Chiryū, Aichi

Chiryū 知立市
—  City  —
Flag
Location of Chiryū in Aichi
Chiryū
Coordinates: 34°59′44″N 137°2′42″E / 34.99556°N 137.045°E / 34.99556; 137.045Coordinates: 34°59′44″N 137°2′42″E / 34.99556°N 137.045°E / 34.99556; 137.045
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu, Tōkai
Prefecture	Aichi
Area
– Total	16.34 km2 (6.3 sq mi)
Population (October 2011)
– Total	69,127
– Density	4,230/km2 (10,955.6/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Symbols
- Tree	Zelkova serrata
- Flower	Iris laevigata
Phone number	0566-83-1111
Address	3-1 Hiromi, Chiryū-shi, Aichi-ken 472-8666
Website	City of Chiryū

Chiryū City Hall

Chiryū (知立市, Chiryū-shi ^?) is a city located in central Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of October 2011, the city had an estimated population of 69,127 and a population density of 4230 persons per km². The total area was 16.34 km².

Geography

Chiryū is situated in central Aichi Prefecture.

Neighboring municipalities

• Toyota
• Kariya
• Anjō

History

“Chiryū” as a local place name appears in documents in the Nara period. During the Edo period, the area prospered as Chiryū-juku, one of the post stations on the Tōkaidō connecting Edo with Kyoto. The town was noted for its horse trading fairs. Part of the present day city were under the control of Kariya Domain, a feudal han under the Tokugawa shogunate.

After the Meiji restoration, Chiryū Town was created within Hekikai District, Aichi Prefecture on October 1, 1889. It attained city status on December 1, 1970.

Transportation

Railway

• Meitetsu – Nagoya Main Line
  • Ushida • Chiryū
• Meitetsu – Mikawa Line
  • Chiryū • Shigehara

Highway

• Japan National Route 1
• Japan National Route 23
• Japan National Route 155
• Japan National Route 419

Local attractions

• Chiryū Jinja – Shinto shrine, with a tahōtō built in 1907, which has been designated as an Important Cultural Property ^[1]

• Yatsuhashi Kakitsubata Garden (八橋かきつばた園) at the Muryoju-ji Temple which has been known for its water garden and Iris laevigata since the Heian period. It is also the place where the Ariwara no Narihira wrote a poem in the Ise Monogatari using the five initial letters of Ka-Ki-Tsu-Ba-Ta. The poem goes:

KArakoromo KItsutsu narenishi TSUma shi areba HArubaru kinuru TAbi wo shi zo omou (HA can also be read BA).

The Kikatsubata is the prefectural flower of Aichi prefecture as well as of Chiryū City. Each year at the end of April a festival is held in the temple garden as a celebration of the flowering.

Sister cities

• – Ina, Nagano, Japan

Noted people from Chiryū

• Seiji Suzuki – politician

References

1. ^ http://www.pref.aichi.jp/kyoiku/bunka/bunkazainavi/yukei/kenzoubutu/kunisitei/0010.html

External links

Media related to Chiryū, Aichi at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website(Japanese)
• Official website(English)