Shizuoka, Shizuoka

Infobox City Japan
Name= Shizuoka
JapaneseName= 静岡市
Map

Region= Chūbu
Prefecture= Shizuoka
District=
Area_km2= 1388.74
PopDate= March 31, 2006
Population= 713,333
Density_km2= 513.65
Coords=
LatitudeDegrees= 34
LatitudeMinutes= 59
LatitudeSeconds=
LongtitudeDegrees= 138
LongtitudeMinutes= 23
LongtitudeSeconds=
Tree= Flowering Dogwood
Flower= Hollyhocks
Bird= Common Kingfisher
Symbol

SymbolDescription= Flag
Mayor= Zenkichi Kojima
CityHallPostalCode= 420-8602
CityHallAddress= 5-1 Ōtemachi, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka-ken
CityHallPhone= 54-254-2111
CityHallLink= [http://www.city.shizuoka.jp/english/ City of Shizuoka] nihongo|Shizuoka|静岡市|Shizuoka-shi is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is a city designated by government ordinance (a "designated city").

Demographics

As of 2006, the city has an estimated population of 713,333 and the density of 513.65 persons per km². The total area is convert|1388.74|km2|sqmi|2|abbr=on. [http://www.city.shizuoka.jp/000012741.pdf]

Wards

* Aoi-ku (former Shizuoka north of the Tōkaidō Main Line excluding Osada district)
* Suruga-ku (former Shizuoka south of the Tōkaidō Main Line and Osada district)
* Shimizu-ku (former city of Shimizu)

History

The Toro archaeological site is an ancient village of the Yayoi period (circa 400BC-300AD) and is located in the Toro Historic Park in the city. Toro demonstrates that the area has been populated since ancient times.

Suruga was established as a province of Japan at least as far back as the Heian Era.

Imagawa Yoshimoto placed Sunpu (駿府) (a contraction of Suruga no Kokufu) at the heart of his domains during the Sengoku era. Under Imagawa, Tokugawa Ieyasu was brought up from the age of 5 as a hostage in exile. Ieyasu was eventually allowed to return home to Mikawa province, only to return in the 1575 to defeat Takeda Shingen, who had conquered Suruga in 1570. Tokugawa Ieyasu spent his youth in Sunpu as a hostage of Imagawa Yoshimoto. Ieyasu later retired to and died in Sunpu after his reign as shogun.

After abdicating as shogun in 1605 in favour of his son Hidetada, Ieyasu retired to Sunpu and spent the remainder of his life there. Later it was a fief of Tokugawa Tadanaga (a son of Ieyasu), and finally directly administered by the Shogunate.

After the fall of the shogunate, the former shogunal line, headed by Tokugawa Iesato, was briefly granted a 700,000 koku landholding there, before the abolitions of the domains in the early 1870s.

The city was founded on April 1, 1889.

The 2003 merger with the city of Shimizu (current Shimizu-ku) created the larger Shizuoka to gain government ordinance in 2005. Kanbara merged with Shizuoka on March 31, 2006, when it became a part of Shimizu Ward.

On November 1, 2008, Yui will be merged into Shimizu Ward in Shizuoka. Because of this merge and another merge, Ihara District will dissolve.http://www.kokudo.or.jp/new/cities/sub/chubu/22.htm]

Economy

* Shizuoka has 39,237 businesses as of 2004, placing it first in the prefecture.
* Employment by industry: Agriculture 0.1%, Manufacturing: 26.9%, Service 73.0%

Agriculture

* Green tea
* Strawberries
* Wasabi
* Mandarin Oranges and other citrus fruits
* Lotus Roots
* Roses

Fishery

Shimizu Port boasts the largest haul of tuna in all Japan.Kanbara Harbour enjoys a prosperous haul of sakura ebi.Mochimune Harbour enjoys a prosperous haul of shirasu sardines.

Products

Abekawa Mochi (rice cakes in kinako soy flour) are produced in Shizuoka

Shizouka has a long history of being involved in the craft industries going back over 400 years ago, using trees, including hinoki cypress. The model industry goes back to the late 1920s when was trees was used to produce wooden model toys, using sashimono woodworking joinery techniques, purely for educational purposes. Craftsmen later moved on to lighter woods including balsa, but following the war, with the importation of US built scale models, many companies either turned to plastic models to compete or went under. [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Modeler-Creating-Tamiya-Style/dp/product-description/4770028512 Amazon.co.uk: Master Modeler: Creating the Tamiya Style: Shunsaku Tamiya, Giles Murray: Books ] ] [ [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=T7RXfpXNORMC&dq=master+modeler+creating+the+tamiya+style&pg=PP1&ots=wmAjj74hsr&sig=aHUi-vDIIOsqhKzX8D3emHVZt6s&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.co.uk/search?as_q=Master+Modeler:+Creating+the+Tamiya+Style&hl=en&num=100&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&cr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=images&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPA21,M1 田宮模型の仕事: Creating the Tamiya Style By Shunsaku Tamiya] ]

The town has since became internationally notable for its plastic scale model kits [ [http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/a_foreign/english/glance/business.html Business & Industry ] ] and is resident to its long established companies such as Aoshima, Hasegawa and the most renowned of them all, Tamiya. The town hosts the long running Shizuoka Hobby Show annually in May at the Twin Messe Shizuoka, the show attracts visitors worldwide. [ [http://www.shizuoka-cvb.or.jp/convention/scbEng/6e/6e.html Record of Past International Conferences ] ]

Cuisine

* Oden
* Gyoza
* Soba noodles
* Seafood
* ZoniRice cakes in a broth cooked with vegetables, popular at New Year's.
* TororoA grated yam soup. Chojiya, a tororo restaurant founded in 1598 in Mariko-juku area of Shizuoka, west of the Abe River, was made famous by Hiroshige when he depicted it in his series of "ukiyoe" prints of the 53 stops along the Tōkaidō, entitled The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō.

Culture

There are three main festivals on Shizuoka's calendar.

Shizuoka Matsuri (静岡まつり): The Cities April Festival during the high point of the year for Cherry Blossom, a flower-viewing procession, imitates the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu's custom of taking daimyo (feudal lords) to Sengen Shrine to view the cherry blossoms [http://www.shizuoka-guide.com/english/travel/img/74.jpg] .

Abekawa Hanabi (安倍川花火): A gigantic firework display held upstream of Shizuoka's Abe River in late July.

Daidogei World Cup (大道芸ワールドカップ): Street Performance World Cup. Probably the biggest event on Shizuoka's Calendar, it is an annual International Busker's Festival, held in November. It includes various shows such as juggling, pantomime, magic, etc. Performers gather from Japan and abroad to create wonder and laughter here and there in the town. From 2005, it expanded from a 3-day to a 4-day festival.

The city also has a strong tradition of soccer. An example of this is its J. League club Shimizu S-Pulse.

Transportation

Railroad

Shizuoka lies on the JR main rail line from Tokyo to Osaka, the Tōkaidō Main Line and is well served by the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, limited express and regional trains. The central station of Shizuoka is close to the city centre. Shizuoka also has an LRT line, the Shizuoka Railway.

Airport

Tokyo International Airport(Haneda), Narita International Airport, and Chūbu Centrair International Airport are commonly used.To allow for growth in air travel to Shizuoka, Shizuoka Airport is currently under construction and expected to be completed and operational by March, 2009. This location is between Makinohara and Shimada.

Colleges and universities

* Shizuoka University
* University of Shizuoka
* Tokai University
* Tokoha Gakuen University
* Shizuoka Eiwa Gakuin University

Media

Print media

The "Shizuoka Shimbun" is the area's primary newspaper.

Broadcast media

Television

* NHK Shizuoka (Analogue Channel 9; Digital Channel 1)NHK Shizuoka Educational Channel (Analogue Channel 2; Digital Channel 2)
* Shizuoka Broadcasting System “Shizuoka Broadcasting” (Analogue Channel 11; Digital Channel 6)
* TV Shizuoka “Television Shizuoka” (Analogue Channel 35; Digital Channel 8)
* Shizuoka Daiichi Television “Shizuoka First Television” (Analogue Channel 31; Digital Channel 4)
* Shizuoka Asahi Television “Shizuoka Asahi Television” (Analogue Channel 33; Digital Channel 5)

Cable Television

Shizuoka Cable Television (Dream Wave Shizuoka)

Radio

* NHK1 882kHz
* NHK2 639kHz FM88.8MHz
* SBS 1404kHz
* K-MIX 79.2MHz
* FM・Hi！76.9MHz
* Marine Pal (FM Shimizu) 76.3MHz
* Guzen Media Japan [http://guzenmediajapan.com/ A podcast and vidcast based in Shizuoka, Japan.]

Major attractions

* Nihondaira (日本平)
* Miho no Matsubara (三保の松原)

Famous Historic Spots

Aoi Ward
* Shizuoka Sengen Shrine, built by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Head Sengen Shrine located in Fujinomiya.
* Sunpu Castle ruinsSuruga Ward
* Toro ruins
* Kunozan Toshogu
* Mariko-juku, a stop along the Tōkaidō, an old travel route during the Edo periodShimizu Ward
* Miho

Notables

* Kazuyoshi Miura (football player)
* Yoshitaka Amano (artist)
* Kazuyoshi Hoshino (racing driver)
* Riyo Mori (Miss Universe 2007)
* Momoko Sakura (Mangaka)
* Keiko Masuda (Singer, Kei of Pink Lady)

hizuoka in Fiction

Shizuoka is often chosen as the location of soccer manga. Captain Tsubasa is the most famous.

Sister and friendship cities

Shizuoka has twin and friendship relationships with several cities. [ [http://www.city.shizuoka.jp/deps/kokusai/kokusai_17_sister-cities_e.html International Sister Cities & Friendship Cities ‐ 静岡市] Shizuoka Web site retrieved July 8, 2008 [http://www.city.shizuoka.jp/deps/kokusai/sister_kokunai.e.html Domestic Sister Cities & Friendship Cities ‐ 静岡市] Shizuoka Web site retrieved July 8, 2008]

Twin cities

Overseas

* Stockton, California, United States (since October 16, 1959)
* Omaha, Nebraska, United States (since April 1, 1965)
* Shelbyville, Indiana, United States (since November 3, 1989)
* Cannes, France (since November 5, 1991)

Within Japan

* Muroran, Hokkaidō (since December 24, 1976)
* Jōetsu, Niigata (since October 12, 1995)

Friendship cities

Overseas

* Huế, Vietnam (since April 12, 2005)

Within Japan

* Saku, Nagano (since October 12, 1989)

See also

* Sunpu Domain

References

External links

* [http://www.city.shizuoka.jp/english/ Shizuoka official website] in English
* [http://www.daidogei.com/ Daidogei World Cup in Shizuoka]