270px , Ōmura park is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of June 1, 2024, the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 99,337, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 780 people per km². The total area of the city is

History

Ōmura is located in former

Hizen Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of the Saga Prefecture, Saga and Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen Province, Ch ...

. It developed in the

Edo Period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

as the

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, ...

Ōmura Domain was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period. It was centered around Kushima Castle in what is now the city of Ōmura, Nagasaki and was ruled by the ''tozama daimyō'' Ōmura clan for all of its history. History The lineage of the � ...

, ruled by the local Ōmura clan for over 900 years. It was the site of considerable foreign trade and missionary activity during the late

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, and the

Catholic saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Marina de Omura hails from this city. Due to its proximity to the trading settlement at

Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, was one of the first areas of Japan to re-open to foreign contact after the end of the national seclusion policy 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. In the opera

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

, set in nearby

, the place name ''Omara'' in the line "ed alla damigella Butterfly del quartiere d'Omara Nagasaki" probably refers to Ōmura. From 1868-1945, Ōmura was host to numerous military facilities as part of the Sasebo Naval District, most notably that of a major air base for the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The (IJNAS) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired its first aircraft in ...

. The former naval base was the location of the squalid ''Ōmura Migrant Detention Center,'' where mainly Korean refugees—termed "stowaways" (''mikkōsha'' synonymous with "smuggler")—were held until deportation, frequently for several years. Since August 1996 the nearby ''Ōmura Immigration Reception Center'' in a modern building serves the same function. The town of Ōmura and the villages of Ōmura, Nishi-Ōmura, Takematsu, Kayase, Fukushige, Matsubara, Miura, Suzuta were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Ōmura annexed Ōmura village on April 1, 1925 and Nishi-Ōmura and Takematsu Village on November 3, 1939. On February 11, 1942 Ōmura merged with Miura, Suzuta, Kayase, Fukushige, and Matsubara to form the city of Ōmura. The city was largely destroyed by American bombing in 1944. After the war, Omura hosted Japan's first motorboat racing event in 1952. Additionally in 1975, the city opened the world's first island airport; Nagasaki Airport which is located offshore in Ōmura Bay. The airport was constructed by reclaiming land on Minoshima Island after the island's residents agreed to relocate to replace the former airport which is now used by the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force The , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...

Geography

Ōmura is located on the eastern shore of Ōmura Bay, at the western foot of the Tara mountain range. The Ōmura Plain is one of the few large areas of flat land in Nagasaki Prefecture and the main urban area is on an

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...

of the Kori River and Ojoto River. The eastern part of the city is dominated by the steep mountains of the Tara mountain range, with the 1,076 meter Mount Kyogatake as the highest point, and deep valleys carved by the various rivers.

Surrounding municipalities

Nagasaki Prefecture * Higashisonogi * Isahaya

Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...

* Kashima * Tara * Ureshino

Climate

Ōmura has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

:''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. The average annual temperature in Ōmura is . The average annual rainfall is with June and July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Its record high is , reached on 12 August 2018, and its record low is , reached on 25 January 2016.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōmura in 2022 is 98,237 people. Ōmura has been conducting censuses since 1960. Although the city's population declined slightly in the 1960s, Ōmura's population has been growing since 1970.

Government

Ōmura 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city council of 25 members. Ōmura contributes three members to the Nagasaki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Nagasaki 3rd district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Ōmura has a mixed economy, with the manufacture of refractory bricks as a major industry. Dairy and

poultry farming Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion c ...

, as well as

cultured pearl Cultured pearls are pearls which are formed within a cultured pearl sac with human intervention in the interior of productive living molluscs in a variety of conditions depending upon the mollusc and the goals. Having the same material as natur ...

s are also of importance. However, due to its proximity to the larger urban centers of Nagasaki and Sasebo, Ōmura also serves as

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 both cities. Oriental Air Bridge, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city. At one time J-Air had its headquarters at the airport.

Education

Ōmura has 15 public elementary schools and six public junior high schools operated by the town government, and three public high schools operated by the Nagasaki Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school. The Nagasaki-based Kwassui Women's University has a campus in Ōmura.

Transportation

Airport

* Nagasaki Airport

Railways

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail line on the northwest part of Kyushu Island that is operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The line is informally known as the Nagasaki Shinkansen. The section of the line between and ...

- Ōmura Line * - - - - - -

Highways

Nagasaki Expressway * *

Sister cities

Itami, Hyōgo is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 197,215 in 83,580 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Itami is located in south-eastern Hyōgo Prefec ...

, Japan *

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish language, Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spain, Spanis ...

, USA * Semboku, Akita, Japan *

Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...

, Portugal

Freindship cities

Minhang District Minhang District is a suburban district of Shanghai with a land area of and population of 2,653,489 residents as of 2020. The original Minhang consist of present-day Jiangchuan Road Subdistrict (Former Minhang Town) and the eastern strip of Wuji ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China

Sports

Ōmura hosted the official 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Women.

Notable people from Ōmura

* Hantaro Nagaoka, Meiji-era physicist * Anza Ohyama, singer and stage actress * Masaki Okino, footballer * Taira Shige, footballer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omura, Nagasaki Cities in Nagasaki Prefecture Ōmura, Nagasaki Populated coastal places in Japan