Chiba, Chiba

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**Chiba City**
**千葉市**
Chiba City's location in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Chiba Prefecture
Physical characteristics
Area	272.08 km²
Population (as of 2006)
Total	929,363
Density	3,415.77/km²
Location	35°37′7″N, 140°7′51″E
Symbols
Tree	Keyaki
Flower	Nelumbo nucifera
Chiba City City Hall
Address	〒260-8722 1-1, Chiba-minato, Chūō-ku, Chiba
Phone number	043-245-5111
Official website: Chiba City

Coordinates: 35°37′7″N, 140°7′51″E

Chiba (千葉市 Chiba-shi) is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is east-southeast of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay.

Chiba City is one of the Kantō region's primary seaports. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses along the coast. Makuhari district is a prime waterfront business district, in which Makuhari Messe is located.

1 History
2 Wards
3 Demographics
4 Chiba in fiction
5 Sports
6 Sister cities
7 Transportation
8 Trivia
9 External links

[edit] History

The city was founded on January 1, 1921 and was designated on April 1, 1992 by government ordinance.

In the Heian period, the first records related to the city of Chiba record the emigration of Taira Tsuneshige (平常重) to Chiba. He proclaimed himself "Chiba no Suke" (千葉介) and governed around the region we know as Chiba city today. His descendants claimed the family name of "Chiba" and continued dominance of this region until the Muromachi period. In the Kamakura period, Chiba Tsunetane (千葉常胤) helped Minamoto Yoritomo (源頼朝) establish the Kamakura Bakufu. This made the Chiba clan important in the Kamakura Bakufu. He built Inohana castle on Inohana mountain and moved his headquarters to it from Oohji castle.

Their power and influence declined because of wars around the Kantō region during the Nanboku-cho and Muromachi periods. In the 16th century, instead of the Chiba clan, the Hara clan, which was one of the servants of Chiba clan, wielded power in this region. In the Sengoku period, the Hara clan was forcibly removed by Yoshiaki Ashikaga (足利義明, not to be confused with 足利義昭). Then, Yoshiaki Ashikaga was also removed by the Sakai (酒井 not to be the Sakai clan in Mikawa) clan, which was one of the servants of the Satomi (里見) clan. Finally both the Chiba and Sakai clans were annihilated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

In the Edo period, both the Oyumi (生実)　(Morikawa (森川)) clan and the Sakura (佐倉) clan governed the region. A part of the region was governed directly by the Tokugawa Bakufu. The Oyumi clan governed their territory stably. On the other hand, according to the Sakura clan, in the beginning of the Edo period, the governor was frequently changed by various events, such as Takeda Nobuyoshi (武田信吉), Matsudaira Tadateru (松平忠輝). Ogasawara Yoshitsugu (小笠原吉次), Doi Toshikatsu (土井利勝) and so on. Finally the Hotta (堀田) clan stably governed their territory.

[edit] Wards

Chūō-ku

Hanamigawa-ku

Inage-ku

Midori-ku

Mihama-ku

Wakaba-ku

Chiba has six wards (ku):

Chūō-ku
Hanamigawa-ku
Inage-ku
Midori-ku
Mihama-ku
Wakaba-ku

[edit] Demographics

As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 909,497 and a density of 3,342.76 persons per km². The total area is 272.08 km².

[edit] Chiba in fiction

William Gibson used a futuristic Chiba as one of the main settings for his novel Neuromancer, also referred in some of his other stories.

[edit] Sports

Chiba is home to several professional sports teams:

Club	Sport	League	Venue	Established
Chiba Lotte Marines	Baseball	Pacific League	Chiba Marine Stadium	1950
JEF United Ichihara Chiba	Football	J. League	Ichihara Rinkai Studium Fukuda Denshi Arena	1946

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Air

Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport are the closest major airports.

[edit] Rail

Chiba Station

The Chiba Urban Monorail runs through Chiba City. The major intercity railway stations are Chiba Station , (Sobu Line, Sotobo Line, Uchibo Line, Sobu Main Line, Narita Line, transfer for Chiba Urban Monorail) , Keisei Chiba Station (Keisei Chiba Line), and Soga Station , (Keiyo Line , Sotobo Line, Uchibo Line) all in Chūō-ku.