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 Yamagata Prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture

-Fruit:Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced.- Demographics :...

, 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...

.

As of 2006, 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 116,883 and the 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 193.92 persons per km². The total area is 602.74 km².

History

The city was founded on April 1, 1933. On November 1, 2005, the towns of Hirata

Hirata, Yamagata

was a town located in Akumi District, Yamagata, Japan.On November 1, 2005, Hirata was merged into the city of Sakata, along with the towns of Matsuyama and Yawata, all from Akumi District....

, Matsuyama

Matsuyama, Yamagata

was a town located in Akumi District, Yamagata, Japan.On November 1, 2005, Matsuyama, was merged into the city of Sakata, along with the towns of Hirata and Yawata, all from Akumi District....

 and Yawata

Yawata, Yamagata

was a town located in Akumi District, Yamagata, Japan.On November 1, 2005, Yawata, was merged into the city of Sakata, along with the towns of Hirata and Matsuyama, all from Akumi District....

 from Akumi District

Akumi District, Yamagata

is a district located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 36,844 and a density of 57.99 persons per km². The total area is 635.31 km².-Merger:...

 merged into the city of Sakata.

The movie Okuribito

Departures (film)

All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"Shine of Snow I" 1:12#"Nohkan" 3:10#"Kaisan" 0:53#"Good-Bye Cello" 2:16#"New Road" 1:15#"Model" 0:47#"First Contact" 1:51#"Washing" 0:34#"Kizuna I" 1:57#"Beautiful Dead I" 3:12#"Okuribito " 1:51...

(Departures) (Best Foreign Language Oscar 2009) was filmed in Sakata.

Health

• Prefectural Nihonkai Hospital
• Municipal Sakata Hospital
• Municipal Yawata Hospital
• Homma Hospital

Education

University

• Tohoku University of Community Service and Science

High School

Sakata East High School Sakata West High School Sakata Commercial High School Sakata Technical High School Sakata North High School

Sakata Central High School Sakata South High School Tenshin Gakuen High School Wajunkan High School

Junior High School

Sakata First Junior High School Sakata Second Junior High School Sakata Third Junior High School Sakata Fourth Junior High School Sakata Fifth Junior High School Sakata Sixth Junior High School

Sakata Tobishima Junior High School Sakata Hirata Junior High School Sakata Chokai Junior High School Sakata Yawata Junior High School Sakata Matsuyama Junior High School

Elementary School

Sakata Takusei Elementary School Sakata Hamada Elementary School Sakata Wakahama Elementary School Sakata Fujimi Elementary School Sakata Kijo Elementary School Sakata Matsubara Elementary School Sakata Konan Elementary School Sakata Shoryo Elementary School Sakata Izumi Elementary School Sakata Tobishima Elementary School Sakata Nishi Arase Elementary School

Sakata Niibori Elementary School Sakata Hirono Elementary School Sakata Hamanaka Elementary School Sakata Kuromori Elementary School Sakata Tozaka Elementary School Sakata Miyanoura Elementary School Sakata Higashi Hirata Elementary School Sakata Naka Hirata Elementary School Sakata Kita Hirata Elementary School Sakata Chokai Elementary School Sakata Minami Yuza Elementary School

Sakata Ichijyo Elementary School Sakata Yawata Elementary School Sakata Osawa Elementary School Sakata Nikko Elementary School Sakata Jimikoya Elementary School Sakata Matsuyama Elementary School Sakata Naigo Elementary School Sakata Tazawa Elementary School Sakata Minami Hirata Elementary School

Culture

The city of Sakata was the shooting location for two recent movies:

• Okuribito (English title Departures), 2008, winner of the Oscar for best foreign film. Set in present time, a newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.
• Silk, 2007, a film set in the 19th century, about a silkworm merchant and his love life, based on the novel by Alessandro Baricco
  Alessandro Baricco
  Alessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages...
  
  .

Train stations

• JR East
  East Japan Railway Company
  is 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....
  
  
  • Uetsu Main Line
    Uetsu Main Line
    The is a railway in the Tōhoku and Chūbu regions of Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company system, it connects Niitsu Station in the city of Niigata and Akita Station in Akita...
    
    : Sagoshi
    Sagoshi Station
    is a JR East railway station located in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.-Adjacent stations:...
    
     - Higashi-Sakata
    Higashi-Sakata Station
    is a JR East railway station located in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.-Adjacent stations:...
    
     - Sakata
    Sakata Station (Yamagata)
    is a East Japan Railway Company railway station located in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan.-Limited express trains:* Inaho * Akebono * Nihonkai -Adjacent stations:...
    
     - Mototate
    Mototate Station
    is a railway station in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company .-Lines:Mototate Station is located on the Uetsu Main Line, stretching from to . The station is served by local services operating between and Akita, with some services starting or terminating at...
    
     - Minamichōkai
  • Rikuu West Line: Sakata
    Sakata Station (Yamagata)
    is a East Japan Railway Company railway station located in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan.-Limited express trains:* Inaho * Akebono * Nihonkai -Adjacent stations:...
    
    

Major roads

• Yamagata Expressway
  Yamagata Expressway
  The is a national expressway in the Tōhoku region of Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.-Naming:The expressway is officially referred to as the Tōhoku Ōdan Expressway Sakata Route...
  
  : (Sakata, Sakata Minato, and Shōnai Airport interchanges)
• Route 7
  Route 7 (Japan)
  National Route 7 is an important highway on the Sea of Japan side of the island of Honshū, Japan. It links the prefectural capitals of Niigata, Akita, and Aomori...
  
  , Route 47, Route 112
  Route 112 (Japan)
  National Route 112 is a national highway of Japan connecting Yamagata, Yamagata and Sakata, Yamagata in Japan, with a total length of 140.3 km ....
  
  , Route 344
  Route 344 (Japan)
  National Route 344 is a national highway of Japan connecting Yuzawa, Akita and Sakata, Yamagata in Japan, with a total length of 115 km ....
  
  , Route 345
  Route 345 (Japan)
  National Route 345 is a national highway of Japan connecting Chūō-ku, Niigata and Yuza, Yamagata in Japan, with a total length of 212 km ....
  
  

Art and historical museums

• Domon Ken Photography Museum
  Domon Ken Photography Museum
  The was opened in 1983 in Sakata, Yamagata , the birthplace of the photographer Ken Domon.On the occasion of becoming the first honorary citizen of Sakata in 1974, Domon donated his entire collection of works to the town. This prompted the decision to build a museum in his honour.The museum has...
  
  
• Honma Art Museum
• Sakata Museum of Art
• Dewa-yushinkan
• Soumaro
• Sake Museum

Famous and Historical Sites

• The Historical Abumiya Residence
• Sankyo Storehouse
• Hiyoriyama Park
• The Historical Honma Residence
• The Kinowa Wall Site
• The Historical Shirasaki Clinic

Television

• NHK Sakata Broadcast Station
• TV-U Yamagata Sakata Station
• Sakata Cable Television Station

Notable people

• Haruo Nakajima
  Haruo Nakajima
  is a famous Japanese actor. He is best known for playing Godzilla and is considered by many to be the best suit actor in the long history of the franchise...
  
  , actor
• Jiro Abe, philosopher
• Ken Domon
  Ken Domon
  is one of the most renowned Japanese photographers of the twentieth century. He is most celebrated as a photojournalist, though he may have been most prolific as a photographer of Buddhist temples and statuary....
  
  , photographer
• Kenji Kobayashi, baseball player
• Koki Mitsuura, music producer
• Kinnosuke Ogura, mathematician
• Kumiko Ikeda
  Kumiko Ikeda
  is a Japanese long jumper.She won bronze medals at the 2000 World Junior Championships and the 2001 Summer Universiade, and finished eleventh at the 2001 World Championships. On the regional level she won a bronze medal at the 2005 Asian Championships and gold at the 2006 Asian Games.Her personal...
  
  , long jumper
• Makoto Sataka, financial analyst
• Mikio Narita, actor
• Seiko Shimakage
  Seiko Shimakage
  is a Japanese former volleyball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics.She was born in Sakata.In 1972 she was part of the Japanese team which won the silver medal in the Olympic tournament. She played all five matches.-External links:*...
  
  , volleyball player and golfer
• Shūmei Ōkawa, nationalist
• Yoko Kishi, singer
• Hiroshi Yoshino, poet

Sister cities

Delaware

Delaware, Ohio

The City of Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County in the United States state of Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

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

 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky

Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky is a town and the administrative center of Nizhneilimsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located east of Bratsk and west of the northern tip of Lake Baikal, from the Ilim River and north of Irkutsk...

, Irkutsk Oblast

Irkutsk Oblast

Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

External links

• Sakata official website in Japanese