Ōtake, Hiroshima

Ōtake is located on the border with Yamaguchi Prefecture in far southwestern Hiroshima Prefecture, and forms an integrated urban area with strong connections to Iwakuni, Yamaguchi. The city area has a gentle slope from the southwest to the northeast, and the geology is paleozoic strata and granite in the western mountains, and the urban area is sand and gravel. The urban area is surrounded by the Chugoku Mountains in the northwest, the Oze River in the south, and the Seto Inland Sea in the east, and develops into flat land along the coastline. With the exception of coastal urban areas, there are few flatlands and most of the city area is mountainous, with steep slopes approaching the coastline.

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōtake in 2020 is 26,319 people.[2] Ōtake has been conducting censuses since 1950.

Ōtake has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) characterized by cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. The average annual temperature in Ōtake is 16.3 °C (61.3 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,694.6 mm (66.72 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 28.1 °C (82.6 °F), and lowest in January, at around 5.3 °C (41.5 °F).[3] The highest temperature ever recorded in Ōtake was 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) on 17 July 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −7.5 °C (18.5 °F) on 26 February 1981.[4]

The area of Ōtake was part of ancient Aki Province, and was on the route of the ancient San'yōdō highway. During the Muromachi period, it was largely the property of Itsukushima Shrine, coming under the control of the Mōri clan in the Sengoku period. After the start of the Edo Period, Fukushima Masanori built a Kamei Castle to defend against the Mōri, but was forced to dismantle it in 1611 by the Tokugawa shogunate. During the Bakumatsu period, the area became a battleground during the Chōshū expedition. Following the Meiji restoration, the village of Ōtake was established within Saeki District, Hiroshima on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on January 1, 1911. In 1923, Shinkin Rayon, the predecessor of Mitsubishi Rayon (currently Mitsubishi Chemical) established a major factory in the town, and the Imperial Japanese Navy Naval Infantry established a diving school. In 1945, Ōtake was a major port of entry for Japanese who had been deported from the Empire of Japan's former overseas territories. On September 1, 1954 Otake Town merged with the towns of Ogata and Kuba Town, the village of Kuriya and a part of the village of Tomokazu to form the city of Ōtake.

Ōtake has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 16 members. Ōtake contributes one member to the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Hiroshima 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Otake is the part of Seto Inland Sea industrial area, formed the first petrochemical industrial complex (kombinat) in Japan, The city is orientated towards heavy industry, with companies producing petroleum, pulp and paper, and chemical fibers. The city has little flat land suitable for agriculture.

• Mitsui Chemicals, Mitsubishi Rayon

Ōtake has two public elementary schools, two public junior high schools and one public combined elementary/middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Otake has Sister City relationships with:

• Dujiangyan City, China

• Yasaka Dam Yasaka-kyo
• Kinryu Park Kinryu Park
• Kamei Park Kamei Park
• Jyaku-iwa Jyaku-iwa
• Atata Island Atata-jima
• Mount Mikura Mikura-dake
• Mount Mikura Campsite Mikura-dake campsite

• Media related to Otake, Hiroshima at Wikimedia Commons
• Ōtake City official website (in Japanese)