250px, Nukisaki Shrine 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

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 ...

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 57,013 in 20,367 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 390 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is the location of the

Tomioka Silk Mill is Japan's oldest modern model silk reeling factory, established in 1872 by the government to introduce modern machine silk reeling from France and spread its technology in Japan. The factory is designated by the government as a National Histo ...

, a

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 ...

Geography

Tomioka is located in the southwestern portion of

. *Mountains: Mount Myōgi (1103m) *Rivers: Kabura River *Lakes: Oshio Dam

Surrounding municipalities

Annaka file:The remains of the Usui Magistrate’s office.jpg, 240px, Edo-period Usui Magistrate's office in Annaka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 47,911 in 24,749 households, and ...

* Kanra * Shimonita *

Takasaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as th ...

Climate

Tomioka has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tomioka is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1207 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Tomioka population statistics
/ref> the population of Tomioka has remained relatively steady over the past 60 years.

History

Tomioka is located within traditional

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

. 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 of present-day Tomioka was part of the ''

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 the 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 ...

. It became Tomioka Town within Kitakanra District,

on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system 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 ...

. In 1950 Kitakanra District was renamed Kanra District. On April 1, 1954, Tomioka annexed the neighboring town of Ichinomiya, and the villages of Ono, Kuroiwa, Takase, and Nukabe, and was raised to city status on November 1, 1958. On April 1, 1960 the village of Nyuu was incorporated into Tomioka. On March 27, 2006 Tomioka absorbed the neighboring town of Myōgi.

Government

Tomioka 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 18 members. Tomioka contributes one member to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Gunma 5th 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

* MannanLife, manufacturer of konnyaku jelly, is headquartered in Tomioka.

Education

Tomioka has 11 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

Jōshin Dentetsu - Jōshin Line * - - - - - - -

Highway

* – Tomioka IC *

Local attractions

*Gunma Safari Park was the fifth safari park built in Japan and the first built in eastern Japan. The park's approximate 1000 animals consist of around 100 species. * Nakatakase Kannonyama Site,

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 ...

settlement trace, a National Historic Site * Nukisaki Shrine, the ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...

'' of former

. During the New Year, an estimated 100,000 people visit the shrine to pray for happiness in the year ahead. This is the largest gathering of its kind in Gunma. *Tomioka Museum of Natural History houses 35 exhibits on Gunma's natural history, including about 30 dinosaur skeletons. *

, or Tomioka Silk Factory (富岡製糸工場), built in 1872, was the first of its kind in Japan. The world-heritage brick building was designed by Paul Brunat, a French engineer. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 2014.

Noted people from Tomioka

Tsuruko Haraguchi was a Japanese psychologist and the first Japanese woman to receive a Doctor of Philosophy. Life and career Haraguchi was born in Tomioka, Japan in 1886. Her father was a wealthy farmer and she had two sisters. She attended Takasaki Women's H ...

, psychologist *Mayu Kōma, singer (

tripleS TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

) * Masanobu Takayanagi, cinematographer * Eijirō Tōno, actor

International relations

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; ) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a part of King G ...

, Australia, friendship city

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Gunma Prefecture Tomioka, Gunma