270px, Cherry Blossoms in Habu Park 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

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 ...

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 39,366 in 20466 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 2500 persons per km². The total area of the city is .. It is perhaps best known as the birthplace of actor Ken Takakura.

Location

Nakama is located along the Onga River, bordering Kitakyushu City's Yahatanishi Ward to the east and south. The city is divided into two districts, Kawanishi and Kawahigashi, by the Onga River which flows north-south through the center of the city. Residential areas and commercial facilities are spread out in the eastern region, and approximately 90% of the total population is concentrated in this area. On the other hand, the western region is home to agricultural land, parks, and other green areas, and some

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 are also located there.

Neighboring municipalities

Fukuoka Prefecture *

Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...

* Kurate * Mizumaki * Nōgata

Climate

Nakama 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 Nakama is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1560 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.0 °C. Nakama climate: Average Temperature, weather by month
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Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nakama is as shown below

History

The area of Nakama was part of ancient Chikuzen Province. It has been a thriving area for rice cultivation since ancient times, and many artifacts from the

Yayoi period 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 ...

have been discovered. From 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 ...

to the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, the area of Nakama became the domain of the Aso 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 ...

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 village of Nagatsu (長津村) was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on November 1, 1922, and changed its name to Nakama (中間町) on September 1, 1924. Nakama was raised to city status on November 1, 1958. There were plans for amalgamation, with the city becoming a ward of

, which would have become Nakama-ku, Kitakyushu. A poll (December 2004) stated that 70% of the citizens of Nakama were in favor of the city being absorbed into Kitakyushu. However, on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

2004 Nakama city councilors rejected the merger plan, despite it having initially been proposed by Nakama. The councilors claim that they are rejecting the merger for the good of the city. The suspected main reason was that only 3 of the 21 councilors would be retained afterwards.

Government

Nakama 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 16 members. Nakama contributes one member to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 8th 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

During 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 ...

, Nakama, along with the municipalities of the Chikuho area, developed with the Kitakyushu industrial zone through

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

, and is still considered part of to the Greater Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area. However, as the demand for coal decreased due to the energy revolution, the coal mines that had sponsored prosperity have closed, leading to depopulation. The sites of the former coal mines has been developed into an

Education

Nakama has six public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. There is also one private high school, and the prefecture operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railways

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Chikuhō Main Line The is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Wakamatsu Station in Kitakyushu with Haruda Station in Chikushino, Fukuoka, Chikushino. Between Orio Station and Haruda Station, as ...

: - frameless, 20x20px

Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line The is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, connecting Kurosaki-Ekimae in Kitakyushu with Chikuhō-Nōgata Station in Nōgata, operated by . The line does not have an official name. The company and the line is also called . The company ...

: - -

Highways

Nakama is not served by any National Expressway or National Highway.

Local attractions

Habu Park is the largest park in Nakama, with many cherry blossom trees. The Roofless Museum (Yane No Nai Hakubutsukan), near the JR Nakama Station, is a small green park area with sculptures by artists from around the world. The city is known locally for its

AEON The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...

(formerly

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni ...

) "Shoppers Mall" - a mall with shops, restaurants, a movie theatre (formerly United Cinemas International), a bowling alley, and game centres.

Festivals

Chikuzen Nakama Cherry Blossom Festival (end of March - beginning of April) at Habu Park. Kisshoji Temple

Wisteria ''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae). The genus includes four species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and nor ...

Festival (located in Yahatanishi, near Nakama High School, and held April 27–29. Chikuzen Nakamagawa Festival - held in the Obon season every year on August 15. Includes a fireworks festival and food/game stalls as well. Chikuzen Nakama Yatchare Festival, previously held near Onga River, but now at Harmony Hall, Nakama's biggest festival of the year on the third weekend of October.

Gallery

File:Dotenouchi Lock on Sasaogawa River in Nakama, Fukuoka.jpg, Dotenouchi Lock on Sasaogawa River File:Gate of Daishiji Temple in Nakama, Fukuoka.jpg, Daishiji Temple File:Nakama City Fire Station from Ongabashi Bridge 2.jpg, Fire Station File:Nakama City office.jpg, Nakama City Hall File:Ongagawa River and Sasaogawabashi Bridge from Ongabashi Bridge.jpg, Onga River and Sasaogawabashi Bridge File:Daiei nakama higashi.JPG, Former Daiei Mall (now AEON) File:Ongagawa Source Pump Station 20160618-2.jpg, Onga River Pumping Station

References

External links

*
Nakama City official website

Nakama at Wikimapia
{{Authority control Cities in Fukuoka Prefecture