 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
| Sagamihara 相模原 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Core city — | |||
| 相模原市 · Sagamihara | |||
 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|||
  Sagamihara
|
|||
| Coordinates: 35°34′N 139°22′E / 35.567°N 139.367°E | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Kantō | ||
| Prefecture | Kanagawa Prefecture | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Toshio Kayama | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 328.84 km2 (127 sq mi) | ||
| Population (June 1, 2009) |
711,602 | ||
| - Density | 2,160/km2 (5,594.4/sq mi) | ||
| City Symbols | |||
| - Tree | Zelkova serrata | ||
| - Flower | Hydrangea | ||
| - Bird | Skylark | ||
| Website | City of Sagamihara | ||
| Phone number | 042-754-1111 | ||
|
11-15 Chuo 2-chome, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa-ken |
|||
Sagamihara (相模原市 Sagamihara-shi) is a city located in north central Kanagawa Prefecture, bordering Tokyo, Japan. It is the third most populous city in the prefecture, after Yokohama and Kawasaki, and the fifth most populous suburb of Greater Tokyo. Its northern neighbor is Machida, with which a cross-prefectural merger has been proposed.[1]
As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of 711,602 and a density of 2,160 persons per km². The total area is 328.84 km².
The main areas of commercial activity in Sagamihara are located near Hashimoto Station on the JR East Yokohama Line and Keio Sagamihara Line; Sagamihara Station on the Yokohama Line; and Sagami-Ōno Station on the Odakyū Odawara Line.
In 2010 Sagamihara will be redesignated as a government ordinance city and split into 3 wards Midori-ku, Chūō-ku, and Minami-ku.
Contents |
History
The area of modern Sagamihara has been settled since ancient times, and has a number of remains from the Japanese Paleolithic period and Kofun period have been found. It was home to the Yokoyama clan, one of the seven warrior clans of the Musashi region during the early Kamakura period. During the Edo period, the lands around Sagamihara were tenryō territory theoretically administered directly by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo; however, in reality, the area was a patchwork of small fiefs held by various hatamoto, as well as exclaves under the control of Ogino-Yamanaka Domain and Karasuyama Domain.
After the Meiji Restoration, the southern portion became part of Kōza District, and the northern portion was part of Aikō District. The Koza district portion was administratively divided into six villages on April 1, 1889. The area was the location of extensive training facilities and arsenals of the Imperial Japanese Army during the 1930s. These villages merged on April 29, 1941 together with neighboring Zama town to form Sagamihara Town. At the time of its formation, it was the largest town in Japan in terms of area.
On September 1, 1948, Zama was administratively separated into Zama Town. The remaining portion became Sagamihara city on November 20, 1954. The city population had grown steadily, partly due to local industrial development, and partly due to the city’s excellent transportation infrastructure connecting it to Yokohama, Tokyo and Hachioji. It was designated a Core city with increased autonomy in 2003.
On March 20, 2006, Sagamihara merged with former Tsukui and Sagamiko villages. The merged city consisted of two geographically separate areas, as two other municipalities of Tsukui District, Fujino and Shiroyama, elected to remain separate. A further merger on March 11, 2007 joined Fujino and Shiroyama with Sagamihara, thus geographically unifying the city, and dissolving former Tsukui District. In 2007, the population of Sagamihara exceeded 700,000.
Transportation
Railway
Highways
- Chuo Expressway
- Ken-Ō Expressway
- Japan National Route 16
- Japan National Route 20
- Japan National Route 129
- Japan National Route 412
- Japan National Route 413
Sports
- Mitsubishi Dynaboars
- Sagamihara Rise
- S.C. Sagamihara
Sister cities
References
- ^ Merger proposal (Japanese)
External links
Media related to Sagamihara, Kanagawa at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 35°34′N 139°22′E / 35.567°N 139.367°E
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
