Ōta, Gunma
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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
Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...
,
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 ...
. , 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 224,358 in 109,541 households, 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 1300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .


Geography

Ōta is located in the extreme southeastern portion of
Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...
in the northern
Kantō Plain The , in the Kantō region of central Honshu, is the largest plain in Japan. Its 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefe ...
s, bordered by Tochigi Prefecture to the east and
Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...
to the south. The city is located northwest of
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
between the Tone and Watarase
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s. It is located about 80 kilometers northwest of central Tokyo, about 30 kilometers east of the prefectural capital at Maebashi, about 40 kilometers east of
Takasaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as th ...
. The elevation of the city ranges from 30–40 meters in lowland in the south, southwest, northeast, and east, to 40–70 meters in the northwest.


Surrounding municipalities

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...
* Isesaki * Kiryū * Midori * Ōizumi * Ōra Tochigi Prefecture * Ashikaga
Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...
* Fukaya * Kumagaya


Climate

Ōta 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 cold ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōta is 14.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1260 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 3.5 °C.


Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōta has increased steadily over the past 60 years.


History

During 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 ...
, the area of present-day Ōta contained two post towns on the Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō, a subroute to Nikkō Kaidō which connected the Nakasendō directly with Nikkō, bypassing Edo,Nikkō Reiheishidō
. Mainichi Shinbun. Accessed August 29, 2007
the , (from which the city takes its name) and . Ōta Town was created within Nitta District, Gunma Prefecture on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system 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 ...
. On April 1, 1940, Ōta merged with the villages of Kuai and Sawano from Nitta District, and with the village of Niragawa from Yamada District. On November 1, 1943, Ōta absorbed the village of Shimanogō, also from Nitta District. Ōta was elevated to city status on May 3, 1948. The city expanded on April 1, 1957, by annexing the village of Kyodo (from Nitta District), and the village of Kyūhaku (from Yamada District), and by annexing parts of the village of Yabakawa (Yamada District) on July 1, 1960. On April 1, 1963, Ōta absorbed the village of Hosen (Nitta District), followed by the village of Kesatoda (Yamada District) on December 1, 1963. On March 28, 2005, the old city of Ōta absorbed the towns of Nitta, Ojima, and Yabuzukahon (all from Nitta District), and the area became the new city of Ōta. The former city of Ōta had a population of 152,000, with a total area of 97.96 km2; after the merger the total area became 176.49 km2, and the population went to 217,000 people. On April 1, 2007, Ōta was designated special city (''tokureishi'') with expanded local autonomy.


Government

Ōta has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 30 members. Ōta contributes five members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Gunma 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

During the years before World War II, airplane production by Nakajima Aircraft Company was the industrial mainstay of Ōta. After the war, much of the skills and technology used in the production of aircraft was redirected into the production of automobiles. Ōta's leading industry is manufacturing, centered in the southeast part of the city. Ōta leads the prefecture in manufacturing revenue, which exceeds annually. It is the home of the car manufacturer Subaru, a subsidiary of
Subaru Corporation , formerly , is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was nam ...
, formerly known as and Hino Motors. Subaru-chō is where the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 is built, having been re-purposed from ''kei'' car production, Yajima Plant is where all current Subaru cars are built, Otakita Plant is where commercial ''kei'' trucks are built (originally the location of Nakajima Aircraft), and Oizumi Plant is where engines and transmissions are built. The northern part of Ōta is characterized by its farms, most of which produce rice. Also, Ōta is a major transportation hub in the Tomo (Eastern Gunma) region and the home of the Panasonic Wild Knights rugby team.


Education


University

* Kanto Gakuen University


Primary and secondary schools

Ōta has 26 public elementary schools and 17 public middle schools operated by the city government, and seven public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school and the Gunma Kokusai Academy, a private combined elementary/middle/high school which offers a curriculum in the
English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.


International schools

* EAS Rede Pitágoras - Brazilian schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.
- Formerly Colégio Pitágoras Brasil * Escola Paralelo ( エスコーラ・パラレロ 太田校) - Brazilian primary school


Transportation


Railway

* Tōbu RailwayIsesaki Line * - - - - Tōbu RailwayTōbu Kiryū Line * - - - Tōbu RailwayKoizumi Line * -


Highway

* – Ōta-Yabuzuka Interchange – Ōta-Gōdo Parking Area and Smart Interchange – Ōta-Kiryū Interchange * * * * *


Local attractions

*Daikoin Temple - Founded in 1618 by Ieyasu Tokugawa. Popular with nickname ''Kosodate Donryu'' (meaning kid-raising Saint Donryu). Located 2.4 km northwest of the downtown. * Kanayama Castle ruins - A Kamakura period castle on the top of Mt. Kanayama (244 m). Located 3.2 km north of the downtown. Mt. Kanayama is the symbol of Ota City. A National Historic Site * Kōzuke Province Nitta District Offices Site - Nara period ruins, a National Historic Site * Nitta-no-shō - sites and ruins associated with a Heian through Muromachi period manor, a National Historic Site * Nyotaizan Kofun and Tenjinyama Kofun - Kofun period tumuli, a National Historic Sites *Snake Center - Located in Yabuzuka Onsen area. Famous for collection of rare kinds of snakes. *Tenjinyama Kofun - A large ancient burial mound (from around the 5th century). The haniwa unearthed in Ota are the only haniwa to be designated as national treasures, and are on display in the National Museum in Tokyo. *Yabuzuka Onsen - Ōta's hot springs; 9.7 km northwest of the downtown.


Sister cities

*
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
, United States, since February 1984. Switching each year, the two cities send students to each other in order to strengthen relations and teach the next generation about the differing cultures. * Lafayette, West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, United States, memorandum of understanding signed October 1988, agreement signed October 1993. * Imabari, Ehime, Japan, since April 2002. Ota entered into a friendship agreement with
Yingkou Yingkou ( zh, s=, t=, p=Yíngkǒu) is a coastal prefecture-level city of central southern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, on the northeastern shore of Liaodong Bay. It is the third-smallest city in Liaoning with a total area of , a ...
,
Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...
, China in September 1987. The city has also commenced an exchange relationship with
Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...
, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China in 1997 and signed a friendship agreement with Hirosaki city,
Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
in November 2006.


Notable people

* Chiezō Kataoka, actor * Mari Katayama, artist * Rentarō Mikuni, actor * Ayumi Morita, tennis player * Chikuhei Nakajima, founder of Nakajima Aircraft, politician * Onryo, professional wrestler * Masaaki Ōsawa, politician * Yuki Saito, professional baseball player * Itsuki Shoda, professional baseball player * Aya Uchida, voice actress


References


External links


Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ota, Gunma Cities in Gunma Prefecture Ōta, Gunma Subaru