260px, Honjō Matsuri 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 77,900 in 35,026 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 870 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Honjō is located on the northwestern border of

, bordered by the upper reaches of 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 ...

to the north.

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 is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 213,303 in 91,789 households, and a population density of 1500 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Isesaki is located in the northwe ...

Tamamura is a town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 36,367 in 15685 households, and a population density of 1440 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Tamamura is located in southern Gun ...

Fukaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 229,517 in 142,803 households in 60804 households and a population density of 1023 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is famous for a ...

* Kamikawa * Kamisato * Minano * Nagatoro

Climate

Honjō 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 Honjō is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1258 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 3.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Honjō peaked around the year 2000 and has declined since.

History

The area of Honjō has been inhabited since prehistoric times and numerous

burial mounds A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

from 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 ...

have been found in the area. During the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, the area was dominated by the Honjō clan, who continued to rule over a

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, ...

and eventually the short-lived Honjō Domain during the early

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 ...

of 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 ...

. After the suppression of Honjō Domain, the town continued to prosper as Honjō-juku, a post station on the Nakasendo highway. During the late Edo period and early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, the area was 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 ...

. The town of Honjō was created within Kodama District, Saitama with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Honjō was elevated to city status on July 1, 1954 by merging with neighboring Fujita, Nitte, Asahi and Kitaizumi villages. On January 10, 2006, the town of Kodama was merged into Honjō.

Government

Honjō 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 21 members. Honjō, together with the towns of Kamikawa and Kamisato, contributes two members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Saitama 11th district , the House of Representatives of Japan is elected from a combination of multi-member districts and single-member districts, a method called parallel voting. Currently, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member districts (called proportional re ...

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 Honjō is based on light and precision manufacturing and agriculture, and the city is also a regional commercial center.

Education

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

has a campus at Honjō *Honjō has 13 public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, there are two private combined middle/high schools and one private high school. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. *International schools: Escola Intercultural Unificada Arco Íris - Brazilian schoolEscolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão

Archive
. Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015. Previously the city hosted another Brazilian school, Centro de Aprendizagem Logos.

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 ...

– Joetsu Shinkansen *

–

Takasaki Line The Takasaki Line () is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). All service ...

–

Hachikō Line The is a 92.0 km (57.2 mi) regional railway line owned and operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is located within Tokyo, Saitama, and Gunma Prefectures in Japan. It connects Hachiōji Station in Hachiōji, Tokyo w ...

Highway

* – Honjō-Kodama IC * * *

Sister cities

Kazo, Saitama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 112,792 in 48,213 households and a population density of 850 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city is noted for is known throughout Jap ...

, Japan *

Shibukawa, Gunma is a city in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,098 in 32,439 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Shibukawa is the location of Ikaho Onsen, a popular hot spring resort. ...

, Japan *

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

Local attractions

* Honjō Circuit, a small motorsports circuit * Honjo City Museum of History and Folklore * Maze Dam * Sagiyama kofun

Notable people

*, actress, a former member of the idol group

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the "official rival" of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshim ...

Yukiko Kada is a Japanese politician and member of the National Diet of Japan, serving as member of the House of Councillors from Shiga Prefecture since 2019. She was the governor of Shiga for two terms from 2006 to 2014. Early life Kada is from Honjō, S ...

, politician *

Jaki Numazawa is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by his stage name . He currently wrestles for Big Japan Pro Wrestling in the Deathmatch division, where he has held the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship on one occasion. Personal life Numa ...

, professional wrestler *

Takekoshi Yosaburō was a Japanese historian and politician, member of the Diet and Privy councillor. He was a graduate of Keiō Gijuku. Takekoshi was a committed advocate of Japanese expansion into the South Seas, rather than China China, officially the ...

, historian and politician

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honjo, Saitama Cities in Saitama Prefecture Honjō, Saitama