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 ...

in Japan, located in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

. , 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 96,786 in 44884 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 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

History

The origin of the name Munakata is said to be from "Minokatachi" or "Minokata" from the enshrinement of three Munakata goddesses, descended from sword of

Susanoo-no-Mikoto __FORCETOC__ Susanoo (, ; Historical kana orthography, historical orthography: , ), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto (), is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical an ...

and mentioned in the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

''. It is believed to have been the site of the kingdom of Matsurokoku, one of the countries described in '' Wajinden'', '' Liangshu'' and ''

History of the Northern Dynasties The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618 CE: the histories of Northern Wei, Wester ...

'', and is the first place where emissaries from China landed on the mainland of Wa. The area was part of ancient Chikugo Province, and prospered from trade with China and Korea from ancient times. From the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

through 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 ...

, Munakata Taisha controlled most of northern

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

, with the Munakata clan ruling as temporal ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' over what is now Onga in the east, south to Wakamiya and Miyata, and Shingū in the west. Munakata Ujisada of Munakata Shrine established Tsutagadake castle (Mount Jo) as a defense from invasion by other warlords such as Tachibana Dōsetsu and the Ōtomo clan. There are also ghost stories connected with the area since the Yamada incident arose. 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 ...

much of the area was under the control of Fukuoka Domain. 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 villages of Akama and Tōgō were established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Akama was raised to town status on June 25, 1898 and Tōgō on October 1, 1925. Both towns merged with the villages of Yoshitake, Nango, and Kawato in Munakata District to form the town of Munakata on April 1, 1954. Munakata was raised to city status on April 1, 1981. On April 1, 2003, Munakata annexed the town of Gekai, followed by the village of Ōshima on March 28, 2005. In the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

on March 20, 2005, damage was done in various parts of the city. The quake registered just under five on the

Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Seismic Intensity Scale (known in Japan as the Shindo seismic scale) is a seismic intensity scale used in Japan to categorize the intensity of local ground shaking caused by earthquakes. The JMA intensit ...

Geography

Munakata is located in northern Fukuoka Prefecture, approximately halfway between Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City. It faces the Gulf of Hibiki and the Genkai Sea, and also includes inhabited islands of Oshima and Jijima, and the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

of Okinoshima offshore. Okinoshima 167245807 org

Mountains

* Mount Hakuzan * Mount Joyama (Mount Tsurugatake) * Mount Kanayama * Mount Kodaishiyama * Mount Konomiyama * Mount Shintateyama * Mount Yugawayama

Rivers

* Tsuri river

Neighboring municipalities

Fukuoka Prefecture * Fukutsu * Koga * Kurate * Miyawaka * Okagaki

Climate

Munakata 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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Munakata is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Munakata was on 21 August 2010; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 19 February 1977.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Munakata in 2020 is 97,095 people. Munakata has been conducting censuses since 1950.

Government

Munakata 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 20 members. Munakata contributes two members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 4th 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

Agriculture,

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 ...

and commerce are the mainstays of the local economy. Munakata belongs to both the Fukuoka metropolitan area and the Kitakyushu metropolitan area, and the commuter percentage is within 10% of both metropolitan areas. It continues to develop as a

commuter town 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 ...

, and the population is increasing because it is located halfway between the two cities and has good transportation links. The city is rich in tourist resources, and is also home to Munakata Taisha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is said to be the guardian deity of maritime and traffic safety.

Education

Colleges and universities

* The Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing * Tokai University Fukuoka Junior College * University of Teacher Education Fukuoka

Primary and secondary education

Munakata has 14 public elementary schools and six public junior high schools operated by the city government and one public combined middle/high schools operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school.

Transportation

Railways

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojiko Station, Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it ...

: - -

Highways

Kyushu Expressway * *

Sister cities

Gimhae Gimhae (, ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, situated near the Nakdong River. It is the seat of the large Gimhae Kim clan, one of the largest Kim (Korean name), Kim clans in Korea, cla ...

Gyeongsangnam-do South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, sister city since 1992. At the time of conclusion, former Munakata City. * Seongsan-eup,

Seogwipo Seogwipo (; ) is the second-largest Administrative divisions of South Korea, city on Jeju Island, settled on a rocky volcanic coastline in the southern part of Jeju Province, South Korea. In July 2006, Seogwipo's boundaries were expanded to inclu ...

, Jeju-do,

, friendship and exchange city since 1991. At the time of conclusion, former Genkai Town and former Seongsan-eup, Namjeju County. *

Kazanlak Kazanlak ( , known as Seuthopolis () in ancient times, is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town in Stara Zagora Province, Bulgaria. It is located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, Balkan mo ...

Stara Zagora Province Stara Zagora (), formerly known as the Stara Zagora okrug, is a province of south-central Bulgaria. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Stara Zagora—the sixth-biggest town in the country. The provin ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, friendship and exchange city since 2010

Local attractions

* Akama, historical district and city center of Munakata. It contains rows of old houses belonging, along two now-ruined castles: Hakusan Castle and Tsutagadake Castle. * Munakata Taisha * Sakurakyō Kofun, National Historic Site * Taguma Ishihatake Site, National Historic Site

Sports facilities

* Genkai Ground, which hosts the Munakata Sanix Blues rugby team * Global Arena, which has hosted the

Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament The Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament is an international rugby union tournament for 15-a-side youth teams which is held every year during the Golden Week (Japan), Golden Week holidays (29 April – 5/6 May) in Fukuoka prefecture, ...

since 2000

Notable people from Munakata

* Toru Abe, actor * Sazō Idemitsu, entrepreneur * Takuji Nakamura, painter * Eri Nobuchika, singer-songwriter

References

External links

Munakata City official website
{{Authority control Cities in Fukuoka Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan