Hirosaki, Aomori

Infobox City Japan
Name= Hirosaki
JapaneseName= 弘前市
Map

Region= Tōhoku
Prefecture= Aomori Prefecture
District=
Area_km2= 523.60
PopDate= May 1, 2008
Population= 184,675
Density_km2= 352.7
Coords=
LatitudeDegrees= 40
LatitudeMinutes= 36
LatitudeSeconds=
LongtitudeDegrees= 140
LongtitudeMinutes= 28
LongtitudeSeconds=
Tree= Apple Tree
Flower= Cherry Blossom
Symbol
!border
SymbolDescription= Flag
Mayor= Shōichi Sōma
CityHallPostalCode= 036-8551
CityHallAddress= 1-1 Kamishirogane-machi, Hirosaki-shi, Aomori-ken
CityHallPhone= 0172-35-1111
CityHallLink= [http://www.city.hirosaki.aomori.jp/index.html City of Hirosaki]

Hirosaki ( _ja. 弘前市; "Hirosaki-shi") is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan.

Hirosaki Castle, a famous landmark, is located in the city. It is famous for the Cherry Blossom Festival held in the park surrounding the castle. About 2,600 Sakura (Japanese cherry) blossom during Golden Week, the longest vacation period of the year for most Japanese.

Due to the fact that Hirosaki is the number one producer of apples in Japan, the city aims for a layout which is appropriate to the apple, and uses the catchphrase "Apple Colored Town Hirosaki". It has also been called "Castle and Cherry Blossom and Apple Town" for a long time.

History

Before Meiji Era

*1603 - Tsugaru Tamenobu drafts a plan to construct a castle in Takaoka (present day Hirosaki).
*1609 - Nobuhira continues planning the castle after Tamenobu's death.
*1610 - Construction of Takaoka Castle begins.
*1611 - Construction of Takaoka Castle ends.
*1627 - Five-story castle lost due to lightning.
*1808 - Takaoka is renamed Hirosaki.
*1628 - Hirosaki domain's kokudaka reaches 100,000 koku.
*1809 - Founding of Kuroishi Clan.
*1811 - Construction of the three-story castle completed.

From Meiji Era to the Second World War

*1871 August 29 - Establishment of Hirosaki Prefecture after the abolishment of the feudal domains
*1871 October - Hirosaki Prefecture becomes Aomori Prefecture and acquires its present form
*1873 October 1 - Chōyō Elementary School established
*1889 April 1 - Incorporation of Hirosaki into the new shisei system.
*1894 December 1 - Ouu main line connection between Hirosaki and Aomori completed.
*1895 - Hirosaki Park opened to the public.
*1900 - 卍 adopted as city symbol.
*1901 - Establishment of Hirosaki City Hospital.
*1906 - Hirosaki City Library completed.
*1909 - Telephone service begins within the city.
*1918 - First Cherry Blossom Festival held.
*1927 - Kōnan Railway connects Hirosaki and Onoe.
*1938 - NHK Hirosaki Branch established.

After the Second World War

*1949 - Hirosaki University established.
*1955 March 1 - 清水村, 和徳村, 豊田村, 堀越村, 千年村, 藤代村, 新和村, 船沢村, 高杉村, 裾野村, Higashimeya are merged into Hirosaki. Higashimeya becomes an enclave.
*1957 September 1 - The western region of Tsugaru, Kuroishi, is merged into Hirosaki.
*1961 - The 観桜会 is renamed さくらまつり.
*1962 - Hirosaki City Public Meeting Hall established.
*1964 - First Chrysanthemum and Maple Festival held.
*1977 - First Hirosaki Castle Snow Lantern Festival held.
*1979 - Apple Road, Northeast Expressway open.
*2006 February 27 - Hirosaki, Iwaki-machi and Sōma-mura merge, forming the new Hirosaki City.
*2006 November 15 - The new Hirosaki city adopts "卍" as its symbol, the cherry blossom as the city flower, and the apple tree as the city tree.

Economy

*Hirosaki is the largest producer of apples in Japan.

Culture

Hirosaki is well known for its tradition of "Tsugaru-jamisen", a virtuosic style of "shamisen" playing.

Tourist attractions

* Hirosaki Castle
* Hirosaki Station
* Nakamachi Buke-Yashiki
* Chosho-ji Temple
* Saisho-in Temple

Notable people

* Yoshitomo Nara
* Mitsuyo Maeda
* Shuji Terayama
* Masakatsu Funaki

External links

* wikitravelpar|Hirosaki
* [http://www.city.hirosaki.aomori.jp/ Hirosaki official website] in Japanese