Gyoda, Saitama
Encyclopedia
is a city
in Saitama Prefecture
, Japan.
As of April 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population
of 87,089, with 33,570 household
s and a population density
of 1,292.70 persons per km². The total area is 67.37 km².
The city was founded on May 3, 1949.
On January 1, 2006 the village of Minamikawara
, from Kitasaitama District
, was merged into Gyōda.
Sakitama Fudoki-no-oka Hill is a 300,000-square-meter historic park dotted with large ancient tombs, including a tomb of ancient potentates on Mt. Maruhaka-yama, one of the largest round burial mounds in Japan. At Mt. Shogun-yama, a 91-meter-long burial mound that is square at the head and rounded at the foot, there is a display room of its interior where the stone cave hut and excavated articles have been restored to their original conditions in the 5th to 7th centuries. Every spring, residents celebrate a fire festival, which symbolizes the myth that the ancient goddess of Japan gave birth in fire.
Gyoda City is proud of its ancient lotuses that grow in the Kobari Marsh. The seeds of ancient lotuses here, estimated to date back 1,400 to 3,00 years, were found by chance during excavation for the building of a waste disposal facility. After a few thousand years of dormancy, they awoke and germinated. The large pink blossoms bloom only in the morning for about a month from mid-July after the close of the rainy season.
The 1988 reconstruction of the original Oshi Castle. Oshi Castle (Oshi-jo) was built by the daimyo Narita Akiyasu near the end of the 15th century. It was considered impregnable, and was built using the natural levee of the surrounding marshlands and river. When it was attacked by the army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century) it was besieged by over 20,000 soldiers. The castle did not fall even when it was flooded by water drawn in from the nearby river. After that it was rumored that the castle had been able to withstand the flood because it floats on water. The largest turret in Oshi Castle is Gosankai Yagura, although it was demolished in the latter half of the 19th century when political power changed from the Edo shogunate to the Meiji government, due to its condemnation as a symbol of the samurai. The existing turret was reconstructed in 1988.
Gyōda is also quite well known for the making of traditional tabi
socks, worn with kimono. Gyoda still makes half of the tabi made in Japan.
Cities of Japan
||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...
in Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
, Japan.
As of April 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 87,089, with 33,570 household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s and a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 1,292.70 persons per km². The total area is 67.37 km².
The city was founded on May 3, 1949.
On January 1, 2006 the village of Minamikawara
Minamikawara, Saitama
Minamikawara was a village located in Kitasaitama District, Saitama, Japan.On January 1, 2006 Minamikawara was merged into the city of Gyōda....
, from Kitasaitama District
Kitasaitama District, Saitama
was a district located in Saitama Prefecture.Prior to its abolition, Kita-Saitama District had three towns:*Town of Kisai *Town of Kitakawabe *Town of Ōtone...
, was merged into Gyōda.
Transport
- Gyōda StationGyoda Stationis a railway station of Takasaki Line, East Japan Railway Company in Ichiriyamacho, in the city of Gyōda, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.-Layout:The station has an island platform.Tracks- Adjacent stations :-External links:*...
(JR EastEast Japan Railway Companyis the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
Takasaki LineTakasaki LineThe is a Japanese railway line which runs between Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company ....
) - Gyōdashi StationGyōdashi Stationis a railway station in Gyōda, Saitama, Japan, operated by the Chichibu Railway.-Lines:Gyōdashi Station is served by the Chichibu Main Line from to , and is located 8.3 km from Hanyū. Chichibuji express services stop at this station.-Platforms:...
(Chichibu Railway)
Important historical points
Sakitama KofunKofun
Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...
Sakitama Fudoki-no-oka Hill is a 300,000-square-meter historic park dotted with large ancient tombs, including a tomb of ancient potentates on Mt. Maruhaka-yama, one of the largest round burial mounds in Japan. At Mt. Shogun-yama, a 91-meter-long burial mound that is square at the head and rounded at the foot, there is a display room of its interior where the stone cave hut and excavated articles have been restored to their original conditions in the 5th to 7th centuries. Every spring, residents celebrate a fire festival, which symbolizes the myth that the ancient goddess of Japan gave birth in fire.
Gyoda City is proud of its ancient lotuses that grow in the Kobari Marsh. The seeds of ancient lotuses here, estimated to date back 1,400 to 3,00 years, were found by chance during excavation for the building of a waste disposal facility. After a few thousand years of dormancy, they awoke and germinated. The large pink blossoms bloom only in the morning for about a month from mid-July after the close of the rainy season.
The 1988 reconstruction of the original Oshi Castle. Oshi Castle (Oshi-jo) was built by the daimyo Narita Akiyasu near the end of the 15th century. It was considered impregnable, and was built using the natural levee of the surrounding marshlands and river. When it was attacked by the army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century) it was besieged by over 20,000 soldiers. The castle did not fall even when it was flooded by water drawn in from the nearby river. After that it was rumored that the castle had been able to withstand the flood because it floats on water. The largest turret in Oshi Castle is Gosankai Yagura, although it was demolished in the latter half of the 19th century when political power changed from the Edo shogunate to the Meiji government, due to its condemnation as a symbol of the samurai. The existing turret was reconstructed in 1988.
Culture
Gyōda is renowned for its Jeri Furai or fried jelly. This is a local speciality consisting of fried bean curd, carrots, onion, and potato. There are many shops which sell it around town, especially during the warmer seasons.Gyōda is also quite well known for the making of traditional tabi
Tabi
are traditional Japanese socks. Ankle-high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes, they are worn by both men and women with zori, geta, and other traditional thonged footwear. Tabi are also essential with traditional clothing—kimono and other wafuku as well as being worn by...
socks, worn with kimono. Gyoda still makes half of the tabi made in Japan.