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 213,303 in 91,789 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 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Isesaki is located in the northwestern part 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 ...

of southern

. It is adjacent to Saitama Prefecture across 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 ...

, which runs through the southern part of the city. The distance to the center of the city is about from Maebashi City, the prefectural capital of Gunma, from

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 ...

, and about from central

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 ...

Surrounding municipalities

* Kiryū *

Maebashi is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It was ...

* Midori * Ōta * Tamamura

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 * Honjō

Climate

Isesaki 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 Isesaki is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1256 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.3 °C. On June 26, 2022, the temperature in the city reached 40.2 °C, the highest ever recorded in Japan for the month of June.

Demographics

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

History

Isesaki developed during the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

as 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, ...

surrounding Akaishi Castle, a stronghold in southern

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

controlled by the Yura clan. 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 ...

, it was the center of Isesaki 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 ...

controlled by the

Sakai clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Nitta clan, Nitta branch of the Minamoto clan, who were in turn descendants of Emperor Seiwa. Serata (Nitta) Arichika, a samurai of the 14th century, was the common a ...

. The area also contained two

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

s on the

Nikkō Reiheishi Kaidō The was established during the Edo period as a subroute to Nikkō Kaidō. It connected the Nakasendō with the Nikkō Kaidō.Nikkō Kaidō The was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now cal ...

which connected the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

directly with Nikkō, bypassing

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

.Nikkō Reiheishidō
. Mainichi Shinbun. Accessed August 29, 2007.
. City of Takasaki. Accessed August 29, 2007. Isesaki Town was created within Sai 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 ...

. Sai District and Nawa District merged to form Sawa District in 1896. It merged with the villages of Uehasu and Moro to form the city of Isesaki on September 13, 1940. On January 10, 1955 the village of Misato was annexed by Isesaki, followed by the villages of Nawa, Toyouke and Miyagō on March 25 of the same year. On January 1, 2005 the towns of Akabori and

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

, and village of Azuma were incorporated into Isesaki. On April 1, 2007, Isesaki was proclaimed a special city (''tokureishi'') with increased autonomy.

Government

Isesaki 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 29 members. Isesaki contributes five members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Gunma 2nd 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

Isesaki (along with neighboring Kiryū) was traditionally famous 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 ...

since ancient times, with a cloth called "Isesaki Meisen" as one of its most famous products. This cloth has been made since the late 17th century, and became popular during the Meiji and Taishō periods. Now, however, due to the ubiquity of Western-style clothes, its popularity is decreasing. The automotive equipment and

electrical equipment Electrical devices or electric devices are devices that functionally rely on electric energy ( AC or DC) to operate their core parts (electric motors, transformers, lighting, rechargeable batteries, control electronics). They can be contraste ...

manufacturing company

Sanden Corporation is a Japanese, Isesaki, Gunma-based automotive equipment and electrical equipment manufacturing company and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. History Kaihei Ushikubo founded the company, Sankyo Electric Company (Sankyo Denki Co), in Jul ...

is headquartered in Isesaki. Also the city is home to Meisei Electric, a

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

and electronics equipment and electric measuring instruments manufacturing company. Large

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

s have been built in the suburbs, making it one of the leading industrial cities in the northern Kantō region. It is also the location of J-List, a retailer of anime goods, visual novels and related products from Japan.

Education

Universities

Jobu University is a private university in Isesaki, Gunma, Japan, established in 1968. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1950. The university has a secondary campus in the city of Takasaki, Gunma. History * 1968: Jobu University was established (wit ...

* Tokyo University of Social Welfare – Isesaki Campus

Primary and secondary schools

Isesaki has 22 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools operated by the city government, and five public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education. Then prefecture also operates three special education schools for the handicapped. Isesaki has a , Colegio Hispano Americano de Gunma.

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 ...

–

Ryōmō Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Oyama, Tochigi, Oyama in Tochigi Prefecture with Maebashi, Gunma, Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture. long, the line is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The name refers to the ...

* -

Tobu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

–

Tobu Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asak ...

* - - -

Highway

* – Isesaki Interchange, Hashie Parking Area * * * *

Local attractions

* Former home of Tajima Yohei * Grave of Kunisada Chūji * Goshiki Onsen * Isesaki Jinja * Kezouji Park (Amusement park)

Sister cities

* Teradomari, Niigata, Japan, friendship city since 1986 *

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, United States, since 1986 *

Ma'anshan Ma'anshan ( zh, s=马鞍山, t=馬鞍山, p=Mǎ ān Shān), also colloquially written as Maanshan, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of Anhui province in Eastern China. Its aliases include Taiping, Steel City, and Poetry City. An i ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, China, friendship city since 1989

Notable people

* Mitsuru Adachi, manga artist * Tsutomu Adachi, manga artist * Toshi Arai, rally driver * Atsushi Imaruoka, voice actor * Takashi Ishizeki, politician * Mr. Pogo, professional wrestler

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Gunma Prefecture Isesaki, Gunma