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

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nar ...

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 263,436 in 126509 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 6300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is the birthplace of the

Kawachi ondo ''Kawachi Ondo'' (河内音頭) is a kind of Japanese folk song that originates from Yao City in the old Kawachi region of Japan, now part of modern-day Osaka Prefecture. This song's style and melody are said to have evolved from another folk so ...

style of folk singing.

Geography

Yao is locate adjacent to the central part of the Osaka Plain and southeast of Osaka metropolis. The west side of the city area is almost flat with an average elevation of only ten meters above sea level. The land rises in the east, with the Ikoma Mountains forming the prefectural border with

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakaya ...

. In addition to the Yamato River flowing at the southern end of the city, there are many small rivers.

Neighboring municipalities

Osaka Prefecture *

Hirano-ku, Osaka is one of 24 wards which make up the city of Osaka, and is located in the southeast of the city. It is the largest Osaka ward in population and the only ward to have over 200,000 residents. Geography The north-west side of Hirano-ku is on the s ...

Higashiōsaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 489,077 in 233,124 households and a population density of 7900 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is known as one of the industrial ci ...

* Kashiwara *

Fujiidera 270px, The temple of Fujii-dera, after which the city is named is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 63,446 in 29501 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km². The total area o ...

Matsubara is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,811 in 57351 households and a population density of 7100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Matsubara is located in the cent ...

* Heguri * Sangō

Climate

Yao 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 Yao is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Yao population statistics
/ref> the population of Yao increased rapidly from the 1960s through 1970s, and has leveled off since.

History

Premodern

The area of the modern city of Yao was within ancient

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawac ...

and is built on land which was once Kawachi Bay. This area was a fertile delta along Old-Yamato River, and has been cultivated since

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōm ...

. In 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 ...

, many powerful clans settled here and built ''

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典� ...

'' burial mounds in the foothills of the Ikoma mountain range. In

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after ...

, this area was under the control of

Mononobe clan The was a Japanese aristocratic kin group (''uji'') of the Kofun period, known for its military opposition to the Soga clan. The Mononobe were opposed to the spread of Buddhism, partly on religious grounds, claiming that the local deities w ...

. The clan was destroyed when Mononobe no Moriya was defeated by

Soga no Umako was the son of Soga no Iname and a member of the powerful Soga clan of Japan. Umako conducted political reforms with Prince Shōtoku during the rules of Emperor Bidatsu and Empress Suiko and established the Soga clan's stronghold in the g ...

. The Yuge clan, which was a cadet branch of Mononobe clan, however, kept control on the area. The monk Dōkyō, who was from Yuge clan, became the most powerful person in the late

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 ...

through his relationship with

Empress Shōtoku An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

. He constructed ''Saikyo'' (West Capital) called Yuge-gu in this area, from which he intended rule the nation prior to his fall from power. Takayasu Castle, an ancient castle on Mount Takayasu, was constructed for defense against

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, after Yamato was defeated at the

Battle of Baekgang The Battle of Baekgang or Battle of Baekgang-gu, also known as Battle of Hakusukinoe ( ja, 白村江の戦い, Hakusuki-no-e no Tatakai / Hakusonkō no Tatakai) in Japan, as Battle of Baijiangkou ( zh, c=白江口之战, p=Bāijiāngkǒu Zhīzh ...

in Korean Peninsula and rediscovered by archaeologists in 1978. During the

, the area Yao prospered as a transportation hub between

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

, Naniwa-kyō and the seacoast. 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 ...

, the area was dominated by large ''

shōen A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private ...

'' landed estates controlled by Buddhist temples and the nobility. In the

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

the area was the site of several battles, including during the summer campaign of

Siege of Osaka The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the sie ...

. Before the middle term of

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, the Yamato river flowed from south to north and joined to the Yodo River. However, due to flooding, 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 ...

undertook a large

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

project to change the flow of the Yamato River from east to west, to empty into Osaka Bay directly. The construction decreased number of floods, and enabled this area to develop more

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-A ...

s. In addition, cotton cultivation flourished in this area.

Modern

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 ...

, the area became part of Osaka Prefecture. The village Yao created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, although the name "Yao" appears as far back as Heian period documents. On April 1, 1896 the area became part of Nakakawachi District, Osaka. Yao was elevated to town status on August 1, 1903. On April 1, 1948, Yao merged with the town of Ryuge and the villages of Kyuhoji, Taisho, and Nishigo to form the city of Yao.

Government

Yao 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 28 members. Yao contributes three members to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Osaka 14th district 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 paral ...

Economy

Yao is traditionally known for its production of toothbrushes, and still accounts for 40% of the Japanese market, although the contribution of toothbrush manufacturing to the total local economy is very small. The city is now known as a center for light and medium manufacturing.

Companies based on Yao

Hosiden is a Japanese electronics company. It manufactures electronic components and devices and has a strong presence in the telecommunication and automotive industries prior to the consumer markets. It is headquartered in Yao, Osaka and has over 19 ...

(ホシデン株式会社) * Miki House (ミキハウス)

Education

Colleges and universities

* Osaka University of Economics and Law

Primary and secondary education

Yao has 28 public elementary schools, 15 public middle schools and four public high schools operated by the Osaka Prefectural Department of Education. There is also one private middle school and one private high school. The prefecture also operates on special education school for the handicapped. Prefectural senior high schools * Osaka Prefectural Yao High School ( 大阪府立八尾高等学校) * Osaka Prefectural Yaokita High School ( 大阪府立八尾北高等学校) * Osaka Prefectural Yamamoto High School ( 大阪府立山本高等学校) * Osaka Prefectural Yaosuisho High School ( 大阪府立八尾翠翔高等学校) Private junior and senior high school * Konko Yao Junior and Senior High School ( 金光八尾中学校・高等学校)

Special needs education

* Osaka Prefectural Yao School for Special Needs Education ( 大阪府立八尾支援学校)

Transportation

Airports

Yao Airport is a general aviation airport in Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Located southeast of Ōsaka Station, it is also an airbase for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Several small carriers offer sightseeing and charter flights from Yao, includi ...

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and i ...

–

Yamatoji Line The is the common name of the western portion of the Kansai Main Line. The line is owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), and starts at Kamo Station in Kyoto Prefecture and ends at JR Namba Station in Naniwa-ku, Osaka. O ...

* - -

–

Osaka Higashi Line The (Literally: Osaka East Line) is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR-West). The line connects Shin-Osaka Station in northern Osaka with Kyūhōji Station in Yao, forming an arc around the norther ...

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...

Kintetsu Osaka Line ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation. It may also refer to: Companies * Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway ** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...

* - - - - KintetsuLogo

Kintetsu Shigi Line * - KintetsuLogo

Nishi-Shigi Cable Line The , referred to as , is Japanese cable railway line in Yao, Osaka, owned and operated by Kintetsu Railway. The line, opened in 1930, makes a route to Chōgo Sonshi-ji temple on Mount Shigi. As the line name suggests, there once was as well. H ...

Osaka Metro The is a major rapid transit system in the Osaka Metropolitan Area of Japan, operated by the Osaka Metro Company, Ltd. It serves the city of Osaka and the adjacent municipalities of Higashiosaka, Kadoma, Moriguchi, Sakai, Suita, and Yao. ...

Tanimachi Line: *

Highway

* * *

Local attractions

* Taiseishōgun-ji, Buddhist temple founded in 587 AD *

Shionjiyama Kofun The is a Kofun period keyhole-shaped burial mound, located in the Otake neighborhood of the city of Yao, Osaka in the Kansai region of Japan. The tumulus was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1966 with the area under protection e ...

, National Historic Site * Takayasu Senzuka Kofun Cluster, National Historic Site * Yuge-dera ruins, National Historic Site

Sister and Friendship cities

* Usa, Ōita * Wake,

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

* Shingu, Wakayama *

Gojo Gojo Industries, Inc., is a privately held manufacturer of hand hygiene and skin care products founded in 1946, in Akron, Ohio, where it is again headquartered after a period in Cuyahoga Falls. One of its most well-known products is Purell, a ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

* Bellevue, Washington, U.S. - Sister city agreement concluded in 1969 *

Jiading District Jiading is a suburban district of Shanghai. It had a population of 1,471,100 in 2010. History Historically, Jiading was a separate municipality/town, until, in 1958, becoming under the administration of Shanghai. In 1993, Jiading's designate ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

, China - Sister city agreement concluded in 1986

Notable people from Yao

Shōgo Arai is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Nara Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2007. A graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Transport, attending Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Syracus ...

, politician,

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

* Dōkyō, Buddhist monk * Toyokawa Etsushi, actor *

Kawachiya Kikusuimaru Kawachiya Kikusuimaru (河内家菊水丸) (born 14 February 1963) is a Japanese musician and singer. He is a singer of Kawachi ondo folk music from Yao, Osaka. Career Born in Yao, Osaka, he started studying Kawachi ondo with his father, Kaw ...

, musician * Masumi Kuwata, former baseball player *

Yasuji Hondo was a Nippon Professional Baseball second baseman and manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managi ...

, former baseball player *

Hideaki Ikematsu is a former Japanese Association football, football player. Club statistics References External links *sports.geocities.jp
1986 births Living people Association football people from Osaka Prefecture People from Yao, Osaka Japanese foot ...

, former football player * Ryota Katayose, singer, vocalist of Generations from Exile Tribe *

, singer of ''

'' *

Masato Kitano Day After Tomorrow (also known as dat) was a 3-member Japanese pop band under the Avex label. History Due to their music being produced by former Every Little Thing member Mitsuru Igarashi, Day After Tomorrow's music took on a decidedly simila ...

, songwriter of Day After Tomorrow * Masumi Kuwata, former baseball player *

Ichirō Matsui is a Japanese businessman and politician who is the current mayor of Osaka, leader of the Osaka Restoration Association (ORA) and one of the presidents of Nippon Ishin no Kai alongside Nobuyuki Baba. Early life Matsui attended public elementary ...

, politician, mayor of Osaka City *

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent a ...

, film director * Masataka Nishimoto, football player for

Cerezo Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Osaka. The club currently plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Cerezo'' (Spanish for cherry blossom) is also the flower of the city of Osaka. ...

Tokushichi Nomura II was a Japanese businessman and investor. He was the founder of the Nomura Group zaibatsu who formed Nomura Securities in 1925.The House of Nomura, ''Al Alletzhauser'', Bloomsbury Publishing Limited () In 1928, he was appointed to the House of ...

Businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

, founder of the Nomura

zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period unt ...

* Tadashi Ōishi, shogi player * Kosuke Okanishi, football player

Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French ...

* Yui Okada, singer *

Jimmy Onishi is a Japanese painter and comedian. His real name is , in which his given name is a combination of from daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period ...

, painter and comedian *

Noboru Rokuda is a Japanese manga artist. He made his professional debut in 1978 with ''Saigo Test'', for which he won the Shogakukan New Artist Award. He won the 1991 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga for '' F''. Works Manga * * * - The companion ...

, manga artist * Nagisa Sakurauchi, football player for

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 ...

* Shota Shimizu, singer * Hitoshi Taneda, former baseball player *

Takeshi Tokuda is a Japanese politician formerly serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as an independent. A native of Yao, Osaka he attended University of California, Los Angeles and summer school at Harvard University i ...

, politician of House of Representatives *

Etsushi Toyokawa is a Japanese actor. Biography Born in Yao, Osaka, he studied at Shimizudani High School, and eventually dropped out of Kwansei Gakuin University to pursue a career in acting. He began by joining the sho-gekijo theatrical troupe "Under T ...

, actor * Shouma Yamamoto, actor
Tawa (Lemming) Kazue
painter artist

References

External links

Yao City official website

Yao Monozukuri Net is the place to search and contact for manufacturing businesses in Yao City
{{Authority control Cities in Osaka Prefecture