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

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 ( ...

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 229,517 in 142,803 households in 60804 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 1023 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is famous for a variety of welsh onions or .

Geography

Fukaya is located on the northern border of Saitama Prefecture, in the flatlands of the

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 ...

, in-between the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano River) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the ...

and the Arakawa River .

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 * Ōta

* Honjō * Kumagaya * Misato * Ranzan * Yorii

Climate

Fukaya 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 ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Fukaya is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1270 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 3.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fukaya has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

History

Fukaya was the site of a castle built by the

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries).Georges Appert, Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its heigh ...

in 1456, and later the site of Okabe Domain a feudal domain under the

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 ...

. In the Edo era, Fukaya-shuku was a major post town on the Nakasendō (中山道) highway, boasting over 80 inns. The town of Fukaya was established within Hanzawa District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Hanzawa District was abolished in 1896, becoming part of Ōsato District. Fukaya merged with the villages of Aketo, Hatara, Oyori and Fujisawa on January 1, 1955, and was elevated to city status. It annexed the village of Toyosato on April 1, 1973. On January 1, 2006, the towns of Hanazono, Kawamoto and Okabe (all from Ōsato District) were merged into Fukaya.

Government

Fukaya has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 24 members. Fukaya, together with the towns of Misato and Yorii, contributes three members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 11th 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 Fukaya is dominated by agriculture, with welsh onions and tulips as famous local crops. Industrial parks are located in the eastern portion of the city, and the manufacture of bricks is a major local industry.

Education

Universities

* Saitama Institute of Technology (埼玉工業大学) * Tohto College of Health Sciences (東都医療大学)

High schools

* Prefectural Fukaya High School (埼玉県立深谷高等学校) * Prefectural Fukaya Commercial High School (埼玉県立深谷商業高等学校) * Prefectural Fukaya Daiichi High School (埼玉県立深谷第一高等学校) * Private Shōchi Fukaya High School (私立正智深谷高等学校) * Private Tokyo Seitoku University Fukaya High School (私立東京成徳大学深谷高等学校)

Middle schools

* Municipal Fukaya Middle School (市立深谷中学校) * Municipal Kamishiba Middle School (市立上柴中学校) * Municipal Fujisawa Middle School (市立藤沢中学校) * Municipal Hatara Middle School (市立幡羅中学校) * Municipal Aketo Middle School (市立明戸中学校) * Municipal Toyosato Middle School (市立豊里中学校) * Municipal Okabe Middle School (市立岡部中学校) * Municipal Hanazono Middle School (市立花園中学校) * Municipal Kawamoto Middle School (市立川本中学校) * Municipal Minami Middle School (市立南中学校)

Elementary schools

* Municipal Fukaya Elementary School (市立深谷小学校) * Municipal Fukaya West Elementary School (市立深谷西小学校) * Municipal Kamishiba East Elementary School (市立上柴東小学校) * Municipal Kamishiba West Elementary School (市立上柴西小学校) * Municipal Sakuragaoka Elementary School (市立桜ヶ丘小学校) * Municipal Fujisawa Elementary School (市立藤沢小学校) * Municipal Hatara Elementary School (市立幡羅小学校) * Municipal Tokiwa Elementary School (市立常盤小学校) * Municipal Ōyori Elementary School (市立大寄小学校) * Municipal Aketo Elementary School (市立明戸小学校) * Municipal Toyosato Elementary School (市立豊里小学校) * Municipal Yatsumoto Elementary School (市立八基小学校) * Municipal Okabe Elementary School (市立岡部小学校) * Municipal Okabe West Elementary School (市立岡部西小学校) * Municipal Hanzawa Elementary School (市立榛沢小学校) * Municipal Hongō Elementary School (市立本郷小学校) * Municipal Hanazono Elementary School (市立花園小学校) * Municipal Kawamoto North Elementary School (市立川本北小学校) * Municipal Kawamoto South Elementary School (市立川本南小学校)

Transportation

Railway

JR East 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 ...

– Takasaki Line * - 18px Chichibu Railway – Chichibu Main Line * - - - -

Highway

* – Hanazono IC * * *

Sister cities

Dalby, Queensland Dalby () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dalby had a population of 12,758 people. It is on the Darling Downs and is the administrativ ...

, Australia * Fremont, California, United States, since January 26, 1980Consolidation of Local Governments in Japan and Effects on Sister City Relationships
," ''Consulate General of Japan, San Francisco'' * Shunyi District,

Beijing, China Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, since November 7, 1995

Local attractions

*Site of Fukaya Castle *Birthplace of Shibusawa Eiichi *Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Museum *Takinomiya Jinja

Mascot

Fukka-chan is the city’s local character (Yuru-chara), as well as a mascot. It was created on June 28, 2010. It is said to be a fictitious life form like a rabbit and a deer. Fukka-chan is widely described as a city’s popular mascot character.

Notable people from Fukaya

* Shibusawa Eiichi, industrialist * Mimura, actress * Momoka Muraoka, para-alpine skier * Yasuo Takei, founder of Takefuji

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture Fukaya, Saitama