Chichibu, Saitama

Chichibu
秩父市
City

View of central Chichibu, from Hitsujiyama Park

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Location of Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture
Chichibu

Location of Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture

Coordinates: 35°59′30.4″N 139°5′7.7″E / 35.991778°N 139.085472°E / 35.991778; 139.085472Coordinates: 35°59′30.4″N 139°5′7.7″E / 35.991778°N 139.085472°E / 35.991778; 139.085472
Country Japan
Region Kantō
Prefecture Saitama Prefecture
Government
 • -Mayor Kuniyasu Kuki (since April 2009)
Area
 • Total 577.83 km2 (223.10 sq mi)
Population (February 2016)
 • Total 63,357
 • Density 110/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree Kaede
- Flower Shiba-zakura
- Bird Blue-and-white flycatcher
Phone number 0494-22-2211
Address 8-15 Kumaki, Chichibu, Saitama 368-8686
Website Official website
Chichibu City Hall

Chichibu (秩父市, Chichibu-shi) is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, in the central Kantō region of Japan. As of 1 December 2015, the city had an estimated population of 63,358 and a population density of 110 persons per km². Its total area was 577.83 km².

Chichibu was incorporated as a city on April 1, 1950, although the region had already existed for hundreds of years and had developed many local traditions. Since that time, the area of the city has grown through a series of mergers, the most recent in 2005.

Geography

Oku-Chichibu ("Further Chichibu") Mountains

Chichibu is in the westernmost part of Saitama. Unlike other parts of the prefecture, it is largely mountainous and the population is concentrated in river terraces along the Arakawa River. It is Saitama's largest municipality in terms of surface area and shares borders with Tokyo, Yamanashi, Nagano and Gunma Prefectures. A large portion of the city belongs to Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park.[1]

Because the region is not suitable for growing rice, many people have depended on sericulture farming. Limestone from Mount Bukō, which rises south of the city center, is another major source of income for the region. The city is shifting its focus toward sightseeing, taking advantages of its rich natural environment and relative closeness to the Tokyo metropolitan area. The city is also famous for its brewing industry.

Surrounding municipalities

Climate

Chichibu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from June to October.

Climate data for Chichibu, Saitama
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 8.6
(47.5)		 8.9
(48)		 12.2
(54)		 18.2
(64.8)		 22.8
(73)		 25.0
(77)		 28.5
(83.3)		 30.5
(86.9)		 25.2
(77.4)		 20.0
(68)		 15.6
(60.1)		 11.2
(52.2)		 18.89
(66.02)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.8
(33.4)		 1.8
(35.2)		 5.3
(41.5)		 11.6
(52.9)		 16.5
(61.7)		 20.0
(68)		 23.6
(74.5)		 25.0
(77)		 20.5
(68.9)		 14.1
(57.4)		 8.3
(46.9)		 3.0
(37.4)		 12.54
(54.57)
Average low °C (°F) −5.5
(22.1)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 5.5
(41.9)		 10.4
(50.7)		 15.6
(60.1)		 19.7
(67.5)		 20.8
(69.4)		 16.8
(62.2)		 9.4
(48.9)		 2.6
(36.7)		 −3.1
(26.4)		 7.24
(45.03)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 28.2
(1.11)		 39.8
(1.567)		 59.9
(2.358)		 79.3
(3.122)		 98.4
(3.874)		 153.4
(6.039)		 152.6
(6.008)		 210.4
(8.283)		 205.2
(8.079)		 129.9
(5.114)		 56.9
(2.24)		 24.3
(0.957)		 1,238.3
(48.751)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 11
(4.3)		 17
(6.7)		 11
(4.3)		 2
(0.8)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 3
(1.2)		 44
(17.3)
Average relative humidity (%) 63 64 64 68 71 79 81 79 82 80 76 69 73
Mean monthly sunshine hours 196.6 171.9 188.8 166.4 187.7 111.6 122.6 152.9 95.6 128.5 155.1 187.1 1,864.8
Source: NOAA (1961-1990)[2]

History

The city was developed as a marketplace of the district as well as the town around Chichibu Shrine. The city's older name, Ōmiya ("big shrine"), was derived from the shrine.

Timeline

Economy

The local economy of Chichibu remains based on agricultural and forestry, as well as tourism.

Education

Chichibu has 16 elementary schools, nine middle schools and two high schools as well as two special education schools..

Transportation

Railway

Two lines serve the city: the Chichibu Main Line and Seibu Chichibu Line. The Chichibu Railway was constructed along the Arakawa River and first opened in 1914. Seibu Railway reached the city in 1969 and considerably reduced the travel time to Tokyo. It takes approximately one and a half hours to travel from Seibu-Chichibu Station to Ikebukuro Station, one of the major train terminals in Tokyo. These lines carry people as well as limestone from Mount Bukō. The two lines were directly connected on April 1, 1989. Chichibu Railway also operated the Mitsumine Ropeway, which carried passengers visiting Mitsumine Shrine. The ropeway was taken out of service since May 19, 2006, and was officially abandoned on December 1, 2007.[4]

Highway

Two national roads, Route 140 and 299, serve the city. Route 140 connects the city to its nearest expressway interchange, Hanazono Interchange of the Kan-Etsu Expressway. The city had no road communication to Yamanashi Prefecture due to steep Okuchichibu Mountains, but the opening of the Karisaka Tunnel in 1998 enabled the city to connect to Yamanashi.[5]

Twin towns and sister cities

Local attractions

Ryusei festival in Yoshida town
Icicles of the Misotsuchi
Chichibu Night Traditional Festival
Hitsujiyama-park Phlox subulata

On December 3, Chichibu holds an annual night festival(Intangible cultural heritage). It attracts crowds from Chichibu, Saitama prefecture, neighboring Tokyo, and the Kantō region. Kawase matsuri is Chichibu shrine's summer festival. It takes place every July 19 and July 20. Eight groups carrying special dashi floats march along to festival music around the city. Mikoshi (sacred portable shrines) are brought to special places in each neighborhood where they are enshrined. Neighborhood association heads wash the mikoshi in the Arakawa River.

Other attractions of the city include:

As a picturesque area within fairly easy reach of Tokyo, Chichibu has been much photographed. However, the photography of Chichibu by the Chichibu native Bukō Shimizu (1913–1995) is particularly extensive: Shimizu presented photographs of the mountains, people and customs of Chichibu in numerous books for the Japanese market, starting in 1954.[8][9]

Possible connection with The Mikado

The city considers itself as the inspiration for Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera, The Mikado; the name of the opera's setting, "Titipu", is pronounced "Chichipu" in Japanese. Rokusuke Ei, a popular essayist, was convinced that Chichibu, the site of a peasant uprising in 1884, inspired the author, W. S. Gilbert, to set the opera in Japan. Other Japanese researchers have concluded that Gilbert may simply have heard of Chichibu silk, an important export in the 19th century. A theatre company from Chichibu has presented The Mikado in Japanese in Chichibu and throughout Japan.[10][11] In August 2006, it travelled with this production to the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England.[12]

Notable people from Chichibu

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ http://www.env.go.jp/park/chichibu/intro/index.html
  2. ↑ "Chichibu Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  3. ↑ Titsingh, Issac. (1834). Nipon o daï itsi ran, p. 63.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  5. ↑ 雁坂トンネル Archived 2007-02-05 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "US-Japan Sister Cities by State". Asia Matters for America. Honolulu, HI: East-West Center. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Mihashi Sumiyo (三橋純予), "Shimizu Bukō", Nihon shashinka jiten (日本写真家事典) / 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers (Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000; ISBN 4-473-01750-8), p.175. (in Japanese) (Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese.)
  9. 1 2 埼玉ゆかりの偉人/検索結果（詳細）/清水　武甲 (in Japanese). Saitama, Japan: Saitama Prefecture. 19 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  10. ↑ Sumiko Enbutsu: The Mikado in the Town of Chichibu Archived February 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ Brooke, James. "Japanese Hail The Mikado, Long-Banned Imperial Spoof", The New York Times, 3 April 2003, accessed 15 July 2014
  12. ↑ Archived September 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.; and
  13. ↑ Internet Movie Database
  14. ↑ "JWP女子プロレス　中島安里紗" [JWP Female Professional Wrestling: Arisa Nakajima]. JWP Official Information (in Japanese). Japan: JWP Female Professional Wrestling. 2005. Archived from the original on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Akira Taue profile". Pro Wrestling NOAH Official Site (in Japanese). Japan: NOAH. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
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