| Shimada 島田市 |
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| — City — | |
| Location of Shimada in Shizuoka | |
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Shimada
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Chūbu |
| Prefecture | Shizuoka |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Katsurō Sakurai |
| Area | |
| • Total | 315.88 km2 (122 sq mi) |
| Population (February 2010) | |
| • Total | 100,846 |
| • Density | 319/km2 (826.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) |
| City symbols | |
| - Tree | osmanthus |
| - Flower | rose, azalea |
| - Bird | Blue-and-White Flycatcher |
| Phone number | 547-37-8200 |
| Address | 1-1 Chūō-chō, Shimada-shi, Shizuoka-ken 427-8501 |
| Website | www.city.shimada.shizuoka.jp/hisyokouhou/English.jsp |
Shimada (島田市 Shimada-shi) is a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 100,846 and a population density of 319 persons per km². The total area is 315.88 km².
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Shimada is located in the Shida Plains of west-central Shizuoka Prefecture. It is located on both banks of the Ōi River. The area enjoys a warm maritime climate with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.
Shimada (Kanaya) began as an outlying fortification to Kakegawa Castle erected by Yamauchi Kazutoyo in the Sengoku period to control the crossing of the Ōi River. In the Edo period, Kanaya-juku and Shimada-juku developed as post towns on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. The area was mostly tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate with a daikansho based at a Jinya located within Shimada-juku. As the Tokugawa shogunate forbade the construction of any bridge or establishment of a ferry service on the Ōi River for defensive purposes, travellers were often detained at either Shimada or Kanaya for days, sometimes weeks, waiting for the river levels to fall to fordable levels. The first bridge (the Hōrai Bridge) across the river connected these two towns in 1879, after the Meiji Restoration.
During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period in 1889, Kanaya Town was created within Haibara District, and Shimada Town within Shida District. On April 16, 1889, the two towns were connected by rail, with the opening of Shimada Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line.
Shimada was elevated to city status on January 1, 1948. On January 1, 1955, it annexed neighboring Rokugo Village, Otsu Village, Daichō Village and a portion of Ikumi Village. On June 1, 1961 it further expanded through annexation of Hatsukura Village. In May 2005, Shimada and the town of Kanaya finally merged. On April 1, 2008 the new Shimada City further expanded with another merger to absorb the neighboring town of Kawane.
The economy of Shimada is primarily agricultural, with green tea as the main crop. By extension, Kenrico is a pharmaceutical company based in Shimada that largely focuses on natural remedies. Light industries include factories for the production of automobile components.
Owada • Ieyama • Nukuri • Kawaneonsen-Sasamado •
Shimada is twinned with the following cities.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Shimada,_Shizuoka Shimada, Shizuoka] at Wikimedia Commons
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