Kashiwa

Kashiwa 柏市
Core city
Looking east from Kashiwa Station
Flag Seal
Location of Kashiwa in Chiba Prefecture
Kashiwa
Coordinates:
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Chiba Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Hiroyasu Akiyama (since November 2009)
Area
• Total	114.19 km2 (44.09 sq mi)
Population (April 2012)
• Total	404,262
• Density	3,520/km2 (9,100/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
• tree	Daimyo oak, Castanopsis
• Flower	Phlox subulata; Erythronium japonicum; sunflower
• Bird	Azure-winged magpie
Phone number	04-7167-1111
Address	5-10-1 Kashiwa, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba-ken 270-8505
Website	www.city.kashiwa.lg.jp

Kashiwa (柏市, Kashiwa-shi) is a city located in northwestern Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

As of April 2012, the city has an estimated population of 404,252 and a population density of 3,520 persons per km². The total area is 114.9 km².

The name of the city of Kashiwa in the Japanese language is written with a single kanji character, 柏, a reference to Quercus dentata, commonly known in English as the daimyo oak.

Geography

Kashiwa is located on the Shimōsa Plateau in the far northwestern corner of Chiba Prefecture.

Neighboring municipalities

• Chiba Prefecture
  • Matsudo
  • Abiko
  • Kamagaya
  • Noda
  • Nagareyama
• Ibaraki Prefecture
  • Toride
  • Moriya

History

Early history

Kashiwa has been settled since ancient times, and was historically part of Shimōsa Province. The area around Kashiwa was the site of the Battle of Sakainehara in 1478 early in the Sengoku period (1467 – 1573). During the Edo period (1603 – 1868), the area was tenryo territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. The shogunate established a number of horse ranches which provided war horses for the army of the shogunate. The Tokugawa shogunate put much effort into draining the marshy areas of Lake Tekanuma during the Edo period as part of large-scale land reclamation carried out across Japan. Kashiwa was developed as a post station on the Mito Kaidō, which connected the capitol at Edo with Mito in present-day Ibaraki Prefecture.

Modern history

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Kashiwa Village was created in Chiba Prefecture on October 1, 1889. Kashiwa was connected to Tokyo by rail in 1896, and rail construction during the Meiji period (1868 – 1912) established the area as a commercial center. Kashiwa became a town on September 15, 1926. Kashiwa, like much of northern Chiba Prefecture, saw the development of numerous military installations in the 1930s, notably after the Mukden Incident in 1931. The Imperial Japanese Army established Kashiwa Air Field and Kashiwa Military Hospital, and Kashiwa became a military town. The air field was abandoned after the end of World War II, but the hospital continues to exist as the Kashiwa Public Hospital.

On September 1, 1954, Kashiwa absorbed neighboring Kogane Town and Tsuchi and Tanaka villages to form the new city of Tokatsu (東葛市, Tokatsu-shi). However, many politicians in Kogane Town were vehemently opposed to the merger, and forced its dissolution on October 15, 1954 with most of former Kogane Town merging with Matsudo city instead. On November 1, 1954, Fuse Village broke away from Tokatsu, eventually joining Abiko Town to form the city of Abiko. The remaining portion of Tokatsu was renamed Kashiwa on November 15, 1954. On December 25, 1955 a fire of unknown origin destroyed the former Kashiwa City Hall, and burned down most of the center of the city. In the 1960s, Kashiwa was designated for reconstruction with a special fund from the central government, which included Japan’s first pedestrian decks, completed at Kashiwa Station in 1973.

On April 1, 2008, Kashiwa was designated as a core city, with increased local autonomy from the prefectural government. In August 2010, the city population exceeded 400,000 people.

Economy

Kashiwa is a regional commercial center and a bedroom community for nearby Chiba and Tokyo. The city has a mixed industrial base, with food processing industries forming an important portion of the economy. Nikka Whisky Distilling, Asahi Soft Drinks, and Ito Ham all have production facilities in Kashiwa. There is some residual agriculture of turnips, onions and spinach.

Education

Universities

• Chiba University, Kashiwa Campus
• University of Tokyo, Kashiwa Campus
• Reitaku University
• Nishōgakusha University
• Kaichi International University

Transportation

Rail

• East Japan Railway Company (JR East) - Jōban Line
  • Minami-Kashiwa - Kashiwa - Kita-Kashiwa
• Tōbu Railway - Tōbu Noda Line
  • Toyoshiki - Kashiwa - Shin-Kashiwa - Masuo - Sakasai - Takayanagi
• Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company - Tsukuba Express
  • Kashiwanoha-campus - Kashiwa-Tanaka

Highways

• Jōban Expressway
• National Route 6
• National Route 16
• National Route 294

Sports

Kashiwa is home to the professional football team Kashiwa Reysol.

Sister cities

• – Torrance, California, United States, since February 20, 1973
• – Chengde, Hebei Province, China, since November 1, 1983
• – Guam, United States, since November 30, 1991
• – Camden, New South Wales, Australia, since April 11, 1997
• – Tsugaru, Aomori, Japan, since November 19, 1994

Notable people

• Shigeyuki Furuki, professional baseball player
• Fumio Imamura, Olympic race walker
• Naoki Ishikawa, professional soccer player
• Kirinji Kazuharu, sumo wrestler
• Masato Kobayashi, professional kickboxer
• Yuri Mitsui, actress, model
• Yōko Oginome, singer
• Takeshi Okano, manga artist
• Megumi Urawa, voice actress
• Kazunori Yamauchi, video game designer

External links

• Kashiwa City official website (Japanese)
• Kashiwa City official website (English)
• Kashiwa International Relations Association in Japanese and English