Niihama, Ehime

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Niihama (新居浜市, Niihama-shi^?) is a city located in the eastern part of Ehime, Japan. As of May 2004, the city has an estimated population of 127,563 and the density of 544.40 persons per km². The total area is 234.30 km². Niihama has the third largest population in Ehime, behind the prefectural capital of Matsuyama and the recently expanded city of Imabari.

The city was founded on November 3, 1937. The city flower is Azalea and the city tree is Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora). Niihama is famous for its Besshi copper mine as well as the annual Niihama Taiko Festival (also known as "The Man Festival", otokomatsuri 男祭り) that is the center of annual drunken and boisterous activity, drawing tourists from around the country to watch this exciting (and somewhat dangerous!) festival.

Dezhou (徳州: Shandong province, China) is Niihama's sister city.

Niihama is known for its local dialect, Niihama-ben.

Two Taiko floats ram each other in battle in Niihama’s Yamane Park during the Taiko Festival in October, 2004.

Holding up a Taiko float.

Children with a miniature Taiko float at the Niihama Taiko Festival, October 2004.

The gate entrance to Zuioji Temple in Niihama.

The main temple at Zuioji.

The waterfall Chiyoshi no Taki, south Niihama, 2004. A Saijo resident stands in for scale.

Mato no Taki, a waterfall in south Niihama. Its name means Waterfall at the Demon's Door.

A view of Niihama from a cemetery near Takinomiya Park, west Niihama, 2004.

Central Niihama, 2004.

South Niihama, 2004.

1 Geography
2 Economy
3 Transportation
4 Taiko Festival
5 Zuioji Temple
6 Waterfalls
7 Pufferfish Memorial Day
8 External links

[edit] Geography

Niihama is positioned in the north-center area of Shikoku, in the eastern part of Ehime prefecture. Niihama is enveloped by mountains to the south and east, hills to the west, and the Seto Inland Sea to the north. The Kokuryo River flows from the mountains to the Seto Inland Sea and divides the city into an areas east of the river (kawahigashi) and west of the river (kawanishi). Being surrounded by mountains, Niihama feels geographically isolated from its closest neighbors, Saijō to the west and Shikokuchūō to the east. The border with Kochi Prefecture lies in the mountains far south of the center of town.

The island of Ōshima, northeast of the main part of the city, also is part of Niihama.

The largely mountainous village of Besshi joined the city of Niihama in 2003 greatly increasing the size of the city, if not its population.

[edit] Economy

The Besshi copper mine (once considered to be one of the most productive in the world) jump-started the Sumitomo corporation. Even though the mine has since closed (it's legacy is now preserved in a small museum and onsen attraction, Minetopia Besshi), Sumitomo remains a large presence in town. The economy of Niihama is supported largely by factories as well as activities at its ports.

[edit] Transportation

The Japan Railways (JR Shikoku) Yosan Line runs through Niihama. Highways and local roads connect Niihama to the rest of the island. On the highway, Matsuyama is under an hour away, and the other main cities of Shikoku (Takamatsu, Kochi, and Tokushima) are all just over an hour's drive away.

[edit] Taiko Festival

The Niihama Taiko Festival is a harvest festival held over three days in mid-October each year. Each of 45 neighborhoods in Niihama has its own Taiko float, which consists of an ornately decorated center column, covered in gold and silver threads. The column is covered with a red and white fabric top, which symbolically represents the sun; it is surrounded by black curtains with hanging tassels, representing the clouds and rain. The design is intended to show gratitude for a good harvest. Gold dragons often adorn the sides of the float. Inside the float, a drummer beats a taiko drum, providing the rhythm that guides 150 men below, who carry the float by long wooden beams at the float's base.

The floats weigh over two tons and can cost over $100,000US to build. Men and boys as young as 14 begin the festival before sunrise on its first day by carrying all of the floats up a hill near Yamane Park in south Niihama. For three days straight, 12 to 14 hours per day, they carry the floats in parades all over the city and park them for display, drinking copious amounts of sake. Sake bottlers even release commemorative bottles with labels featuring pictures of various float-carrying teams.

The main events include a display of the Taiko floats in Yamane Park, and a parade down Showa-dori, Niihama's somewhat blighted downtown shopping street, ending in the parking lot of the bright new Jusco shopping mall. The Taiko-carrying teams are known to start fights, in which two teams ram their floats into each other until one or both floats are destroyed.

[edit] Zuioji Temple

Zuioji is a Soto Zen temple at the edge of the mountains in south Niihama. It welcomes foreign visitors to participate in a Sunday morning Zazen meditation session, or even to stay overnight. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Niihama.

[edit] Waterfalls

The mountainous area between Niihama and the village of Besshi includes two major waterfalls: Chiyoshi no Taki (Waterfall of the Golden Child) and Mato no Taki (Waterfall at the Demon's Door).

[edit] Pufferfish Memorial Day

A ceremony and luncheon is hosted each February by the Niihama Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association to honor the fugu, the pufferfish that is an expensive delicacy in Japan. After a blessing from a Buddhist monk, each member of the association throws a live fugu into the harbor at Niihama Port. Afterward, they enjoy a lunch of fugu-zosuii, a soup of pufferfish and green onion that is considered a local dish.