Yokkaichi

Yokkaichi (四日市市, Yokkaichi-shi) is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of August 2015, the city had an estimated population of 306,107 and a population density of 1,480 persons per km2. The total area was 206.44 square kilometres (79.71 sq mi).

Yokkaichi

四日市市
Special city
Yokkaichi Port Building&Yokkaichi Port
Hureai mallYokkaichi Municipal Museum
Yokkaichi kombinatYokkaichi-Tonteki.
Yokkaichi City skyline

Flag
Seal
Location of Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture
Yokkaichi
 
Coordinates: 34°57′54.1″N 136°37′27.9″E
CountryJapan
RegionKansai
PrefectureMie
Government
 • MayorTomohiro Mori
Area
 • Total206.44 km2 (79.71 sq mi)
Population
 (August 2015)
 • Total306,107
 • Density1,480/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- TreeCinnamomum camphora
- FlowerSalvia splendens
-BirdBlack-headed gull
Phone number059-354-8244
Address1-5 Suwa-chō, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie-ken 510-8601
Websitewww.city.yokkaichi.mie.jp

History
Suwa park exchange hall

The area around modern Yokkaichi has been settled since prehistoric times. Numerous Kofun period burial mounds have been discovered and the area was once of the battle sites of the Asuka period Jinshin War. However, until the end of the Heian period, the area was sparsely settled, and was only a small port village. The area developed during the Kamakura period and by the Azuchi–Momoyama period, the port was developed and a regular market was open on 4, 14, 24 in each month. Thus, the city is named Yokkaichi because "yokkaichi" means "market on fourth day." After the Honnō-ji Incident during which warlord Oda Nobunaga was assassinated, Tokugawa Ieyasu fled from Yokkaichi port by sea to his castle at Edo. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Yokkaichi was tenryō territory controlled directly by the shōgun and administered by a daikan based at the Yokkaichi Jin'ya. Throughout the Edo period, the area prospered as Yokkaichi-juku, the forty-third station on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. However, the city was largely destroyed by the Ansei great earthquakes.

Following the Meiji Restoration, Yokkaichi Town was designated the capital of Mie Prefecture. Yokkaichi's port advanced remarkably during the Meiji period, primarily under the guidance of Inaba Sanuemon, a resident merchant interested increasing trade into Yokkaichi and the Ise area by modernizing the port facilities. Started in 1872, the project took 12 years to complete due to typhoons and difficulties in financing the project. This led to the port city being designated an Official International Port in 1899. The primary trade items shipped through Yokkaichi were originally seed oil, Banko ware, and Ise tea; but now it has developed into a port that now handles cotton, wool, glass, and heavy equipment.

Yokkaichi was elevated to city status on August 1, 1897.

An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Yokkaichi as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom.[1]

From 1939, Yokkaichi became a center for the chemical industry, with the Imperial Japanese Navy constructing a large refinery near the port area.

Yokkaichi was one of the first cities bombed by the United States during World War II, when on April 18, 1942 the city was attacked by aircraft from the Doolittle Raid. During the final stages of World War II, on June 18, 1945, 89 B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped 11,000 incendiary bombs destroying 35% of the urban area and killing 736 people. This attack on Yokkaichi was followed by another eight air raids until August 8, 1945, killing another 808 people.

From 1960 to 1972, the city residents suffered health problems caused by the emission of SOx into the atmosphere from local petrochemical and chemical plants. In Japan, a disease called Yokkaichi zensoku (Yokkaichi asthma) derives its name from the city, and it is considered one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan.

Downtown Yokkaichi

Yokkaichi attained special city status on November 1, 2000, with increased local autonomy.

On February 7, 2005, the town of Kusu (from Mie District) was merged into Yokkaichi.

Geography

Yokkaichi is located in north-central of Mie Prefecture, which is northeastern Kii Peninsula. It stretches the width of Mie Prefecture, and is bordered by Ise Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Shiga Prefecture to the northwest.

Neighboring municipalities

Climate

Yokkaichi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is much lower in winter.

Climate data for Yokkaichi, Mie
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 8.6
(47.5)		 8.9
(48.0)		 12.0
(53.6)		 17.9
(64.2)		 22.1
(71.8)		 25.1
(77.2)		 28.6
(83.5)		 30.5
(86.9)		 26.9
(80.4)		 21.5
(70.7)		 16.5
(61.7)		 11.3
(52.3)		 19.2
(66.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.3
(39.7)		 4.6
(40.3)		 7.5
(45.5)		 13.3
(55.9)		 17.8
(64.0)		 21.4
(70.5)		 25.0
(77.0)		 26.4
(79.5)		 22.7
(72.9)		 16.9
(62.4)		 11.8
(53.2)		 6.7
(44.1)		 14.9
(58.8)
Average low °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5)		 0.7
(33.3)		 2.9
(37.2)		 8.7
(47.7)		 13.4
(56.1)		 17.9
(64.2)		 22.0
(71.6)		 23.1
(73.6)		 19.3
(66.7)		 12.6
(54.7)		 7.3
(45.1)		 2.4
(36.3)		 10.9
(51.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 43.1
(1.70)		 66.8
(2.63)		 118.7
(4.67)		 173.2
(6.82)		 180.0
(7.09)		 263.9
(10.39)		 268.5
(10.57)		 167.7
(6.60)		 241.1
(9.49)		 128.2
(5.05)		 86.0
(3.39)		 40.6
(1.60)		 1,777.8
(70)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 7
(2.8)		 6
(2.4)		 1
(0.4)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 14
(5.6)
Average relative humidity (%) 63 63 62 67 71 79 82 79 77 71 67 65 71
Mean monthly sunshine hours 152.0 141.9 174.0 171.2 198.2 145.9 155.7 187.7 133.7 158.3 152.0 158.2 1,928.8
Source: NOAA (1961-1990) [2]

Economy

Yokkaichi is a manufacturing center that produces Banko ware (a kind of porcelain), automobiles, cotton textiles, chemicals, tea, cement, and computer parts such as flash memory by Toshiba subsidiary Yokkaichi Toshiba Electronics.

Education

Yokkaichi has 38 public elementary schools, 22 public and three private middle schools, and ten public and five private high schools.

Yokkaichi Nursing and Medical Care University
Universities
International schools

Transportation
Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station
Yokkaichi Chuo-dori St
Yokkaichi Port

Railway

Highway

Seaports
  • Yokkaichi Port

Local attractions

Festivals and events
  • Amagasuka Ishidori Festival
  • Great Yokkaichi Festival
  • Matsubara Ishidori Festival

International relations

Yokkaichi has two sister cities and one sister port.

Notable people from Yokkaichi
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References
  1. US Department of State. (1906). A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties and other international agreements (John Bassett Moore, ed.), Vol. 5, p. 759.
  2. "Yokkaichi Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  3. "Escolas Brasileiras Homologadas no Japão" (Archived 2015-10-18 at the Wayback Machine). Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.
  4. ウリハッキョ一覧. Chongryon. Retrieved October 14, 2015.}} (Archived 2015-12-19 at the Wayback Machine).
  5. "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  6. 遠田寛生 (2014-04-04). ホームシック こつこつ克服 いま子どもたちは No.693 夢は東京五輪 7. Asahi Shimbun. Tokyo, Japan. p. 28.
  7. ユース五輪出場のレスリング・向田真優"吉田さんの後継者は私" (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports. 2014-08-13. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
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