Tochigi, Tochigi

Tochigi (栃木市, Tochigi-shi, Japanese: [toꜜtɕigi]) is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of 1 August 2020, the city had an estimated population of 159,056 in 66,018 households[1], and a population density of 480 persons per km². The total area of the city is 331.50 square kilometres (127.99 sq mi). Because the city escaped war damage during World War II, many historical temples, traditional shops and kura (Japanese traditional storehouses) remain in the city center. The city was awarded the "Utsukushii-machinami Taisho" prize from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 2009.[2]

Tochigi

栃木市
City
Tochigi City Hall
Flag
Seal
Location of Tochigi in Tochigi Prefecture
Tochigi
 
Coordinates: 36°22′52.8″N 139°43′49″E
CountryJapan
RegionKantō
PrefectureTochigi
Government
 • MayorToshimi Suzuki (since April 2010)
Area
 • Total331.50 km2 (127.99 sq mi)
Population
 (August 2020)
 • Total159,056
 • Density480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- TreeJapanese stuartia
- FlowerJapanese azalea
Phone number0282-21-2224
Address7-26 Irifune, Tochigi-shi, Tochigi-ken 328-8686
WebsiteOfficial website
Traditional kura (storehouses) in Tochigi

Geography

Tochigi is located in the very southern portion of Tochigi Prefecture, bordering on Ibaraki Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture to the southwest. The city is located in the northern part of the Kanto plain, with a mountain range extending in the northern part of the city. The Tomawa River runs through the city center, the Oshigawa River runs through the eastern part, and the Watarase River runs through the southern part. At the confluence of these three rivers is the Yanaka Reservoir, which is used for sailboating and windsurfing. It was designated a Ramsar Site in June 2012.[3]

Surrounding municipalities

Tochigi Prefecture

Ibaraki Prefecture

Gunma Prefecture

Climate

Tochigi has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tochigi is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1325 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.9 °C.[4]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Tochigi has remained relatively steadily over the past 40 years.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 110,209—    
1930 117,833+6.9%
1940 120,583+2.3%
1950 156,029+29.4%
1960 147,499−5.5%
1970 152,125+3.1%
1980 168,423+10.7%
1990 174,717+3.7%
2000 171,755−1.7%
2010 164,033−4.5%

History

In the Edo period, Tochigi prospered from its location on the Uzumagawa River, which connected with the Tone River to Edo. Envoys using the Reiheishi Way sent from the Imperial Court going to Shrines and Temples of Nikkō stayed at the lodging area in the city. Most of the area was formerly [[tenryō]] territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate; however, the minor feudal domain of Fukiake Domain was located within the borders of modern city of Tochigi.

Following the Meiji Restoration and the creation of Tochigi Prefecture, Tochigi Town was the prefectural capital from 1871 until its relocation to Utsunomiya in 1884. On April 1, 1937, Tochigi was elevated to city status.

On September 30, 1954, Tochigi absorbed the villages of Ōmiya, Minagawa, Fukiage and Terao (all from Shimotsuga District). This was followed by the village of Kōō (from Shimotsuga District) on March 31, 1957. Tochigi hosted its first film festival, the Kuranomachikado, or, "Eizo Film Festival" from October 5, 2007, to October 8, 2007.

On March 29, 2010, Tochigi absorbed the towns of Fujioka, Ōhira and Tsuga (Shimotsuga District). This was followed by the town of Nishikata (from Kamitsuga District) on October 1, 2011, and the town of Iwafune (from Shimotsuga District) on April 5, 2014.

Government

Tochigi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 30 members. Tochigi contributes four members to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Tochigi 2nd district, Tochigi 4th district and Tochigi 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Tochigi city is a regional commercial center, and has a mixed local economy. Food processing, automotive parts and light manufacturing dominated the industrial sector. Isuzu has maintained a factory since 1961. In 2010, the city ranked first in the number of farming families in the prefecture.[6]

Education

Transportation

Railway

JR East – Ryōmō Line

Tobu Railway – Tobu Nikko Line

Tobu Railway – Tobu Utsunomiya Line

Highway

Local attractions
Tochigi Autumn Festival on November

*the sound of Tree frogs in Ajisai-zaka, Mount Ohirasan in Tochigi have been designated as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan by the Ministry of the Environment [7]

Sister City relations

Noted people from Tochigi
gollark: It actually detects Discord URLs and replaces them with URLs to osmarksCDN™, as well as embedding authorship data in them steganographically.
gollark: RPNCalcV4 Slightly Advanced Edition is now up.
gollark: You can see how great this is to program in.
gollark: I would, because GTech™ truth generators say it's not true that I write on paper with sausages.
gollark: So you can see why this is inaccurate.

References
  1. "Tochigi city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. Japanese Ministry of Land, Transportation and Infrastructure (in Japanese)
  3. June, 2012.
  4. Tochigi climate data
  5. Tochigi population statistics
  6. Tochigi city official home page (in Japanese)
  7. "100 Soundscapes of Japan". Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  8. "Sister Cities International". Archived from the original on 2006-12-29. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  9. Yuriko Handa sports-reference.com
  10. Ryoji Isaoka. sports-reference.com
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