Kumagaya, Saitama

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Kumagaya
熊谷市
Special city
Flag of Kumagaya
Flag
Location of Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture
Location of Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture
Kumagaya is located in Japan
Kumagaya
Kumagaya
Location in Japan
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country Japan
Region Kanto
Prefecture Saitama Prefecture
Government
 • Mayor Kiyoshi Tomioka
Area
 • Total 159.88 km2 (61.73 sq mi)
Population (April 1, 2010)
 • Total 203,089
 • Density 1,270/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
Symbols
 • Tree Zelkova serrata(Keyaki)
 • Flower Sakura(Sakura)
 • Bird Skylark(Hibari)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Hall Address 2-47-1 Miya-machi, Kumagaya-shi
360-8601
Website www.city.kumagaya.lg.jp/english

Kumagaya (熊谷市 Kumagaya-shi?) is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 203,089 (9th in Saitama) and a population density of 1,270 persons per km². The total area is 159.88 km².

The city is one of the biggest in northern Saitama Prefecture. It is the administrative, business and commercial centre in northern Saitama Prefecture. Eight national highways and three railway lines serve the city. While many people commute towards south Tokyo, its daytime population is larger than the night population thanks to commuters from surrounding towns.

Historical Outline

The city was named for the 12th-century warrior Kumagai Naozane. The Kanji of "Kuma"(熊) means "Bear", and "Gaya"(谷) means "Valley". During the Edo Period, the city was a post town on the feudal-time national highway Nakasendō and silk market. It was designated as a city on April 1, 1933.

Kumagaya bears the dubious distinction of being the very last target of US aerial firebombing in Japan, thus representing the very final episode of World War II, on August 15, 1945, coinciding with Emperor Hirohito's announcement of the country's surrender.

On October 1, 2005, Kumagaya absorbed the towns of Ōsato and Menuma (both from Ōsato District) to create the new and expanded city of Kumagaya.

On February 13, 2007, Kumagaya absorbed the town of Kōnan (also from Ōsato District) to become the first city ever to have a population of more than 200,000 in Northern Saitama Prefecture. With these mergers, the city has fulfilled the requirements to become a special city, and the city has become a special city.

On August 16, 2007, the city recorded air temperature of 40.9˚C, breaking the 74-year-old record for the highest temperature recorded in Japan (the city of Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture also had the same record). The rest is described below.

Geography

The city is in northern Saitama Prefecture and on the east edge of Arakawa alluvial fan.

There are two rivers:

The Moto-Arakawa River is a habitat for the Musashi-Tomiyo (Pungitius), which can be seen only here in the world.[citation needed]

Transportation

Rail

Road

Neighboring cities and towns

Saitama Prefecture

Kumagaya and Gyoda are connected by National Highway Route 125, its by-pass and Chichubu Railway.

Kumagaya and Kounosu are connected by National Highway Route 17, its by-pass and Takasaki Line.

Neither railroad nor National Highway route connects the two cities.

Kumagaya and Kounosu are connected by National Highway Route 17, its by-pass, Takasaki Line and Chichubu Railway.

Gunma Prefecture
  • Ōta City (太田)

Kumagaya and Ōta are connected by National Highway Route 407.

Climate

Kumagaya has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) and is known for being one of the hottest areas in summer in Japan. This is caused by very hot winds from Tokyo and the Chichibu basin in the west of the prefecture. In Central Tokyo, the summer monsoon enhanced by sea breeze is heated by urban heat island. Also, from the Chichibu Mountains, the Fohn blows. The two winds converge above the city at about 2 pm.

On August 16, 2007, the city recorded air temperature of 40.9 °C (105.6 °F), breaking the 74-year record for the highest temperature recorded in Japan. "Very Hot! Kumagaya" (あついぞ！熊谷) is a catch phrase of the city.

There was a large hailstorm on June 29, 1917 at about 5pm. The hailstones had a diameter of 29.6 centimeters and weighed 3.4 kilogram.[citation needed]

There is a Kumagaya Local Meteorological Observatory of Japan Meteorological Agency.

Climate data for Kumagaya, Saitama
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 9.1
(48.4)		 9.5
(49.1)		 12.8
(55)		 18.8
(65.8)		 23.5
(74.3)		 25.9
(78.6)		 29.2
(84.6)		 31.4
(88.5)		 26.3
(79.3)		 21.0
(69.8)		 16.2
(61.2)		 11.6
(52.9)		 19.61
(67.29)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.2
(37.8)		 3.9
(39)		 7.0
(44.6)		 12.9
(55.2)		 17.7
(63.9)		 21.1
(70)		 24.6
(76.3)		 26.2
(79.2)		 21.9
(71.4)		 16.0
(60.8)		 10.6
(51.1)		 5.6
(42.1)		 14.23
(57.62)
Average low °C (°F) −1.8
(28.8)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 2.0
(35.6)		 7.8
(46)		 12.6
(54.7)		 17.3
(63.1)		 21.2
(70.2)		 22.6
(72.7)		 18.5
(65.3)		 11.9
(53.4)		 5.9
(42.6)		 0.6
(33.1)		 9.81
(49.66)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 24.7
(0.972)		 40.8
(1.606)		 57.7
(2.272)		 86.3
(3.398)		 106.6
(4.197)		 169.8
(6.685)		 134.3
(5.287)		 159.2
(6.268)		 185.6
(7.307)		 116.8
(4.598)		 58.4
(2.299)		 27.3
(1.075)		 1,167.5
(45.964)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 5
(2)		 9
(3.5)		 4
(1.6)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 18
(7.1)
Average relative humidity (%) 55 56 57 64 68 76 80 77 79 72 66 60 67.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours 206.5 179.1 197.6 175.2 193.2 123.0 129.3 170.8 116.0 149.4 162.7 195.0 1,997.8
Source: NOAA (1961-1990)[1]

Historical timeline

  • 1889 - The town of Kumagaya was merged with the village of Ishiwara (from Osato District) to create the new town of Kumagaya.
  • 1923 - The village of Koizka (from Osato District) was added.
  • 1927 - The village of Narita (from Kita-Saitama District) was added.
  • 1932 - The village of Oohata (from Osato District) was added.
  • 1933 - The town was elevated to city status.
  • 1941 - The village of Sayada (from Osato District) was added.
  • 1945 - Kumagaya Raid
  • 1951 - School lunch started.
  • 1953 - The song of Kumagaya was composed.
  • 1954 - The villages of Chujo, Beppu, Nara and Mishiri (all from Osato District) were added.
  • 1955 - The villages of Yoshioka, Ooi and Hoshimiya (all from Osato District) were added.
  • 1960 - Kita-oodori was opened for traffic.
  • 1965 - City theater was completed.
  • 1966 - School lunch center came into operation.
  • 1967 - 22nd National Sports Festival was held.
  • 1969 - New Arakawa Bridge was opened.
  • 1971 - The house of Mount Akagi was opened.
  • 1973 - New City Hall was opened.
  • 1979 - Cultural Hall was opened.
  • 1986 - Central Park was opened.
  • 1988 - Saitama Exhibition was held.
  • 1988 - Sports Park was opened.
  • 1994 - Beppu-marsh Park was opened.
  • 1998 - Sakurameito was opened.
  • 2003 - Kuge Bridge was opened.
  • 2004 - 59th National Sports Festival was held.
  • 2005 - The city of Kumagaya absorbed the towns of Ōsato and Menuma (both from Ōsato District) to create the new city of Kumagaya.
  • 2007 - The town of Kōnan (from Ōsato District) was added.

Administration

Kumagaya city hall
  • The city has one city hall and three branch offices.
    • Kumagaya City Hall (熊谷市役所)
    • Menuma Branch Office (妻沼行政センター)
    • Ōsato Branch Office (大里行政センター)
    • Kōnan Branch Office (江南行政センター)

Mayors

  • Ryosaku Arai (新井良作): April 1933 to May 1939 - 1st, 2nd
  • Moya Saitou (齋籐茂八): June 1936 to April 1942 - 3rd
  • Takeo Yajima (矢島武男): April 1932 to November 1945 - 4th
  • Tadashi Negishi (根岸忠): January 1946 to March 1947 - 5th
  • Souichi Kamode (鴨田宗一): April 1947 to April 1958 - 6th to 8th
  • Seiichi Kurihara (栗原正一): May 1958 to May 1962 - 9th
  • Uminosuke Kuroda (黒田海之助): May 1962 to May, 1982 - 10th to 14th
  • Toshio Masuda (増田敏男): May 1982 to June, 1986 - 15th, 16th
  • Kazuo Kobayashi (小林一夫): August 1986 to August 2002 - 17th to 20th
  • Kiyoshi Tomioka (富岡清): August 3, 2003 to September 30, 2005 - 21st
  • Fumio Yoshihara (吉原文雄): October 1, 2005 to November 5, 2005 - Interim mayor
  • Kiyoshi Tomioka (富岡清): November 6, 2005 to present

Sister cities

Education

Universities

Senior high schools

  • Kumagaya Boys' Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷高等学校)
  • Nishi-Kumagaya Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷西高等学校)
  • Kumagaya Girls' Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷女子高等学校)
  • Menuma Senior High School (埼玉県立妻沼高等学校)
  • Kumagaya Industrial Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷工業高等学校)
  • Kumagaya Agricultural Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷農業高等学校)
  • Kumagaya Business Senior High School (埼玉県立熊谷商業高等学校)
  • Kita-Saitama Nurses' Training School (埼玉県立北高等看護学校)
  • Kumagaya Apparel School　(学校法人熊谷文化服装専門学校)

Junior high schools

  • Arakawa Junior High School (熊谷市立荒川中学校)
  • Ōaso Junior High School (熊谷市立大麻生中学校)
  • Ōsato Junior High School (熊谷市立大里中学校)
  • Ōhata Junior High School (熊谷市立大幡中学校)
  • Ōhara Junior High School (熊谷市立大原中学校)
  • Higashi-Kumagaya Junior High School (熊谷市立熊谷東中学校)
  • Kounan Junior High School (熊谷市立江南中学校)
  • Kojima Junior High School (熊谷市立小島中学校)
  • Tamai Junior High School (熊谷市立玉井中学校)
  • Chūjō Junior High School (熊谷市立中条中学校)
  • Nara Junior High School (熊谷市立奈良中学校)
  • Fujimi Junior High School (熊谷市立富士見中学校)
  • Beppu Junior High School (熊谷市立別府中学校)
  • Mishiri Junior High School (熊谷市立三尻中学校)
  • Nishi-Menuma Junior High School (熊谷市立妻沼西中学校)
  • Higashi-Menuma Junior High School (熊谷市立妻沼東中学校)
  • Yoshioka Junior High School (熊谷市立吉岡中学校)

Elementary schools

  • Ishiwara Elementary School(熊谷市立石原小学校)
  • Ōaso Elementary School (熊谷市立大麻生小学校)
  • Ōta Elementary School (熊谷市立太田小学校)
  • Ōhata Elementary School (熊谷市立大幡小学校)
  • Onuma Elementary School (熊谷市立男沼小学校)
  • Ichida Elementary School (熊谷市立市田小学校)
  • Kagohara Elementary School (熊谷市立籠原小学校)
  • Kuge Elementary School (熊谷市立久下小学校)
  • Nishi-Kumagaya Elementary School (熊谷市立熊谷西小学校)
  • Higashi-Kumagaya Elementary School (熊谷市立熊谷東小学校)
  • Minami-Kumagaya Elementary School (熊谷市立熊谷南小学校)
  • Kita-Kōnan Elementary School (熊谷市立江南北小学校)
  • Minami-Kōnan Elementary School (熊谷市立江南南小学校)
  • Kojima Elementary School (熊谷市立小島小学校)
  • Sakuragi Elementary School (熊谷市立桜木小学校)
  • Sayada Elementary School (熊谷市立佐谷田小学校)
  • Tamai Elementary School (熊谷市立玉井小学校)
  • Chūjō Elementary School (熊谷市立中条小学校)
  • Nara Elementary School (熊谷市立奈良小学校)
  • Nagai Elementary School (熊谷市立長井小学校)
  • Narita Elementary School (熊谷市立成田小学校)
  • Niibori Elementary School (熊谷市立新堀小学校)
  • Hata Elementary School (熊谷市立秦小学校)
  • Beppu Elementary School (熊谷市立別府小学校)
  • Hoshimiya Elementary School (熊谷市立星宮小学校)
  • Mishiri Elementary School (熊谷市立三尻小学校)
  • Menuma Elementary School (熊谷市立妻沼小学校)
  • Minami-Menuma Elementary School (熊谷市立妻沼南小学校)
  • Yoshioka Elementary School (熊谷市立吉岡小学校)
  • Yoshimi Elementary School (熊谷市立吉見小学校)

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ [1]

External links

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