Sayama, Saitama
Encyclopedia
, formerly known as Irumagawa, 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 Saitama
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
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...

. Sayama translates as "sitting on a mountain”. The city was founded on July 1, 1954.

As of October 1, 2010, the city had 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 157,453 and a 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 3,210.71 persons per km². The city's total area is 49.04 km².

The current Mayor is Yukinari Nakagawa(仲川幸成) elected in 2003.

Geography

Sayama is bordered by the cities of Kawagoe
Kawagoe, Saitama
is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and is about a 30-minute train ride from Ikebukuro in Tokyo.As of July 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 343,926...

, Tokorozawa
Tokorozawa, Saitama
is a city in Saitama, Japan. It is located in the central part of the Musashino plain, about 30 km west of downtown Tokyo. Tokorozawa can be considered part of the greater Tokyo area; its proximity to the latter and lower housing costs make it a popular bedroom community.-Location:Tokorozawa...

, Iruma
Iruma, Saitama
is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 149,269 and a population density of 3,340 persons per km². The total area is 44.74 km². The city consists of 6 areas, Toyooka, Kaneko, Higashikaneko, Fujisawa, Miyadera-Nihongi, and...

, Hannō
Hanno, Saitama
is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.As of April 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 82,683 and a population density of 614.29 per km²...

, and Hidaka
Hidaka, Saitama
is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.As of April 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 57,865, with 22,588 households, and a population density of 1,218.21 persons per km²...

.

The Iruma River flows through the city.

Population history

  • 1970 60,886
  • 1975 98,548
  • 1980 124,029
  • 1985 144,366
  • 1990 157,309
  • 1995 162,240
  • 2000 161,460
  • 2005 158,074
  • 2010 155,738

Transportation

Ken-Ō Expressway
Ken-O Expressway
The , or , is a partially completed ticket system toll expressway in Japan, owned and operated by the Central Nippon Expressway Company and East Nippon Expressway Company. In conjunction with the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line and the Bayshore Route of the Shuto Expressway, it will form a full outer ring road...

, Route 16
Route 16 (Japan)
National Route 16 is a national highway in Japan. A beltway around Tokyo, it links the major prefectural capital cities of Yokohama , Saitama , and Chiba as well as Hachiōji . It also serves Yokosuka and Sagamihara , Kasukabe , and Kisarazu...

, Route 299
Route 299 (Japan)
National Route 299 is a national highway of Japan connecting Chino, Nagano and Iruma, Saitama in Japan, with a total length of 189.3 km ....

 and Route 407
Route 407 (Japan)
National Route 407 is a national highway of Japan connecting Ashikaga, Tochigi and Iruma, Saitama in Japan, with a total length of 60.4 km ....

 pass through Sayama. Train stations include Iriso Station
Iriso Station
is a train station in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

, Inariyama-kōen Station
Inariyama-koen Station
is a railway station in Sayama, Saitama, Japan. This station is served by the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. Inariyama-kōen is the 22nd station leaving from Ikebukuro Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.-Adjacent stations:...

, Sayamashi Station
Sayamashi Station
is a train station in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

, and Shin-Sayama Station
Shin-Sayama Station
is a train station in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.- Adjacent stations :...

.

History and culture

Sayama is host to one of Japan's best known Tanabata
Tanabata
is a Japanese star festival, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi . According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the...

 (Star) festivals each August, the Irumagawa Tanabata Matsuri.

The city was the location of the Sayama Incident
Sayama Incident
The is a murder case named after Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, where it took place. The incident, in which a man was imprisoned for 31 years, highlighted official discrimination against Japan's burakumin.-The murder:...

, a 1963 murder and trial which resulted in the false accusation and conviction of an innocent man, a member of the Burakumin
Burakumin
are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent....

 minority group, of murder.

The city has an Indoor ski slope
Indoor ski slope
Indoor ski slopes are found in several countries, proving a climate controlled environment can be maintained in which snow can be manufactured using a snow cannon, enabling skiing and snowboarding to take place year-round.-Notable mentions:...

, the Sayama Ski Area.

The Secom Rugguts
Secom Rugguts
Secom Rugguts is a Japanese rugby union team which was in the Top League for the first season of the league but was demoted at the end of the season...

 rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 team, and the Saitama Soccer Club of the Kantō Soccer League, are located there.

The Iruma Air Base
Iruma Air Base
is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, north of western Tokyo, Japan.Iruma Air Base is currently home to the Air Defense Command Headquarters Flight Group...

 is located there, as is the Bunri University of Hospitality
Bunri University of Hospitality
is a private university in Sayama, Saitama, Japan, established in 1999. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1974.-External links:*...

 and Musashino Gakuin University
Musashino Gakuin University
is a private university in Sayama, Saitama, Japan, established in 2004. The school also has attached middle school, high school, graduate school, junior college and kindergarten.-External links:*...

.

Asteroid 4461 Sayama
4461 Sayama
4461 Sayama is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 5, 1990 by Atsushi Sugie at Dynic.- External links :*...

 was named after the city.

Honda assembly plant

Sayama is the location of an assembly plant, which opened in 1964, for Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

/Acura
Acura
Acura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. The brand has been available in the United States and Canada since March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and near-performance vehicles. It was introduced to Hong Kong in 1991, Mexico in 2004, and China in 2006...

 vehicles, currently including the Fit
Honda Fit
The Honda Jazz is a five-door hatchback subcompact manufactured by the Honda Motor Company of Japan, first introduced in June 2001 and is now in its second generation. The Jazz shares Honda's Global Small Car Platform with the City/Fit Aria, Airwave/Partner, Mobilio, Mobilio Spike, Freed and Freed...

, CR-V, Acura TSX
Acura TSX
-Overview:Named as Touring Sportscar eXperimental. The 2004 model year TSX's powertrain consisted of a 2.4-litre inline four-cylinder engine, a six-speed manual transmission , and a front wheel drive layout. A five-speed automatic transmission was a no-cost option in the U.S...

 and RL
Acura RL
The Acura RL is the flagship car for North American luxury brand Acura — marketed in Japan as the Honda Legend and manufactured in Saitama, Japan...

, and in the past the Accord
Honda Accord
The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world....

, Prelude
Honda Prelude
The Honda Prelude was a sports coupe produced by Japanese automaker Honda from 1978 until 2001. It replaced the Honda S800, a front-engined, front wheel drive sports car...

, Vigor, Inspire
Honda Inspire
The Honda Inspire is a luxury sedan introduced by Honda in 1990 and based on the Honda Accord chassis. The first Inspire debuted in 1990 as the Accord Inspire, a sister nameplate to the Honda Vigor, then the Honda Vigor was exported to the USA as an Acura...

, Legend
Honda Legend
The Honda Legend is a mid-size luxury car made by the Japanese automaker Honda. It was the result of Project XX, a joint agreement started in November 1981 with the Austin Rover Group of Great Britain and was mechanically related to the Rover 800 series....

 and Integra
Honda Integra
The Honda Integra is a compact luxury performance coupe made by Honda during the years 1985 to 2006. The sporty front wheel drive car is able to house five passengers with a two door hatch or four door sedan available.The Integra was on Car and Driver magazine's annual Ten Best list six times, in...

. The plant was briefly closed, but not damaged, following the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...

, and restarted production in April 2011, albeit at lower production levels.

Other businesses

The Lotte
Lotte (conglomerate)
Lotte Co., Ltd. is a South Korean-Japanese Jaebeol and one of the largest food and shopping groups in South Korea and Japan. Lotte was established in June 1948, in Tokyo, by Japanese-educated, Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-Ho – also known as...

 candy and food processing company operates a facility in Sayama.

The Sankyo Flute Company
Sankyo Flute Company
Sankyo Flute Manufacturing Co., Ltd, located in Sayama, Japan, produces hand-made flutes, piccolos and head joints at the professional level. A number of prominent flautists, such as Walter Auer of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, John Curran of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, and...

 is located there.

The city, along with neighboring Iruma
Iruma, Saitama
is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 149,269 and a population density of 3,340 persons per km². The total area is 44.74 km². The city consists of 6 areas, Toyooka, Kaneko, Higashikaneko, Fujisawa, Miyadera-Nihongi, and...

, is a well known tea growing region, producing Sayama Tea
Sayama Tea
is a type of green tea leaves produced mainly in the southwestern region of Saitama Prefecture and a small neighboring area in Northwestern Tokyo. In comparison to teas from other tea-growing regions in Japan, Sayama Tea is characterized with its thick leaves...

.

People from Sayama

  • Matsushige Ohno
    Matsushige Ohno
    is a Japanese politician.He is a member of the House of Representatives, and Senior Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications in the Shinzō Abe cabinet.He served as the 3rd Mayor of Sayama from 1986 to 1994.-References:...

     (大野松茂), politician
  • Shiori Kazama, director, The Mars Canon
    The Mars Canon
    is a Japanese film made in 2002. Themes of the film include adultery and homosexuality, as Mars connotes both fighting and sexual intercourse.-Synopsis:...

  • Mitsuo Hashimoto
    Mitsuo Hashimoto (manga artist)
    is a Japanese manga artist. After winning an honorable mention at the 11th Tezuka Awards in 1976 for his work Mīnya no Negai, he made his professional debut the following year in a special issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump with his work...

    , manga artist
  • Ryuji Hijikata
    Ryuji Hijikata
    is a Japanese professional wrestler. Born May 17, 1978. Started wrestling in 1998 for Yuki Isikawa's BattlARTS promotion and All Japan Pro Wrestling since 2002 where he was a former AJPW World Jr...

    , professional wrestler
  • Tetsurō Araki
    Tetsuro Araki
    is a Japanese anime director. He was born in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.Araki is a graduate at Senshu University and works with Madhouse. His directorial debut was 2005's Otogi-Jūshi Akazukin. He is best known as the director of the Death Note anime adaptation...

    , anime director
  • Kensuke Kazama
    Kensuke Kazama
    is a Japanese photographer who for many years lived in and photographed the one-time mining town of Yūbari, Hokkaidō.Born in Mie Prefecture, Kazama moved to Tokyo in 1978. He held exhibitions in Tokyo two years later...

    , photographer

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK