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 195,277 in 87,827 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 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kumagaya is one of the largest cities in northern Saitama Prefecture. About two-thirds of the city area is located 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

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...

, approximately 60 km from central Tokyo and 45 km from the prefectural capital at Saitama City. The highest point in the city is Mikajiri Kannon, which is located on the Kushibiki plateau at an altitude of 83.3 meters. The city is known for its abundant and high quality ground water.

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 ...

* Chiyoda * Oizumi * Ōta

* Fukaya * Gyōda *

Higashimatsuyama is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 90,456 in 41,124 households and a population density of 1400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Higashimatsuyama ...

* Kōnosu * Namegawa * Ranzan * Yoshimi

Climate

Kumagaya 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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kumagaya is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1532 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C. Kumagaya is known for being one of the hottest areas in summer in Japan. This is caused by very hot winds from Tokyo and the Chichibu basin in the west of the prefecture. In central Tokyo, the summer

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

enhanced by

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...

is heated by the

urban heat island Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...

. Also, from the Chichibu Mountains, the Föhn blows. The two winds converge above the city at about 2 p.m. On August 16, 2007, the city recorded air temperature of , breaking the 74-year record for the highest temperature recorded in Japan. is a catchphrase of the city. On July 23, 2018, the national record was broken again with a temperature of , surpassing the previous record of recorded in Kōchi Prefecture in August 2013. There was a large

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

storm on June 29, 1917 at about 5 p.m. The hailstones had a diameter of 29.5 centimetres and weighed 3.4 kilograms. The

Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...

maintains a local meteorological observatory in Kumagaya.

Demographics

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

History

Kumagaya was part of ancient

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

and was controlled by various

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

clans from the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. One of these clans, the Kumagaya clan, rose to prominence 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 ...

. 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 ...

, the area was divided between the holdings of Oshi Domain and ''

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 under direct control of 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 ...

. Kumagai-shuku developed as a

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 ...

on 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'' ...

highway during this period. 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 town of Kumagaya was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. * 1923: The village of Koizka (from Osato District) was annexed. * 1927: The village of Narita (from Kita-Saitama District) was annexed. * 1932: The village of Oohata (from Osato District) was annexed. * 1933: Kumagaya was elevated to city status. * 1941: The village of Sayada (from Osato District) was annexed. * 1945: Bombing of Kumagaya in World War II * 1954: The villages of Chujo, Beppu, Nara and Mishiri (all from Osato District) were annexed. * 1955: The villages of Yoshioka, Ooi and Hoshimiya (all from Osato District) were annexed. * 1967: 22nd National Sports Festival was held. * 1973: New City Hall was opened. * 1986: Central Park was opened. * 1988: Saitama Exhibition was held. * 1988: Sports Park was opened. * 1994: Beppu-marsh Park was opened. * 2004: 59th National Sports Festival was held. * 2005: The city of Kumagaya annexed the towns of Ōsato and Menuma (both from Ōsato District) * 2007: The town of Kōnan (from Ōsato District) was annexed.

Government

Kumagaya 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 30 members. Kumagaya contributes three members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Saitama 11th district and Saitama 12th 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 ...

Administration

*The city has one city hall and three branch offices. ** ** ** ** File:Kumagaya city hall.jpg, Kumagaya City Hall File:Kumagaya city hall Konan branch 1.JPG, Kumagaya City Hall - Konan branch File:Kumagaya city hall Menuma branch 2.JPG, Kumagaya City Hall - Menuma branch File:Kumagaya city hall Osato branch 1.JPG, Kumagaya City Hall - Osato branch

Mayors

* : April 1933 to May 1939—1st, 2nd * : June 1936 to April 1942—3rd * : April 1942 to November 1945—4th * : January 1946 to March 1947—5th * : April 1947 to April 1958—6th to 8th * : May 1958 to May 1962—9th * : May 1962 to May 1982—10th to 14th * : May 1982 to June 1986—15th, 16th * : August 1986 to August 2002—17th to 20th * : August 3, 2003 to September 30, 2005—21st * : October 1, 2005 to November 5, 2005—Interim mayor * : November 6, 2005 to November 5, 2021 * November 6, 2021 to present

Economy

Kumagaya is a major industrial and commercial center within northern Saitama. Eight national highways and three railway lines serve the city. While many people commute towards south Tokyo, its daytime population is larger than the night population thanks to commuters from surrounding towns.

Education

* Kumagaya has one private university. There are 30 public elementary schools and 17 public middle schools operated by the city government, and seven public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, there are two public and six private vocational training schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

Universities

* Rissho University—Kumagaya campus

Senior high schools

* Kumagaya Boys' Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷高等学校) * Nishi-Kumagaya Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷西高等学校) * Kumagaya Girls' Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷女子高等学校) * Menuma Senior High School (埼玉県立妻沼高等学校) * Kumagaya Industrial Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷工業高等学校) * Kumagaya Agricultural Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷農業高等学校) * Kumagaya Business Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷商業高等学校)

Middle schools

* Arakawa Middle School (熊谷市立荒川中学校) * Ōaso Middle School (熊谷市立大麻生中学校) * Ōsato Middle School (熊谷市立大里中学校) * Ōhata Middle School (熊谷市立大幡中学校) * Ōhara Middle School (熊谷市立大原中学校) * Higashi-Kumagaya Junior High School (熊谷市立熊谷東中学校) * Kounan Middle School (熊谷市立江南中学校) * Kojima Middle School (熊谷市立小島中学校) * Tamai Middle School (熊谷市立玉井中学校) * Chūjō Middle School (熊谷市立中条中学校) * Nara Middle School (熊谷市立奈良中学校) * Fujimi Middle School (熊谷市立富士見中学校) * Beppu Middle School (熊谷市立別府中学校) * Mishiri Middle School (熊谷市立三尻中学校) * Nishi-Menuma Middle School (熊谷市立妻沼西中学校) * Higashi-Menuma Middle School (熊谷市立妻沼東中学校) * Yoshioka Middle School (熊谷市立吉岡中学校)

Elementary schools

* Ishiwara Elementary School(熊谷市立石原小学校) * Ōaso Elementary School (熊谷市立大麻生小学校) * Ōta Elementary School (熊谷市立太田小学校) * Ōhata Elementary School (熊谷市立大幡小学校) * Onuma Elementary School (熊谷市立男沼小学校) * Ichida Elementary School (熊谷市立市田小学校) * Kagohara Elementary School (熊谷市立籠原小学校) * Kuge Elementary School (熊谷市立久下小学校) * Nishi-Kumagaya Elementary School (熊谷市立熊谷西小学校) * Higashi-Kumagaya Elementary School (熊谷市立熊谷東小学校) * Minami-Kumagaya Elementary School (熊谷市立熊谷南小学校) * Kita-Kōnan Elementary School (熊谷市立江南北小学校) * Minami-Kōnan Elementary School (熊谷市立江南南小学校) * Kojima Elementary School (熊谷市立小島小学校) * Sakuragi Elementary School (熊谷市立桜木小学校) * Sayada Elementary School (熊谷市立佐谷田小学校) * Tamai Elementary School (熊谷市立玉井小学校) * Chūjō Elementary School (熊谷市立中条小学校) * Nara Elementary School (熊谷市立奈良小学校) * Nagai Elementary School (熊谷市立長井小学校) * Narita Elementary School (熊谷市立成田小学校) * Niibori Elementary School (熊谷市立新堀小学校) * Hata Elementary School (熊谷市立秦小学校) * Beppu Elementary School (熊谷市立別府小学校) * Hoshimiya Elementary School (熊谷市立星宮小学校) * Mishiri Elementary School (熊谷市立三尻小学校) * Menuma Elementary School (熊谷市立妻沼小学校) * Minami-Menuma Elementary School (熊谷市立妻沼南小学校) * Yoshioka Elementary School (熊谷市立吉岡小学校) * Yoshimi Elementary School (熊谷市立吉見小学校)

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 ...

– Joetsu Shinkansen *

–

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

Highway

* * * *

Sister cities

Kumagaya is twinned with: *

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

, New Zealand

Local attractions

* Kangi-in temple with architecture designated as a National Treasure

Notable people from Kumagaya

* Kensei Hasegawa, Politician * Masami Kuwashima, racing driver * Dump Matsumoto, professional wrestler * Peach Momoko, artist and writer

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Saitama Prefecture