| Kawaguchi 川口 |
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| — Special city — | |||
| 川口市 | |||
| Kawaguchi city office | |||
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| Location of Kawaguchi in Saitama | |||
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Kawaguchi
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Kanto | ||
| Prefecture | Saitama | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Koshiro Okamura (since May 1997) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 55.75 km2 (21.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (January 1, 2011) | |||
| • Total | 517,171 | ||
| • Density | 9,276.61/km2 (24,026.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
| City symbols | |||
| - Tree | Camellia sasanqua | ||
| - Flower | Lilium longiflorum | ||
| Phone number | 048-258-1110 | ||
| Address | 2-1-1 Aoki 332-0031 |
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| Website | Japanese English | ||
Kawaguchi (川口市 Kawaguchi-shi) is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1933.
As of January 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 517,171, the second largest in Saitama Prefecture after Saitama, and a population density of 9,276.61 persons per km². The total area is 55.75 km². On October 11, 2011, Kawaguchi City absorbed the neighboring city of Hatogaya.
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After the last ice age, during early and middle Jomon period, most of the area which is now Kawaguchi City were under sea level except for the area which is now Omiya Tableland. (Japanese: ) Ancient people living in this area left several shell heaps, in which a lot of shells, Jomon pottery, and pit houses were dug up.
In Kofun period, countless barrows were constructed particularly in the west of Japan. Some barrows were also found in Kawaguchi, the largest one is Takainari Barrow, which was destroyed because of the use of the soil in 1960.
In middle ages, Kawaguchi was part of Musashi province, which included entire Saitama, Tokyo, and part of Kanagawa prefecture. It is not known when people started using the name Kawaguchi, but in a tale of war named Gikeiki, which was reportedly written in around 1300, there was a name of Ko Kawaguchi, that means little Kawaguchi. However, it is not proven that the name designated current Kawaguchi.
Once Tokugwa Ieyasu, a founder of Tokugawa Shogunate, died in 1616, Tokugawa shogunate established Kawaguchi Juku(Japanese:川口宿) on the Nikko Onari Kaido, a road used by shoguns to visit Nikko Toshogu, a shrine for worship of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hence, a dozen hotels were built to serve travelers there.
As Edo, now Tokyo, increased its importance as both political and industrial gravity, demand for metal products increased. Because of proximity to Tokyo and convenient water transportation using Arakawa River, Kawaguchi became the center of casting industry. A lot of orders of military weapons from Tokugawa shogunate and many Daimyos, governors of a province, to fight against foreign countries during late Edo period made Kawaguchi more and more competitive casting town. Since then casting have been the symbol of Kawaguchi.
In 1910 Kawaguchi-machi Station opened, which was the first train station in Kawaguchi.
On April 1, 1933, Kawaguchi City was established with merger of Kawaguchi-machi, Aoki-mura, Minami-Hirayanagi-mura, and Yokozone-mura. Kawaguchi City was the second city in Saitama Prefecture, after Kawagoe City. Following this merger, in 1940 with Hatogaya-machi, Shiba-mura, Kamine-mura, and Shingo-mura, in 1956 with part of Angyo-mura, in 1962 with part of Misono-mura, Kawaguchi City expanded its territory. However, Hatogaya-machi separated from Kawaguchi City in 1948 in accordance with the referendum. Kawaguchi had been the most populous city in Saitama until Urawa overtook Kawaguchi. Now, Kawaguchi is the second most populated city in Saitama Prefecture after Saitama City, the capital city of Saitama Prefecture.
Kawaguchi underwent a lof of disasters, such as flood, earthquake and war. Arakawa River inundated Kawaguchi countless times and ruined agricultures, which resulted in devastating famine. Also in 1923, Great Kanto Earthquake struck Kawaguchi, and 99 people were killed, but fortunately no fire occurred unlike Tokyo and Yokohama. It could have been much worse.
Currently, the population of Kawaguchi continues to increase, and many tall apartment buildings are being built around train stations, so Kawaguchi Station area looks like skyscraper. This is because many casting foundries moved to suburb industrial parks and the sites turned into apartment buildings, whereas in suburb areas nature still remains and they are good healing spots for citizens of Kawaguchi.[1]
On 11 October, 2011, Kawaguchi merged Hatogaya, which is surrounded by Kawaguchi and was once part of Kawaguchi. The name of the new city will remain Kawaguchi.
Kawaguchi is located in almost center of Kanto Plain , and borders Kita-ku and Adachi-ku to the south, Toda and Warabi to the west, Saitama City to the north, Koshigaya and Soka to the east. Most area of the city is flat and mainly used for residential area except for Omiya tableland, which occupies the part of north and east area. Arakawa River runs across the border with Kita-ku to the south.
| Year | Population[2] |
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| 1933 | 45,573 |
| 1945 | 97,709 |
| 1955 | 130,545 |
| 1965 | 231,193 |
| 1975 | 335,864 |
| 1980 | 373,123 |
| 1990 | 433,262 |
| 2000 | 455,886 |
| 2009 | 491,343 |
As of May 1, 2010, registered population was 516,409, including 20,808 alien residents, continuing a trend of population growth in the city since 1933 when the city was founded. There has been a gradual increase in the number of non-Japanese residents living in the city because of the convenient location to Tokyo and relatively low rent. Now, the number of people from China is the largest, followed by Korea and Philippines.[3]
Kawaguchi is a typical suburb city of Tokyo metropolitan area, where population greatly changes between daytime and nighttime due to commute to big cities, especially to Tokyo. In mid 1990s, population growth rate declined, but recent apartment construction boom in the city helps increase population growth rate again. The number of children continues to decrease in accordance with the decline of number of birth: 4,735 in 2009 down from the highest number of 7,932 in 1971. By contrast, the rate of people over the age of 65 is increasing, approximately 18.5% as of January 1, 2010. Yet the number is below the national average.[2]
Three railway lines run through Kawaguchi: the Keihin-Tohoku Line south to north in the west, the Musashino Line east to west in the north, and the Saitama Rapid Railway Line south to north in the central. Kawaguchi Station is the busiest station in the city in term of the number of passengers. The Keihin-Tohoku Line and Saitama Rapid Railway Line directly connect the city with central Tokyo.
Kawaguchi City has a highly developed bus network, mainly operated by Kokusai Kogyo Bus. The east region of the city is relatively far from train stations, many people use buses to the nearest train stations. Some bus routes have over twenty bus services an hour in the morning.[4]
Three Highway routes listed below run through the city.
Most elementary and junior high school students living in the city attend the schools administered by the city. It was not until recently that could students select the school they would attend, so they had to enroll in the schools located in the district where they lived. In 2003 for junior highs, in 2005 for elementary schools, the city educational council reformed the system to allow students to select the school they will attend. However, if applications are overbooked, lotteries will be conducted.[5]
(all managed by the city)
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(all managed by the city)
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Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kawaguchi,_Saitama Kawaguchi, Saitama] at Wikimedia Commons
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