Saijō, Ehime

Saijō 西条市
City
Flag
Location of Saijō in Ehime Prefecture
Saijō Location in Japan
Coordinates: 33°55′N 133°11′E / 33.917°N 133.183°E / 33.917; 133.183Coordinates: 33°55′N 133°11′E / 33.917°N 133.183°E / 33.917; 133.183
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Ehime Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Masaru Aono (since November 2012)
Area
• Total	509.07 km2 (196.55 sq mi)
Population (December 31, 2013)
• Total	113,786
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Address	164 Akeyashiki, Saijō-shi, Ehime-ken 793-8601
Phone number	0897-56-5151
Website	www.city.saijo.ehime.jp/english

Saijō (西条市, Saijō-shi) is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.

Demographics

As of December 31, 2013, the city has a population of 113,786.^[1] The total area is 509.07 km².^[2] The city was founded on April 29, 1941. On November 1, 2004, the city of Tōyo, and the towns of Komatsu and Tanbara (both from Shūsō District) were merged with Saijō.

Geography

Saijo sits at the base of Mount Ishizuchi, the tallest peak in western Japan. The consolidated city of Saijō encompasses a broad area, spreading out across the entire Dōzen Plain from the foothills of the Ishizuchi Mountain Range to the Seto Inland Sea (the former Saijō City, Tōyo City, Komatsu Town and Tanbara Town), and also contains smaller communities extending in the lower reaches of the mountains. The Dōzen Plain is crossed by several rivers, the largest being the Kamo River and the Nakayama River.

The main city of Saijō is known for natural spring water. Signs throughout the city and at the city's train station call Saijō the "Spring Water Capital of Japan". Numerous fountains, known locally as uchinuki, are scattered throughout the city where water is frequently bottled by locals and visitors alike. Most private dwelling houses also drill private wells to take advantage of the water.^[3]

History

Prehistory

The Saijō area was inhabited at least as early as the Jōmon period, as evidenced by earthenware dated to approximately 6000 BC discovered in the Ichikura highland region. A large number of artifacts dating to the middle and late Yayoi period have been unearthed on and around Mount Hachidō. The significant clustering of tombs in the later Kofun period in the highlands has led archaeologists to believe that the flat plain on which modern Saijō sits was either too cold or too close to the Seto Inland Sea for tomb construction.^[4]

Medieval to Early Modern

The history of the region from the Kamakura period to the beginning of the Edo period is difficult to piece together, in part because much of the area was destroyed as a result of Kobayakawa Takakage's campaign to subdue Iyo Province during the Invasion of Shikoku.

At the beginning of the Kamakura period, the shogunate established the powerful Kōno clan as governors (shugo) over the entire Iyo Province, including Saijō. The Kōno had long held power over the region as manorial lords of the Saijō area. However, in 1342, Ashikaga Takauji ordered the invasion of Iyo Province by the subordinate Hosokawa clan as part of a bid to consolidate the shogunate's power over all of Shikoku. The Hosokawa clan assumed control over a large portion of the area that would last until the Warring States Period, and Saijō was ruled by proxy by the Ishikawa clan from Takakogi Castle in the present day Sunouchi district.^[4]

During the tumult of the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Saijō was ruled by a series of lords until the establishment of Saijō Domain (Saijō-han) in 1636. Hitotsuyanagi Naomori was appointed lord of this domain and transferred from Ise Domain (present-day Mie Prefecture), but died of illness in Osaka on the way to his new fiefdom. His successors ruled for two generations before they were relieved of their lordship by the shogunate in 1665 for political reasons including a peasant rebellion. In 1670 the shogunate installed Matsudaira Yorizumi, a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose descendants ruled for 10 generations until the Meiji Restoration.

The geography of Saijō underwent great changes during the Edo period. The second Hitotsuyanagi ruler, Naoshige, built Saijō Castle and diverted the Kita River to create a moat. The former castle grounds now house Saijō High School, one of a few public schools in Japan contained within a moat and castle gate. Flood control projects for the Kamo River and land reclamation from the Seto Inland Sea began during the end of the Warring States Period and continued through the Edo Period, with major reclamation projects undertaken by the Matsudaira family as a means to increase their personal land holdings, 20000 koku of which were lost when they were reassigned to Saijō.^[5]

Modern

After the Meiji Restoration, Saijō Domain and adjacent Komatsu Domain became Saijō Prefecture and Komatsu Prefecture, respectively, in 1871. That same year, both prefectures were absorbed by the new Matsuyama Prefecture, which would be renamed Ishizuchi Prefecture before being combined with Kamiyama Prefecture to form the current Ehime Prefecture in 1873.^[5]

In 2004, Saijō experienced its worst typhoon season on record. A series of typhoons struck from August to the end of September, with Typhoon 21 (September 28-29) causing 5 deaths and 5.9 billion yen in damage. The typhoons hit the mountain communities hardest, exacerbating the gradual aging and depopulation trends of these areas. The scale of the 2004 disaster was attributed to twin factors of a lack in public disaster awareness mechanisms and environmental issues such as concrete dams and deforestation. In response to the disaster, Mayor Kōtarō Itō established a Public Safety Division in 2006 and began a partnership with the Kyoto University Graduate Environmental Studies Department in 2007 to help make the city better prepared for emergencies. Programs instituted since then include “Town Watching” and mandatory sixth-grade disaster preparedness education. Both of these programs have created ties between Saijō and the city of Hue in Vietnam, which has implemented them.^[3]

Culture

Saijō Festival

Saijō is famous for its fall festival, held annually from October 14-17, which features over 100 hand-carried wooden floats known as danjiri that belong to neighborhood associations across the city. These floats are up to 5 meters tall and weigh between 600 and 800 kilograms. The float-bearers wear traditional outfits and sing a local variation of the Ise Ondo, signifying the region's historical relationship to Ise Grand Shrine in Mie Prefecture. The festival has been celebrated since the Edo period.

Saijō Festival is divided into three cycles known as the Iwaoka Shrine Festival (Oct. 14-15), Isono Shrine Festival (Oct. 15-16), and Iizumi Shrine Festival (Oct. 16-17), with the largest number of danjiri (over 80) taking part in the Isono Shrine Festival. The Isono Shrine Festival begins at midnight of the 15th with a ceremony at Isono Shrine inviting a god into the portable shrine known as the Goshinyō, after which the danjiri and four two-wheeled mikoshi roam the city for two days. The festival ends with the miya-iri, where the Goshinyō and 11 danjiri are carried into the Kamo River while the other floats keep watch from the bank.^[6]

• 

  A danjiri float in Saijō's fall harvest festival

• 

  The miya-iri portion of the Isono Shrine Festival.

Language

Residents of Saijō speak the Tōyo (eastern Ehime) variation of the Iyo dialect, which is part of the Western Japanese language group and similar in many ways to Kansai dialect. Due to some local variations in the dialect, people in Saijō refer to their particular form of Tōyo dialect as Saijō dialect (Saijō-ben).^[7][8]

Origin of name

The first appearance of the name Saijō in written record is a letter from third Kamakura Shōgun Minamoto no Sanetomo recognizing the jurisdiction over the region of the Kōno clan that was included in the Yoshōki, a history of the clan written centuries later. Some regional historians such as Yuzuru Yamauchi challenge the veracity of that document, arguing that the first reliably datable extant document referring to Saijō is from the end of the Kamakura period.^[9] The etymology of the name Saijō itself is unclear. One possible origin suggested in extant documents from Kikō-ji Temple in Niihama is that the region was once divided into a "western district" (the literal meaning of Saijō) and an eastern district (Tōjō, now Niihama) by the small group of mountains that lie between the two cities.^[10] The most common narrative follows this interpretation and attributes both the name and the geographical boundaries of Saijō to the Taika Reforms of the 7th century, though this origin has been disputed for lack of concrete historical evidence.^[11]

Points of interest

The Railway History Park in Saijō

This museum located next to Iyo-Saijō Station houses a first-generation 0 Series Shinkansen bullet train car and a JNR Class DF50 diesel locomotive (No. DF50 1), as well as exhibits detailing the history of railways in Shikoku. Located next to the museum is the Shinji Sogō Memorial Museum and Saijo's Tourism Center. A life-size danjiri float can be viewed year-round in the tourism center.^[12]

Shikoku Pilgrimage

The Saijō area is home to five Buddhist temples of the 88-temple Shikoku Pilgrimage: Yokomine-ji, Kōon-ji, Hōju-ji, Kichijō-ji, and Maegami-ji.

Ioki Memorial Museum

Located next to Saijō High School in the city's center, this museum displays biographical artifacts and sculptures by the famous sculptor and Saijō-native Ioki Itō (1918-1992). The museum possesses most of his award-winning pieces, and over 40 of Ioki's other sculptures can be viewed outdoors in various places around Saijō.^[13]

Ishizuchi Shrine

Ishizuchi Shrine consists of a complex of four shrines located on Mount Ishizuchi. The main shrine is situated at the base of the mountain, and there are shrines on the summit and near the landing of the Ishizuchi Ropeway. Constructed to venerate the mountain itself, the shrine dates back to the Nara period. Ishizuchi Shrine holds a 10-day ceremony and festival beginning on July 1 to mark the official opening of climbing season.^[14]

Saijō Archaeological History Museum

This three-story building located in the "Citizen's Forest" on Mount Hachidō displays artifacts unearthed in the region, the oldest holdings being pottery and tools dating back to the Yayoi period. The third floor features a gallery for special exhibitions, and visitors can see as far as the Nishiseto Expressway from the museum balcony. Two Yayoi period dwellings were reconstructed on the top of Mount Hachidō and are accessible via several trails leaving from the museum. The exterior of the museum is illuminated at night.^[15]

Horseshoe crabs

The Saijō area is known for Tachypleus tridentatus, an Asian species of horseshoe crab. This species is known by the common name "helmet crabs" (kabutogani). The Tōyo Cultural Center features an exhibit on the crabs and several live specimens on display. A mascot character named "Kabuchan," a horseshoe crab with a heart on its underside, was created in Saijō.^[16]

• 

  Exhibits inside the Railway History Park

• 

  Maegami-ji Temple

• 

  Ishizuchi Shrine, main shrine

Economy

Coca Cola and Asahi Breweries have manufacturing plants in the city.

The Imabari Shipbuilding Company maintains a shipyard in Saijo. The company's 800-t cranes are among the largest of their kind in the world and are a major visual landmark.^[17]

Notable people

• Yuto Nagatomo, football player (born 1986)^[18]
• Shinji Sogō, credited with the creation of the Shinkansen, second mayor of Saijo^[19]

Sister cities

• Baoding, China^[20]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saijo, Ehime.

• Official website (English)
• Saijo travel guide from Wikivoyage

v t e Ehime Prefecture Cities Imabari Iyo Matsuyama (capital) Niihama Ōzu Saijō Seiyo Shikokuchūō Tōon Uwajima Yawatahama Iyo District Masaki Tobe Kitauwa District Kihoku Matsuno Nishiuwa District Ikata Kamiukena District Kumakōgen Minamiuwa District Ainan Ochi District Kamijima Kita District Uchiko