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 136,023 in 63,431 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 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kisarazu is located in the midwestern part of the

Bōsō Peninsula The is a peninsula that encompasses the entirety of Chiba Prefecture on Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula covers ...

, approximately 30 kilometers southwest of the prefectural capital at Chiba and 70 to 80 kilometers from central Tokyo. The

Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line The , also known as the Trans-Tokyo Bay Expressway, is an expressway that is mainly made up of a bridge–tunnel combination across Tokyo Bay in Japan. It connects the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture with the city of Kisarazu in Chiba P ...

, a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

across

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

, connects Kisarazu and the cities of Kawasaki and

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, shortening the road distance to central Tokyo to 30 to 40 kilometers. The city area extends from east to west, and the western part of the city is the flat land of the

Kanto Plain Japanese Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ''Pokémon ...

, and the eastern part is the plateau of the Kisarazu Plateau and the Boso Hill Range. The Tokyo Bay coastal area is an industrial landfill from the south coast of Kisarazu Port to the direction of

Kimitsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 83,058 in 39,138 households and a population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview The area along Tokyo ...

. The city's main river is the Obitsu River, which is the second longest river in the prefecture after 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 has a total length of 88 kilometers. There are no particularly high mountains in the city, and even the highest point is about 200 meters above sea level.

Neighboring municipalities

Chiba Prefecture * Ichihara *

Sodegaura 260px, Sodegaura park is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 64,901 in 28,156 households and a population density of 680 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Sodegaura loc ...

Climate

Kisarazu 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 Kisarazu 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,Kisarazu population statistics
/ref> the population of Kisarazu has increased substantially over the past 70 years.

History

Early history

The area of modern Kisarazu has been inhabited since the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC, with recent authors suggesting that there is good evi ...

period, and numerous remains from the Jōmon,

Yayoi The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

and

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 ...

s have been found within the city limits. The area also is prominent in the

Yamatotakeru , originally , was a Japanese folk hero and semi-legendary prince of the imperial dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. The kanji spelling of his name varies: it appears in the ''Nihon Shoki'' ...

mythology. Under the ''

Ritsuryō is the historical Japanese legal system, legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (). ''Kya ...

'' system of the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, the area became part of

Kazusa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. The province was located in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula, whose name takes its first ''kanji'' from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa province ...

. The area was contested between the

Later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply , but were called "Later Hōjō" to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan who h ...

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

and

Satomi clan The was a Japanese samurai clan of the Sengoku period (1467–1573) and early Edo period (1603–1868). The clan ruled Awa Province as a ''Sengoku daimyō'' and was a major military power in the Kantō region during the wars of the Nanboku-c ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

, part of the area was under the control of the feudal domain of Jōzai, with large portions as ''

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 controlled directly by the Shogunate and administered by numerous ''

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...

.''

Meiji Restoration and Kisarazu Prefecture

Kisarazu was part of the complex reconfiguration of administrative areas at the start of the

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 ...

. In 1871, as part of the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

, the

Sakurai Domain Sakurai may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Sakurai, Nara, a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan ** Sakurai Line, a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company in Nara Prefecture ** Sakurai Station (Nara), a railway station in Sakurai, Nara ...

, located partly in Kisarazu, was abolished and "Sakurai Prefecture" was established. In November of the same year, the prefecture was combined with the former Awa Province and

to form "Kisarazu Prefecture". The prefectural seat was established in the present-day Kaifuchi district of Kisarazu. Kisarazu Prefecture was established two years later in 1873. It was combined with Inba Prefecture to form present-day Chiba Prefecture. Kisarazu Town, founded on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

World War II and post-war period

Kisarazu was developed as a center for military activity as part of the

militarization Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of mil ...

of Japan in the 1930s. In 1935-1936 the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

, established the

Kisarazu Air Field is a military aerodrome of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force . It is located north northwest of Kisarazu in the Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Operations JGSDF Kisarazu is home to the JGSDF 1st Helicopter Brigade, which is attached to the Central ...

for the Kisarazu Air Group on

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

in the northern part of Kisarazu to protect Tokyo from attack. The base served as an

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, and employed up to 17,000 workers during the war. It was this site that received the remains of Admiral

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. He commanded the fleet from 1939 until his death in 1943, overseeing the start of the Pacific War in 1941 and J ...

after being transported back to Japan aboard . The Nakajima ''Kikka'', Japan's first jet-powered aircraft, was tested at the base in 1945. The base was used by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

from 1945 as "Kisarazu Air Base". In 1956, the base was officially transferred to the control of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

(JASDF). On November 3, 1942. Kisarazu Town, Iwane Village, Kiyokawa Village, and Namioka Village marged to form Kisarazu City. Kisarazu was expanded through merger with neighboring Aoyagi Town on March 31, 1955, and again through merger with Amaha Town and Osawa Town on April 25, 1971.

Government

Kisarazu 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 24 members. Kisarazu contributes two members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Chiba 12th district Chiba 12th district (千葉県第12区, ''Chiba-ken dai-ju-niku '' or simply 千葉12区, ''Chiba-ju-niku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan located in Chiba Prefecture. Areas covered ...

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

Kisarazu has a mixed economy based on

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

, agriculture, and heavy industry along its Tokyo Bay shoreline. It serves as the commercial center for central

, and is increasingly a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for neighboring Kimitsu and the Kawasaki –

metropolis across

. The opening of the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line has also resulted in the creation of a number of factory outlet shopping malls, and the development of

new town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

s, and land prices increased dramatically in the 1980s through 2000s.

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 ...

–

Uchibō Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) adjacent to Tokyo Bay, paralleling the western (i.e., inner) shore of the Bōsō Peninsula. It connects Soga Station in the city of Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa Station in t ...

* -

–

Kururi Line The is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kisarazu Station in Kisarazu to Kazusa-Kameyama Station in Kimitsu. The railway route extends through three cities, Kimitsu, ...

* - - - ---

Highway

* * * * * * *

Seaports

* Port of Kisarazu

Education

* Seiwa University * Kisazaru has 18 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private elementary school, two private middle schools, and four private high schools.

Local attractions

* Enmyō-in - Buddhist temple * Kōzō-ji - 30th temple in the

Bandō Sanjūsankasho The ("The Bandō 33 Kannon Pilgrimage") is a series of 33 Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan sacred to Kannon. Bandō is the old name for what is now the Kantō region,Donald Richie used in this case because the temples are all in the Prefecture ...

the circuit of 33 Buddhist temples in eastern Japan * Nakanoshima Park (Kisarazu)

Sister cities

* Bogor, West Java,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, since November 18, 2016 *

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city had a population of 174,068 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in the Nort ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, since June 29, 1990

Notable people from Kisarazu

Kaori Fukuhara is a Japanese voice actress. She worked on the music group Bohemian Quarter's album "Blister Pack Voices". She and Emiri Kato were in a duo music group called Kato*Fuku, which sang theme songs for ''When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplac ...

, voice actress *

Miyuki Miura is a prominent Japanese master of karate, first practising Shotokan, then Kyokushin, then World Ōyama, and now operating independently.Yussof, S. (''c.'' 2005)Miyuki MiuraRetrieved on March 22, 2010. Early life Miura was born on October 3, ...

, karate master *

Akira Nakao was a Japanese actor, television personality, and artist from Kisarazu, Chiba. He was represented by the Furutachi Project agency. Biography Nakao attended Chiba Prefectural Kisarazu High School from 1958, and entered Musashino Art University ...

, actor *

Haruo Oka , real name , was a Japanese ''ryūkōka'' singer. He studied music as an enka-shi or a street musician. At that time, he was encouraged by Taro Shoji in Ginza. He signed with King Records in 1938. He debuted with song "Kokkyō no Haru" (国境 ...

, musician *

Hideki Takahashi is a Japanese people, Japanese actor. Born in Kisarazu, Chiba near Tokyo, he attended Ichikawa Gakuen and later Nihon University. Career Takahashi made his debut with Nikkatsu Corporation, Nikkatsu and acted in youth-oriented films. Takahashi ma ...

, actor

In popular culture

Kisarazu's profile has been raised in recent times by the popularity of the TV show and subsequent film, ''

Kisarazu Cat's Eye is a Japanese comedy television show and movie series. There have been two Kisarazu Cat's Eye movies: ''Kisarazu Cat's Eye Nihon Series'' (also known as ''Kisarazu Cats' Eye - Go Major!'') (2003) and ''Kisarazu Cat's Eye World Series'' (also know ...

'', which were set and filmed in the city.

Gallery

File:Kisarazu 008.JPG, Kisarazu Station File:Kisarazu 011.JPG, Port of Kisarazu File:Kisarazu air.jpg, JGSDF Kisarazu Air Field File:YanaRiver Kisarazu.JPG, Yana River, Kisarazu File:UmihotaruPA.JPG, Umi-hotaru (Sea firefly) Parking Service area and Kisarazu File:Yassaimossai 2011.jpg, Yassai-Mossai (Sokonoke-Sokonoke) Dancing Event on August 14 File:Fireworks Kisarazu port2013.jpg, Kisarazu Port Festival (Minato-Matsuri) Fireworks Festival on August15

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Chiba Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Port settlements in Japan Populated places established in 1942 1942 establishments in Japan