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

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

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 74,469 in 31,113 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 280 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Katori Shrine is in the city of Katori, as is the old merchant town and canal of Sawara.

Geography

Katori is located in far northeastern Chiba Prefecture, along the lower 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 ...

. It is about 45 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Chiba and 70 to 80 kilometers from central Tokyo. It is included in the Narita metropolitan area (Narita city) in the urban employment area, and the commuting rate to Narita city is 12.7% (2010 census). It borders Ibaraki prefecture on the opposite bank across the Tone River. The city is in the Kanto Plain, and although there are places along the Tone River that exceed 50 meters, the average elevation of the city is approximately 20 to 40 meters. Parts of the city are located within the borders of the Suigō-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park.

Surrounding municipalities

Chiba Prefecture *

Asahi Asahi (Japanese 朝日, 旭, or あさひ 'morning sun') may refer to: Places in Japan Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi ...

* Kōzaki * Narita * Sōsa * Tako * Tōnoshō

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

* Inashiki * Itako * Kamisu

Climate

Katori 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 Katori is . The average annual rainfall is with October 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,Katori population statistics
/ref> the population of Katori has declined over the past 30 years.

History

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 consisted of the towns of Sawara and Omigawa, and the villages of Katori, Kanishi and Higashi-Daito (founded within Katori District on May 23, 1890). Katori was raised to town status on May 5, 1897. On March 15, 1951, the city of Sawara was formed by the merger of Katori, Sawara, Omigawa and Higashi-Daito. Sawara expanded on February 11, 1955, by annexing the neighboring villages of Niijima, Okura, Mizuho and Tsunomiya. On March 27, 2006, the modern city of Katori was created when Sawara was merged with the towns of Kurimoto, Omigawa and Yamada (all from Katori District).

Government

Katori 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 22 members. Katori, together with the neighboring towns of Kōzaki and Tako, contributes two members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Chiba 10th 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

Katori is a regional commercial center. The economy is primarily agricultural, with rice, chives, onions, and greater burdock as major crops.

Education

Katori has 16 public elementary schools and seven public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school.

Transportation

Railways

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 ...

– Narita Line * - - - -

– Kashima Line *( Sawara -) Katori - Jūnikyō

Highways

* * *

Local attractions

* Kanpuku-ji * Katori Jingu *

Kurobe River The is a river in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The river is in length and has a watershed of . The river rises from Mount Washiba in the Hida Mountains and carves the deep valley known as the Kurobe Gorge. It comes out of the mountains at Un ...

* Suigō Sawara Aquatic Botanical Garden * Yamakurayama Kanpuku-ji

Noted people from Katori

*Nobuyuki Kase, actor *

Kazuo Misaki Kazuo Misaki (, born April 25, 1976) is a retired Japanese professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2013, he was the 2006 PRIDE Welterweight (183 lbs) Grand Prix Champion, and also competed in Sengoku, Pancr ...

, mixed martial artist * Takao Sakurai, professional boxer * Yamamura Shinjiro, Minister of Transport, involved in Japan Airlines Flight 351 hijacking

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Chiba Prefecture 2006 establishments in Japan Populated places established in 2006