Iwata, Shizuoka
Encyclopedia
is a city
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...

 located in Shizuoka
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and is known for being the headquarters of the Yamaha Motor Corporation. Iwata is also home to Júbilo Iwata
Júbilo Iwata
is a professional Japanese association football team currently playing in the J. League Division 1 . The team name Júbilo means 'joy' in Portuguese and Spanish. The team's home town is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium...

, a J. League
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...

 soccer team, as well as Yamaha Jubilo
Yamaha Jubilo
Yamaha Jubilo is a rugby union team based in Iwata, Shizuoka. The team came second behind Toshiba Brave Lupus in the second season of Japanese rugby's Top League...

, a rugby team. The population was 170,779 as of March 1, 2010. The total area is 164.08 km².

Geography

Iwata is located in southwestern Shizuoka Prefecture, bordered by the Tenryū River
Tenryu River
The is a river arising from Lake Suwa in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture, grazing Aichi Prefecture and flowing through western Shizuoka Prefecture in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river.-Geography:...

 to the west and the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 to the south.

Surrounding municipalities

  • Hamamatsu
    Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
    is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. 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 :...

  • Fukuroi
    Fukuroi, Shizuoka
    is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. As of February 2009, the city had an estimated population of 85,985 and a density of 792 persons per km². The total area is 108.56 km².-Geography:...

  • Mori
    Mori, Shizuoka
    is a town located in Shūchi District, Shizuoka, Japan. As of February 2010, the town had an estimated population of 19,650 and a density of 147 persons per km². The total area was 133.84 km².-Geography:...


History

Iwata is an ancient settlement, and contains the ruins of the Nara period
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

 provincial capital and Kokubun-ji
Provincial temple
Emperor Shōmu of Japan established so-called provincial temples in each province of Japan...

 of Tōtōmi province
Totomi Province
was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture. Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa, Suruga and Shinano Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .-History:...

. During the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, it developed as a post station
Shukuba
were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shukueki . These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation...

 on the Tokaidō
Tokaido (road)
The ' was the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period, connecting Edo to Kyoto in Japan. Unlike the inland and less heavily travelled Nakasendō, the Tōkaidō travelled along the sea coast of eastern Honshū, hence the route's name....

 and contained Mitsuke-juku
Mitsuke-juku
was the twenty-eighth of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It is located in what is now the central part of the city of Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan...

, one of the 53 stations on the road.

During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 on October 1, 1889, Mitsuke Village of Iwata District
Iwata District, Shizuoka
Iwata was a district located in Shizuoka, Japan.As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 109,260 and a density of 171.17 persons per km²...

 becomes Mitsuke Town. On the same day, Nakaizumi Village and Ninomiya Village merged to from Nakaizumi Town. These two towns merged on November 1, 1940 with Saikai Village and Tenryū Village to form the new town of Iwata. Iwata Town became Iwata City on April 1, 1948.

In April 2005, Iwata City merged
Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan
Municipal mergers and dissolutions carried out in Japan can take place within one municipality or between multiple municipalities and are required to be based upon consensus.- Merger policy:...

 with the towns of Fukude
Fukude, Shizuoka
was a town located in Iwata District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The town's economy was based on agriculture and commercial fishing....

, Ryūyō
Ryuyo, Shizuoka
was a town located in Iwata District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.On April 1, 2005 Ryūyō, along with the towns of Fukude and Toyoda, and the village of Toyooka, all from Iwata District, was merged into the city of Iwata and thus it no longer exists as an independent municipality.At the time of its...

, Toyoda
Toyoda, Shizuoka
was a town located in Iwata District, Shizuoka, Japan.Toyoda was founded in 1973. On April 1, 2005 Toyoda, along with the towns of Fukude and Ryūyō, and the village of Toyooka, all from Iwata District, was merged into the city of Iwata and thus it no longer exists as an independent municipality.At...

, and Toyooka
Toyooka, Shizuoka
was a village located in Iwata District, Shizuoka, Japan.On April 1, 2005 Toyooka, along with the towns of Fukude, Ryūyō and Toyoda, all from Iwata District, was merged into the city of Iwata and thus no longer exists as an independent municipality.....

.

Economy

The economy of Iwata is primarily agricultural and is known for green tea
Green tea
Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...

 and melons grown in greenhouses, which are called "Iwata melon". The Yamaha
Yamaha (manufacturer)
is a multinational corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, electronics, motorcycles and power sports equipment.-History:...

 Corporation was founded in Iwata and maintains a strong presence in the city. Yamaha Motor's headquarters is in Iwata.

Railroads

  • JR Tōkai
    Central Japan Railway Company
    The is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as . Its headquarters are located in the JR Central Towers in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.The company's operational hub is Nagoya Station...

     - Tōkaidō Main Line
    Tokaido Main Line
    The is the busiest trunk line of the Japan Railways Group , connecting Tōkyō and Kōbe stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities...

    • Iwata Station
      Iwata Station (Shizuoka)
      is a railway station on the Tōkaidō Main Line of Central Japan Railway Company in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The station is 245.9 rail kilometers from Tokyo Station.-History:...

       - Toyodachō Station
      Toyodacho Station
      is a railway station on the Tōkaidō Main Line of Central Japan Railway Company in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The station is 248.8 rail kilometers from Tokyo Station.-History:...

  • Tenryū Hamanako Railroad Tenryū Hamanako Line
    Tenryu Hamanako Railroad Tenryu Hamanako Line
    The , or for short, is a Japanese railway line in Shizuoka Prefecture, running the north coast of Lake Hamana between Kakegawa Station in Kakegawa and Shinjohara Station in Kosai. This is the only railway line of .-History:...

    • Shikiji Station
      Shikiji Station
      is a train station on the Tenryū Hamanako Line in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is located 19.9 rail kilometers from the terminus of the line at Kakegawa Station.-Station history:...

       - Toyooka Station
      Toyooka Station (Shizuoka)
      is a train station on the Tenryū Hamanako Line in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is located 23.0 rail kilometers from the terminus of the line at Kakegawa Station-Station history:...

       - Kaminobe Station
      Kaminobe Station
      is a train station on the Tenryū Hamanako Line in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is located 24.4 rail kilometers from the terminus of the line at Kakegawa Station.-Station History:...


Sister City relations

- Dagupan City
Dagupan City
The City of Dagupan is a 1st class city in the Philippines. It is an independent component city of the province of Pangasinan. According to the latest census, Dagupan City has a population of 149,554 people in 25,921 households. Located on Lingayen Gulf on the island of Luzon, Dagupan is the...

, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 from February 19, 1975 - Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 from June 4 1976

Notable people from Iwata

  • Masami Nagasawa
    Masami Nagasawa
    is a Japanese actress under Toho Entertainment. She has performed in many movies and television dramas including Crying out Love, In the Center of the World, Dragon Zakura and Proposal Daisakusen. She graduated from Horikoshi High School in 2006. She is also known as "Ma-chan" or, as Tomohisa...

     - actress
  • Saori Atsumi
    Saori Atsumi
    is a Japanese singer. She is inactive as from September 2007 under her major label. Although her name is written in katakana, her birth name in kanji is ....

     - singer-songwriter
  • Ryosuke Sasagaki - professional soccer player
  • Jun Mizutani
    Jun Mizutani
    Jun Mizutani is a male Japanese table tennis player. He became the youngest Japanese national champion at the age of 17...

     - professional table-tennis player
  • Noriko Mizoguchi
    Noriko Mizoguchi
    is a retired female judoka from Japan.Mizoguchi claimed the silver medal in the Women's Half-Lightweight division at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. In the final she was defeated by Spain's Almudena Muñoz. She also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.-References:*...

    - judoka

External links

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