Hamamatsu (浜松市, Hamamatsu-shi?) is a
city located in western Shizuoka
Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest city in Shizuoka Prefecture. On July 1, 2005 the city merged with 11 surrounding cities and towns. It became a
city designated by government ordinance on
April 1, 2007.
History
- Apr 1, 1989 - Shizuoka Prefectural Office at Hamamatsu
opened.
- May 1, 1990 - Hamamatsu Arena opened.
- January 1, 1991- Merged the village of Kami in
Hamana District.
- April 1, 1991 - The first Hamamatsu International Piano
Competition was held.
- May 1, 1994 - Act City Hamamatsu opened.
- October 1, 1995 - Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments
opened.
- April 1, 1996 - Designated as a Core City.
- June 1, 1996 - Hamamatsu City Fruit Park opened.
- January 1, 1997 - Started separated collection of garbage in
residential areas.
- April 1, 1997 - Designated as an Omnibus Town.
- April 1, 1998 - Act City Musical School opened.
- April 3, 2000 - Shizuoka University of Art and Culture opened.
- July 1, 2001 - Commemorated the city's 90th anniversary.
- August 1, 2002 - Launched the conference on Pan-Hamanako
Designated City Simulation.
- April 1, 2003 - Shizuoka New Kawafuji National High School
Competition was held.
- June 1, 2003 - Launched Tenryūgawa-Hamanako Region Merger
Conference.
- April 8 - October 11, 2004
- Pacific Flora 2004 (Shizuoka International Garden and Horticulture Exhibition) was held at Hamanako Garden Park.
- July 1, 2005 - Merged Hamakita and Tenryū; Inasa, Hosoe, and Mikkabi in Inasa District (resulting in the
district's dissolution); Yuto and Maisaka in
Hamana District; Sakuma,
Misakubo, and Tatsuyama in
Iwata District (also dissolved as a result); and Haruno in Shuchi District.
- April 1, 2007 - Became a city designated by government
ordinance.
Geography
Hamamatsu consists of a flat plain and the Mikatahara Plateau in the south, and mountainous
area in the north. It is roughly bordered by the Lake Hamana in the west, the Tenryū River in the east, and the Pacific Ocean in the south. The
climate in southern Hamamatsu is mild with 0 cm average snow precipitation in winters, but it is windy in winter because of the
dry monsoon called Enshu no Karakkaze which is unique to the region. The climate in northern
Hamamatsu is much more harsh because of föhn winds. In summers, the highest temperature often
goes over 35 degrees in Tenryu-ku, while it snows in winters.
Wards
Hamamatsu has 7 wards:
- Hamakita-ku (浜北区)
- Higashi-ku (東区)
- Kita-ku (北区)
- Minami-ku (南区)
- Naka-ku (中区)
- Nishi-ku (西区)
- Tenryū-ku (天竜区)
Industry
Hamamatsu has been famous as an industrial city, especially for musical instruments and motorcycles. It also had been known for fabric industry, but most companies and factories went out of
business in the 90s. Of the 274,700 Japanese Brazilians working in Japan, currently 19,000 work in Hamamatsu.[1]
Companies headquartered in Hamamatsu
Companies founded in Hamamatsu
Suzuki, Suzuki Motor Corporation, 300 Takatsuka, Hamamatsu, japan
Transportation
Railways
Rail lines cross through downtown Hamamatsu
Hamamatsu is a station on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Tōkaidō Main Line. As of 2005, this station is served by a small
selection of Hikari services and all passing Kodama services. Hamamatsu is approximately halfway along the Tōkaidō line, as the journey time to
both Tokyo and Shin-Osaka is approximately one
and half hours with Hikari, and two hours with Kodama.
Tōkaidō Main Line stops at the following stations:
- Bentenjima
- Maisaka
- Takatsuka
- Hamamatsu
- Tenryūgawa
Iida Line stops at several stations in Sakuma area.
Enshu Railway Line, also known as Akaden (the red train), is a local line running
north from Shin-Hamamatsu station through Nishikajima station.
Tenryū Hamanako Railway Line stops at several stations in Miyakoda area.
Roads
- Expressways
- Tōmei Expressway (Hamamatsu I.C., Hamamatsu Nishi I.C., and Mikkabi I.C.)
- Second Tomei Expressway (under construction)
- Sanen Nanshin Highway (under construction)
- Bypasses
- Hamamatsu Bypass
- Hamana Bypass
- National Highways
- Route 1
- Route 42
- Route 150
- Route 152
- Route 257
- Route 301
- Route 362
Bus
Bus is the major public transportation in Hamamatsu. Almost all services are operated by Enshu
Railway Co. (Entetsu Bus).
Airport
There are no civilian airports in the city. Chūbu Centrair
International Airport in Aichi Prefecture located about 87 km (54 mi)[2] west of the city is the closest airport. Shizuoka Airport
is currently under construction and expected to be operational by March 2009. The location is between Makinohara and Shimada, and about
43 km (27 mi)[3] east of the city.
Festivals
Hamamatsu Festival, held from May 3 through May 5 each year, is
well-known for Takoage Gassen, or the kite fight, and luxuriously decorated palace-like floats. The
festival originated about 430 years ago, when the lord of Hamamatsu Castle celebrated the birth of his first son by flying kites.
In the Meiji Era, the celebration of the birth of a first son by flying Hatsu Dako, or the first kite, became popular, and this tradition has survived in the form of Hamamatsu Festival. It is extremely exciting
to see over 160 large kites flying in the sky to the sound of trumpets. Those who visit
Hamamatsu at this time of the year can experience the city at its most exciting time.
During the nights of Hamamatsu Festival, people parade downtown carrying over 70 yatai, or palace-lake floats, that are beautifully decorated while playing Japanese
traditional festival music. The festival reaches its peak when groups of people compete by violently marching across town.
(Naka-ku, Minami-ku - May)
This event takes place in Manyo no Mori Park to commemorate the Manyo Period and introduce its culture. As part of the
festival, people reenact the ancient past by wearing traditional clothes from the
Manyo period and presenting poetry readings. (Hamakita-ku,
Hamamatsu - October)
This reenactment of a procession made by the princess in her palanquin along with her entourage of over 100 people including maids, samurai and servants makes for a splendid scene beneath the cherry blossoms
along the Toda River. In the Edo period, princesses enjoyed
traveling this road which came to be known as Himekaido, or the "Princess Road." (Hosoe, Kita-ku - April)
- Enshu Dainenbutsu (Buddhist Chanting Ritual)
When a family commemorates the first Obon holidays after the death of a loved one, they may request that a dainenbutsu (Buddhist chanting ritual) be performed outside their house. This is one of the local performing
arts of the Enshu region. The group always forms a procession in front of the house led by a
person carrying a lantern and marches to the sound of flutes, Japanese drums and cymbals. (Saigagake Museum, Hamamatsu City - July 15)
One of the few puppet festivals held in Japan, featuring 60
performances of about 30 plays by puppet masters from all over the country. The shows provide a full day of enjoyment for both children and adults. (Inasa, Kita-ku - November)
Ever since long ago, Mount Akiha was believed to have supernatural powers to prevent fires. Bow and arrow, sword and fire
dances are performed at the Akiha Shrine, and at the Akiha Temple a firewalking ceremony is performed where both believers and
spectators celebrate the festival. (Haruno, Tenryu-ku - December)
- Shoryu Weeping Ume Blossom Festival
Within Ryusui Garden there is a stream with 7 small waterfalls and about 80 weeping ume trees pruned to give the appearance of
dragons riding on clouds to the heavens. There are also 200 young trees planted along the
mountainside. (Inasa, Kita-ku - Late February to Late March)
This festival is held in honor of Ryujin, the god of the Tenryu River, and features a
wide variety of events such as the Hamakita takoage (kite flying) event and the Hiryu himatsuri
(Flying Dragon fire festival) which celebrates water, sound and flame. (Hamakita-ku - June)
Famous people
After the establishment of Suzuki Loom Works in Hamamatsu City in 1909, Suzuki kept expanding his business and, in 1929, invented a new type of weaving machine, which was exported overseas. Michio Suzuki filed as many as 120
patents and utility model rights. He started on a protocol of an automobile in 1939 and laid
the foundation of Suzuki, the car maker, by releasing the Colleda motorcycle and a light-weight car called the Suzulight.
The founder of Honda is a pioneer of Hamamatsu as "the city of motorcycles". Born in
Tenryu which was located north of Hamamatsu, Honda learned auto-repair skills in
Tokyo before opening the Hamamatsu branch of Ahto Shokai. In 1948,
he established Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and developed the motorcycle widely known as "Pon-Pon". Honda's extraordinary ideas kept laying new paths for the company,
making Honda the world's leading motorcycle/automotive manufacturer.
In 1884, Yamaha first repaired an organ in an elementary school while still working as a repair
engineer for medical equipment. He became fascinated by the organ and started developing them himself. After painstaking effort,
Yamaha finally built his first reed organ, which was highly praised by experts in the
field. In 1888, he established "Yamaha Fukin Seizoujo", which later became Yamaha,
the world's leading musical instrument maker. Torakusu Yamaha laid the foundation of the musical instrument industry in the
Hamamatsu area.
Born in Hamamatsu City. After becoming an assistant professor of engineering at what is now Shizuoka University in 1924, Takayanagi dedicated himself to the
development of the television. After repeated mistakes, he successfully completed the first
all-electronic TV system in the world. Takayanagi also succeeded in inventing the first domestic TV set, establishing the
foundation of modern television. The growth of the optical technological industry in Hamamatsu is largely thanks to Takayanagi
and his research.
- Koichi Kawai (1886 - 1955)
Hamamatsu-born Kawai became an apprentice to Torakusu Yamaha at the young age of 11. The piano
mechanism which Kawai helped design contributed greatly to the birth of the first piano made in
Japan. He invented many mechanisms, such as the stop device for the organ, and was nicknamed
"Koichi, the inventor". Kawai Gakki Kenkyujo, which was established in 1927, became Kawai Musical Instruments Mfg. Co., Ltd. in
1929, which has received over 20 patents on inventions like new types of mechanism and soundboard.
Radio stations
- FM Haro! (JOZZ6AB FM, 76.1 MHz)
- K-MIX (JOKU FM, 78.4 MHz)
- NHK FM (JOPK FM, 82.1 MHz)
Colleges and universities
Sister cities
Hamamatsu has ratified Music Culture Exchange Treaty with the following cities:
References
- ^ Sanchanta, Mariko. "Signs betray ‘hidden
workers’ of Japan", The Financial Times, July 19, 2007.
- ^ from Chūbu Centrair International Airport(34°′″N 136°′″E / 34.858333,
136.805278) to Hamamatsu station(34°′″N 137°′″E / 34.703866,
137.734759) (surveying http://vldb.gsi.go.jp/sokuchi/surveycalc/bl2stf.html(Japanese))
- ^ from Shizuoka Airport(34°′″N 138°′″E / 34.796111,
138.189444) to Hamamatsu station(34°′″N 137°′″E / 34.703866,
137.734759) (surveying http://vldb.gsi.go.jp/sokuchi/surveycalc/bl2stf.html(Japanese))
External links
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