Kisarazu

Kisarazu 木更津市
City
Center of Kisarazu Center of Kisarazu
Flag of Kisarazu Flag Official seal of Kisarazu Seal
Location of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture Location of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture
Kisarazu
Coordinates:
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Chiba Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Isao Mizukoshi (since April 2002)
Area
• Total	138.73 km2 (53.56 sq mi)
Population (April 2012)
• Total	130,119
• Density	938/km2 (2,430/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Camellia
- Flower	Satsuki azalea
Phone number	0438-23-7111
Address	1-1 Siomi, Kisarazu-shi, Chiba-ken 292-8501
Website	City of Kisarazu

File:Kisarazu City Office.jpg

Kisarazu City Hall

File:中の島大橋.JPG

Nakanoshima Bridge

File:Hiroshige Mount Fuji seen across the water.jpg

This ukiyo-e by Hiroshige shows Mount Fuji across Edo Bay from Kisarazu.

Kisarazu (木更津市, Kisarazu-shi) is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

As of April 2012, the city has an estimated population of 130,119 and a population density of 938 persons per km². The total area is 138.73 km².

Kisarazu's profile has been raised in recent times by the popularity of the TV show and subsequent film, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, which were set and filmed in the city.

Geography

Kisarazu is located in the western part of the Bōsō Peninsula. The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a bridge-tunnel across Tokyo Bay, connects Kisarazu and the cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Neighboring municipalities

• Ichihara, Chiba
• Sodegaura, Chiba
• Kimitsu, Chiba

History

Early History

The area of modern Kisarazu has been inhabited since the Japanese Paleolithic period, and numerous remains from the Jomon, Yayoi and Kofun period have been found within the city limits. The area also is prominent in the Yamatotakeru mythology. Under the Ritsuryo system of the Nara period, the area became part of Kazusa Province. The area was contested between the Late Hōjō clan, Takeda clan and Satomi clan during the Sengoku period. During the Edo period under the Tokugawa shogunate, part of the area was under the control of the feudal domain of Jōzai, with large portions as tenryō territory controlled directly by the Shognate and administered by numerous hatamoto.

Meiji Restoration and Kisarazu Prefecture

Kisarazu was part of the complex reconfiguration of administrative areas at the start of the Meiji period. In 1871, as part of the abolition of the han system, the Sakurai Domain, located partly in Kisarazu, was abolished and Sakurai Prefecture was established.

In November of the same year, the prefecture was combined with the former Awa Province and Kazusa Province to form Kisarazu Prefecture. The prefectural seat was established in the present-day Kaifusa district of Kisarazu. Kisarazu Prefecture was established two years later in 1873. It was combined with Inba Prefecture to form present-day Chiba Prefecture.

World War II and Post-War Period

Kisarazu was developed as a center for military activity as part of the militarization of Japan in the 1930s. In 1935-1936 the Imperial Japanese Navy, established the Kisarazu Air Field for the Kisarazu Air Group on landfill in the northern part of Kisarazu to protect Tokyo from attack. The base served as an arsenal for the IJN, and employed up to 17,000 workers during the war. The Nakajima Kikka, Japan's first jet-powered aircraft, was tested at the base in 1945. The base was used by the United States Air Force from 1945 as "Kisarazu Air Base". In 1956, the base was officially transferred to the control of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).

Kisarazu Town, originally founded on April 1, 1889, was expanded through merger with neighboring Aoyagi Town on March 31, 1955, and again through merger with Amaha Town and Osawa Town on April 25, 1971. Kisarazu attained city status on November 3, 1942.

Economy

Kisarazu has a mixed economy based on commercial fishing, agriculture, and heavy industry along its Tokyo Bay shoreline. It serves as the commercial center for central Bōsō Peninsula, and is increasingly a bedroom community of the Kawasaki – Yokohama metropolis across Tokyo Bay.

Transportation

Railway

• JR East – Uchibō Line
  • Iwane - Kisarazu

• JR East – Kururi Line
  • Kisarazu - Gion - Kazusa-Kiyokawa - Higashi-Kiyokawa --- Makuta

Highway

• Tateyama Expressway
• Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line
• Ken-Ō Expressway
• Japan National Route 16
• Japan National Route 127
• Japan National Route 409
• Japan National Route 410

Seaports

• Port of Kisarazu

Education

• Seiwa University

Local attractions

• Nakanoshima Park
• Enmyō-in - Buddhist temple
• Kōzō-ji - 30th temple in the Bandō Sanjūsankasho the circuit of 33 Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan

Sister city relations

• Oceanside, California, United States, from June 29, 1990

Noted people from Kisarazu

• Haruo Oka - musician
• Hideki Takahashi - actor
• Akira Nakao - actor
• Kaori Fukuhara – voice actress
• Miyuki Miura – karate master

• Kisarazu 008.JPG

  Kisarazu Station

• Kisarazu 011.JPG

  Port of Kisarazu

• Kisarazu Port.JPG

  Port of Kisarazu

• 

  JGSDF Kisarazu Air Field

• YanaRiver Kisarazu.JPG

  Yana River, Kisarazu

• UmihotaruPA.JPG

  Umi-hotaru (Sea firefly) Parking Service area and Kisarazu

• Yassaimossai 2011.jpg

  Yassai-Mossai (Sokonoke-Sokonoke) Dancing Event on August 14

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Kisarazu City official website (Japanese)
• Map of Kisazaru (Japanese)