

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 freezing ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ushiku is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1304 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.0 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ushiku has grown nearly ninefold over the past 100 years, with especially rapid growth taking place in the late 20th century.

History

The area of Ushiku developed as a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

around Ushiku Domain, a minor feudal holding under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

in 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 village of Ushiku was created 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 ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On January 1, 1954 it was elevated to town status and to city status on June 1, 1986. On January 31, 2020, a magnitude 5.3

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

kilometres The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ...

west of the town. The official time of the earthquake was 17:07:47 (UTC).

Government

Ushiku 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 22 members. Ushiku contributes two members to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ibaraki 3rd district of the lower house 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

Ushiku is a local commercial center and has a small

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 ...

. It is also 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 ...

for Tokyo Metropolis. However, the local economy remains based on agriculture, primarily rice cultivation.

Education

Ushiku has eight public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private combined middle/high school.

Transportation

Railway

JR East –

Jōban Line The Jōban Line ( ja, 常磐線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, ...

* -

Highway

* * *

Sister city relations

Hitachiōta, Ibaraki 250px, Seizan-so is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,074 in 19,327 households and a population density of 129.2 persons per km². . The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 36.2%. ...

, Japan (1986) * Shikama, Miyagi, Japan (1988) *

Greve in Chianti Greve in Chianti (the old name was Greve; in 1972 it was renamed Greve in Chianti after the inclusion of that area in the Chianti wine district) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is lo ...

, Italy (2013) *

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale area ...

, Canada (1985) * Orange, New South Wales, Australia (1990)

Local attractions

Ushiku Daibutsu is a statue located in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Completed in 1993, it stands a total of tall, including the base and 10m lotus platform. The statue held the record for the tallest statue from 1993 to 2008. , it is one of the top fi ...

, one of the world's tallest statues * Chateau Kamiya, a wine chateau started in 1901 * Ushikunuma, a scenic lake that is said to be the birthplace of the mythical kappa beast. * Higashi Nihon Immigration Center, Japan's largest detention center for the incarceration of immigrants.

Notable people

* Hiroshi Kamiya, voice actor (born in

Matsudo file:Matsudo City Hall 2.jpg, 260px, Matsudo City Hall is a Cities of Japan, 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 are ...

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 the ...

) *

Kisenosato is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Ibaraki. He made his professional debut in 2002, and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in 2004 at the age of just 18. After many years in the junior ''san'yaku'' ranks, he reached the seco ...

, sumo wrestler *

Takumi Kobe Takumi Kobe (神戸拓光, born February 23, 1985, in Ushiku, Ibaraki) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played from 2008 to 2013 with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the hi ...

, professional baseball player * Kiyomi Niwata, Olympic triathlete * Mineko Nomachi, essayist (born in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

) *

Shigeki Osawa Shigeki Osawa (born May 2, 1986) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division. Mixed martial arts career Background Osawa is a training partner of Japanese MMA veteran Michihiro Omigawa. Osawa is ...

, mixed martial artist

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Ibaraki Prefecture