Niihama, Ehime

Niihama 新居浜市
—  City  —
Flag
Location of Niihama in Ehime
Niihama
Coordinates: 33°58′N 133°17′E / 33.967°N 133.283°E / 33.967; 133.283Coordinates: 33°58′N 133°17′E / 33.967°N 133.283°E / 33.967; 133.283
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Ehime
Government
- Mayor	Ryu Sasaki (since November 2000)
Area
- Total	234.30 km2 (90.5 sq mi)
Population (February 1, 2010)
- Total	125,711
- Density	536.54/km2 (1,389.6/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Camphor Laurel
- Flower	Azalea
Phone number	(0897) 65-1234
Address	1-5-1 Ikkuchō, Niihama-shi, Ehime-ken 792-8585
Website	City of Niihama

Niihama (新居浜市, Niihama-shi^?) is a city located in the eastern part of Ehime, Japan. It has the third largest population in Ehime, behind the prefectural capital of Matsuyama and the recently expanded city of Imabari.

Niihama was founded on November 3, 1937. It is famous for its Besshi copper mine as well as the annual Niihama Taiko Festival (also known as "The Man Festival", otokomatsuri 男祭り) that is the center of annual drunken and boisterous activity, drawing tourists from around the country to watch this festival.

Niihama is known for its local dialect, Niihama-ben.

Geography

Central Niihama, 2004.

Niihama is positioned in the north-center area of Shikoku, in the eastern part of Ehime prefecture. Niihama is enveloped by mountains to the south and east, hills to the west, and the Seto Inland Sea to the north. The Kokuryo River flows from the mountains to the Seto Inland Sea and divides the city into an areas east of the river (kawahigashi) and west of the river (kawanishi). Being surrounded by mountains, Niihama feels geographically isolated from its closest neighbors, Saijō to the west and Shikokuchūō to the east. The border with Kōchi Prefecture lies in the mountains far south of the center of town.

The island of Ōshima, northeast of the main part of the city, also is part of Niihama.

The largely mountainous village of Besshi joined the city of Niihama in 2003 greatly increasing the size of the city, if not its population.

Economy

The Besshi copper mine (once considered to be one of the most productive in the world) jump-started the Sumitomo corporation. Even though the mine has since closed (its legacy is now preserved in a small museum and onsen attraction, Minetopia Besshi), Sumitomo remains a large presence in town. The economy of Niihama is supported largely by factories as well as activities at its ports.

During World War II prisoners of war (PoWs) were used as slave labour in the copper mines.^{[citation needed]} These PoWs included Australian servicemen captured during the South East Asia campaigns and the fall of Singapore. They also witnessed the Atomic Bomb attack on Hiroshima.

Transportation

The Yosan Line of Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) runs through Niihama. Highways and local roads connect Niihama to the rest of the island. On the highway, Matsuyama is under an hour away, and the other main cities of Shikoku (Takamatsu, Kōchi, and Tokushima) are all just over an hour's drive away.

Festivals and celebrations

Taiko Festival

Two Taiko floats ram each other in battle in Niihama’s Yamane Park during the Taiko Festival in October, 2004.

The Niihama Taiko Festival is a harvest festival held over 16–18 October each year. Each of 50 neighborhoods in Niihama has its own Taiko float, which consists of an ornately decorated wooden center frame, covered in panels made of gold thread (three to a side). The column is covered with a fabric top (usually red and white), which symbolically represents the sun; it is surrounded by long black cushions folded into a figure of 8 with hanging tassels, representing the clouds and rain. The design is intended to show gratitude for a good harvest. Gold dragons adorn the top panels of the float while the lower panels show traditional buildings, animals or legends. Inside the float, a drummer beats a deep booming taiko drum, providing the rhythm that guides 150 men below, who carry the float by four long wooden beams at the float's base. Four crew members stand on the beams and control the rest of the crew with flags, whistles and chants while four more are perched precariously on the top some 5.4 m above ground.

The floats weigh over two and a half tons and can cost over $100,000US to build (collected by donations within the local area). Men and boys as young as 16 begin the festival before sunrise on its first day by carrying the floats to their local shrine (jinja) for a blessing by shinto priests. The most spectacular of these happens at Utsunomiya Jinja near Yamane Ground where several floats are carried up many steps at about 4am to a small shrine on the top of a hill. For three days straight (October 16–18), 12 to 14 hours per day, they carry the floats in parades all over the city and park them for display, drinking copious amounts of sake. Sake bottlers even release commemorative bottles with labels featuring pictures of various float-carrying teams.

The main events include a display of the Taiko floats in Yamane Park, Takihama Station, Kasenjiki Park, Shinto shrines across the city and at several Supermarket and shopping complexes (Jusco, Fuji Grand, M2, Co-op). On alternate years there is the spectacle of eight taikodai (floats) being loaded onto barges to travel to another location by sea. The Taiko-carrying teams are known to start fights, in which two teams ram their floats into each other until one or both floats are destroyed.

Pufferfish Memorial Day

A ceremony and luncheon is hosted each February by the Niihama Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association to honor the fugu, the pufferfish that is an expensive delicacy in Japan. After a blessing from a Buddhist monk, each member of the association throws a live fugu into the harbor at Niihama Port. Afterward, they enjoy a lunch of fugu-zosuii, a soup of pufferfish and green onion that is considered a local dish.

Points of interest

The main temple at Zuioji.

Zuiō-ji Temple

Zuiō-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple at the edge of the mountains in south Niihama. It welcomes foreign visitors to participate in a Sunday morning Zazen meditation session, or even to stay overnight. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Niihama. The current Abbot is Narasaki Tsugen Roshi.

Waterfalls

The mountainous area between Niihama and the village of Besshi includes two major waterfalls: Chōshi no Taki and Mato no Taki (Waterfall at the Demon's Door).

Otedama

Niihama is home to the national headquarters of the Otedama no Kai (お手玉の会, Traditional Japanese Juggling Association).

Planetarium

Niihama is home to the world's largest planetarium. It is housed at the Ehime Prefectural Science Museum.

Sister cities

• Dezhou (徳州), China

Gallery

• 

  Holding up a Taiko float.

• 

  Festival-goers in a taiko frenzy

• 

  Children with a miniature Taiko float at the Niihama Taiko Festival, October 2004.

• 

  The gate entrance to Zuioji Temple in Niihama.

• 

  Mato no Taki, a waterfall in south Niihama.

• 

  A view of Niihama from a cemetery near Takinomiya Park, west Niihama, 2004.

• 

  South Niihama, 2004.

External links

• Niihama official website in Japanese
• Niihama concierge (tourism) in Japanese