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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 ...
in
Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...
,
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 59,625 in 22,843 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 220 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .


Geography

Date occupies the eastern half of the Fukushima Basin in northern Fukushima prefecture, with
Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...
on its northern border. The area was once noted for
sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...
but transitioned to fruit cultivation during the Taishō period. It is currently organized into the five former towns of Date, Hobara,
Yanagawa Yanagawa may refer to: * Yanagawa, Fukuoka * Yanagawa, Fukushima * Yanagawa (surname) * Yanagawa (film) {{disambig ...
, Ryozen, and Tsukidate, each of which retain numerous unique traditions and events. Hobara is the central area, where the municipal government is based. *Rivers:
Abukuma River The , with a length of , is the second longest river in the Tōhoku region of Japan and the 6th longest river in the country. It is designated as a Classification of rivers in Japan, Class A river. It runs through Fukushima Prefecture and Miyagi P ...
, Hirose River


Neighboring municipalities

Fukushima Prefecture * Fukushima * Iitate * Kawamata * Kunimi *
Koori Koori (also spelt koorie, goori or goorie) is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from a region that approximately corresponds to southern New South Wales and Victoria. The word derives from the Indigenous language Awabakal. For some people ...
* Sōma Miyagi Prefecture * Marumori * Shiroishi


Climate

Date has a humid climate (
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Date 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, the population of Date has declined over the past 70 years.


History

A whole body skeleton of
Paleoparadoxia ''Paleoparadoxia'' ("ancient paradox") is a genus of large, herbivorous aquatic mammals that inhabited the northern Pacific coastal region during the Miocene epoch (). It ranged from the waters of Japan (Tsuyama and Yanagawa), to Alaska in the no ...
was excavated in Yanagawa on August 21, 1984. The skeleton is named the “Yanagawa Specimen”. The first humans to live within the bounds of present-day Date City are thought to have arrived during the Paleolithic Period. The area was part of ancient Mutsu Province. Towards the end of 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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...
, Shinobu-gun (present day Fukushima City) and Date-gun (encompassing not only present day Date, but also Koori Town to the North and Kawamata Town to the South) were awarded to Date Tomomune. Tomomune founded the
Date clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group.Edmond Papinot, Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Date fam ...
in present-day Hobara. The 17th lord of the Date Clan,
Date Masamune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he w ...
lost control of the area and went on to found the Sendai Clan and the City of Sendai. The clan continued to rule over the
Sendai Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of ...
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 ...
. However, under the Edo period
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
, most of the area of Date was initially part of
Yonezawa Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered at Yonezawa castle in what is now the city of Yonezawa, and its territory extended over the Okitama District of Dewa Pr ...
, followed by Fukushima Domain and
Yanagawa Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Fukuoka Prefecture. It was centered around Yanagawa Castle in what is now the city of Yanagawa, Fukuoka and was ruled by the ''tozama da ...
before becoming ''
tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...
'' territory under direct control of the shogunate. It was not part of the Date Clan's territories. 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 ...
, the area was organized as part of Nakadōri region of Iwaki Province. As of 1889, at the time of the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the area consisted of 21 towns and villages. Between the years 1955 and 1960, these were consolidated into the five towns of Date (formerly the villages of Nagaoka and Fushiguro), Hobara (formerly the town of Hobara and the villages of Ooda, Kamihobara, Hashirazawa, and Tominari), Ryōzen (formerly the villages of Ryozen, Kakeda, Oguni, and Ishido), Tsukidate (formerly the villages of Ote and Otegawa), and
Yanagawa Yanagawa may refer to: * Yanagawa, Fukuoka * Yanagawa, Fukushima * Yanagawa (surname) * Yanagawa (film) {{disambig ...
(formerly the town of Yanagawa and the villages of Awano, Sekimoto, Shirane, Ooeda, Isazawa, Tomino, and Yamafunyuu), which merged to create the modern city of Date on January 1, 2006. Date is about north-west of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the
nuclear accident A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include radiation poisoning, lethal effect ...
that followed the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a  9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
. Although outside the nuclear accident exclusion zone, the levels of radiation in the city caused residents, and especially children, to remain indoors. In 2016 an anime was produced in promotion of the city. Masamune Datenicle (政宗ダテニクル) features a young Date Masamune who meets a dragon deity that gives him the ability to call upon former leaders of the Date Clan.


Government

Date 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 legislature of 22 members. Date, together with the three municipalities of Date District, collectively contribute three members to the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Fukushima 1st 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

The economy of Date is primarily agricultural, with an emphasis on rice and horticulture. The area is noted for its peaches and dried persimmons.
Taiyo Yuden is a Japanese materials and electronics company, situated in Kyobashi, Chuo, Tokyo, that helped pioneer recordable CD technology (CD-R) along with Sony and Philips in 1988. Founded 70 years ago, Taiyo Yuden currently operates factories in Japa ...
operates a metal power inductor production plant in the Yanagawa Industrial Zone in Date, Fukushima, which also produced CD,
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
discs in the past.


Peaches

Date City's location in central Fukushima ( Nakadōri), in the middle of Fukushima Basin, helps in the cultivation of peaches. The most common varieties grown in the area are Akatsuki, Kawanakajima, and Yuuzora.


Dried Persimmons

As sericulture lost its place in the area during the Taisho period, the former village of Isazawa in Yanagawa replaced it with the production of dried persimmons, among other industries. Dried persimmons had been produced in the area since the Edo Period. However, the addition of sulfur fumigation as was used in the production of raisins in the United States, allowed for a much sweeter product. Whereas traditional dried persimmons, ''hoshigaki'', have a tough skin and are almost black in color, those created with the additional step of sulfur fumigation, called ''anpogaki'' or ''tsurushigaki'', are soft and bright orange. Although the production of anpogaki was halted for three years after the 2011 disaster, Date City's persimmon orchards have since been decontaminated and testing machines have been installed, ensuring the safety of the final product.


Education

Date City has fourteen public elementary schools, six public junior high schools, one public high school, and one private high school:


Festivals


Summer


Hobara

*Hobara Summer Festival Held every year early to mid August, and features the Hobara Yoitoko Dance and Bon dance. Other specifics vary by year, but often include food stands from local vendors, various performances, and the Momo-Olympics where visitors can participate in various games to win prizes.


Tsukidate

*Otehime-no-sato Summer Festival Held around mid-August, this festival feature fireworks, foodstalls and lanterns.


Autumn


Hobara

*Amaterasu Shinmeigu Shrine Autumn Festival Held mid-October, local taiko groups form their own Taiko floats to perform around Jinya Street.


Ryōzen

*Ryōzen Shrine Fall Festival


Winter


Hobara

*Tsutsuko-biki Festival Begun over 300 years ago, this festival is held every year at Itsukushima Shrine on the first Sunday of March. The main event is a three-way tug of war by men dressed solely in fundoshi and zori. After the winning team is decided, the men work together to lift and drop the heavy bundle repeatedly. This movement causes the hot mochi rice inside to form mochi, which is then passed out to the audience.


Spring


Hobara

*


Transportation


Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 are in ...
(JR East) -
Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line () is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Uts ...
* AbukumaExpress
Abukuma Express Line The is a railway line in Japan, owned and operated by the third-sector operator Abukuma Kyuko. The line connects Fukushima Station in Fukushima Prefecture and Tsukinoki Station in Miyagi Prefecture. Both of these stations are also on the T ...
* - - - - - - - - -


Highway

* * * * *


Local attractions

* Mount Ryōzen, National Historic Site and National Place of Scenic Beauty * Miyawaki temple ruins, National Historic Site * Former Kameoka Family Home * Ryōzen Shrine * Takako Ni-juu Kyou * site of Takakogaoka Castle, the original home of the Date Clan * Takako Lake, one of Takako Ni-juu Kyou *site of Yanagawa Castle, constructed by the Date Clan and once home to Date Masamune *Yanagawa Hachiman Shrine, where Date Masamune prayed for victory in battle


Notable people from Date

* Saitou Hikonai (斎藤彦内, 1709-1750) was a farmer and the leader of a peasants' revolt. * Yahei Miura (弥平三浦, 1895-1971) was a
long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...
and Olympic athlete. * Seishiro Okazaki (January 28, 1890 – July 12, 1951) was a Japanese American healer, martial artist, and the founder of
Danzan-ryū is a ryū of jujutsu founded by Seishiro Okazaki (1890–1951) in Hawaii. Danzan-ryū jujutsu is of mainly Japanese origin but is most common on the West Coast of the United States. The Danzan-ryū syllabus is syncretic and includes non-Ja ...
jujitsu. Born in the former village of Kakeda, he immigrated to Hawaii in 1906.


International relations

* Sister cities with Revere, MA, United States, since August 2016 *
2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
"Arigatou" Host Town for the Republic of Guyana as of August, 2019


Notes


External links

* * *Date City Commerce and Tourism Association Portal Site
"Date Megane"
{{Authority control Cities in Fukushima Prefecture Date, Fukushima