Maebashi

Maebashi (前橋市, Maebashi-shi) is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan.[2] As of 31 August 2020, the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households,[3] and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 311.59 km2 (120.31 sq mi). It was the most populous city within Gunma Prefecture until Takasaki merged with nearby towns between 2006 and 2009.[4] Maebashi is known to be the "City of Water, Greenery and Poets" because of its pure waters, its rich nature and because it gave birth to several Japanese contemporary poets, such as Sakutarō Hagiwara.[5]

Maebashi
前橋市
Core city
A view of Maebashi with Mt. Akagi, from the top of the Prefectural Government building
A view of Maebashi with Mt. Akagi, from the top of the Prefectural Government building
Flag of Maebashi
Flag
Official seal of Maebashi
Seal
Location of Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture
Location of Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture
Maebashi is located in Japan
Maebashi
Maebashi
 
Coordinates: 36°23′22.2″N 139°3′48.3″E
Country Japan
RegionKantō
PrefectureGunma
First official record4th century AD
City settledApril 1, 1892
Government
 • MayorRyu Yamamoto (since February 2012)
Area
 • Core city311.59 km2 (120.31 sq mi)
Population
 (August 31, 2020)
 • Core city335,352
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
 • Metro
[1] (2015)
1,263,034 (12th)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- TreeGinkgo & Zelkova
- FlowerRose & Azalea
Phone number027-224-1111
Address2-12-1, Ote-Machi, Maebashi-shi, Gunma-ken 371-8601
WebsiteOfficial website
Maebashi City Hall

Etymology

The Maebashi area was called Umayabashi (厩橋) during the Nara period. This name finds its origins in the fact that there was a bridge (hashi, 橋) crossing the Tone River and not far from the bridge there was a small refreshment house with a stable (umaya, 駅家), often used by people travelling on the Tōzan-dō (the road connecting the capital to the eastern regions of Japan). The spelling was officially changed into Maebashi (前橋) in 1649 during the Edo period when Maebashi became a castle town and the center of Maebashi Domain, a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate.[6]

History

The town of Maebashi was established within Higashigunma District, Gunma Prefecture on April 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration. Maebashi was raised to city status on April 1, 1892. In 1901, it annexed a portion of Kamikawabuchi village from Seta District.

On August 5, 1945, approximately 64.2% of the urban core of the city was destroyed during World War II during air raids which followed the dropping of propaganda leaflets warning of the impending attacks.[7][8]

In 1951, a portion of Kaigaya Village from Seta District was merged into Maebashi. The city expanded further on April 1, 1954, by annexing the villages of Kamikawabuchi, Shimokawabuchi, Azuma, Minamitachibana, Kaigaya, Haga, Motosōja, and Sōja from Seta District, followed by a portion of Jōnan village in 1957. On April 1, 1960, a portion of Tamamura Town and another portion of Jōnan village were merged into Maebashi, which finally annexed the remainder of Jōnan village in 1967.

Maebashi hosted the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

On April 1, 2001, Maebashi was designated a special city (tokureishi) with increased local autonomy.

On December 5, 2004, the town of Ōgo, as well as the villages of Kasukawa and Miyagi (all from Seta District), were merged into Maebashi. On May 5, 2009, the village of Fujimi (Seta District) was merged into Maebashi. Seta District was dissolved as a result of this merger.[9]

Maebashi became a core city (Chūkakushi) on April 1, 2009.

Geography

Maebashi is located at the foot of Mount Akagi in the northeast corner of the Kantō Plain. It is also surrounded by Mount Haruna and Mount Myōgi. Two rivers run through the city: the Tone River, Japan's second-longest, and the Hirose River. Although it is located inland more than 100 kilometers away from the coast, the elevation of the southern part of the city is only around 100 meters. The highest elevation is 1823 meters above sea level on the south side of Mt. Kurohino, a peak of Mount Akagi. Maebashi is the farthest from the sea (about 120 km) of all Japanese prefectural capitals. The surrounding cities comprise an urban zone of over 1 million people, separated by farmland to the south from the built up areas of Greater Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities

Gunma Prefecture

Climate

Maebashi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). In the winter, the karakkaze, or "dry wind" blows through Maebashi from the north. This is due to the snow clouds coming from the Sea of Japan being blocked by the Echigo Mountain Range between Gunma and Niigata Prefectures. Because of this, the city has a dry winter and is one of the sunniest places in Japan at over 2,210 hours of sunshine per year.[10] In the summer, it is hot since the location is inland, although less hot than coastal Tokyo on average. On July 24, 2001, Maebashi hit 40 °C (104 °F), the fifth-hottest temperature ever in Japan.

Climate data for Maebashi (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1896−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 22.0
(71.6)		 24.6
(76.3)		 27.1
(80.8)		 32.4
(90.3)		 36.5
(97.7)		 39.4
(102.9)		 40.0
(104.0)		 39.8
(103.6)		 38.1
(100.6)		 33.0
(91.4)		 26.6
(79.9)		 25.2
(77.4)		 40.0
(104.0)
Average high °C (°F) 9.1
(48.4)		 10.0
(50.0)		 13.5
(56.3)		 19.3
(66.7)		 24.2
(75.6)		 26.8
(80.2)		 30.5
(86.9)		 31.7
(89.1)		 27.3
(81.1)		 21.7
(71.1)		 16.4
(61.5)		 11.5
(52.7)		 20.2
(68.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.7
(38.7)		 4.5
(40.1)		 7.9
(46.2)		 13.4
(56.1)		 18.6
(65.5)		 22.1
(71.8)		 25.8
(78.4)		 26.8
(80.2)		 22.9
(73.2)		 17.1
(62.8)		 11.2
(52.2)		 6.1
(43.0)		 15.0
(59.0)
Average low °C (°F) −0.5
(31.1)		 0.0
(32.0)		 3.1
(37.6)		 8.2
(46.8)		 13.6
(56.5)		 18.0
(64.4)		 22.0
(71.6)		 23.0
(73.4)		 19.3
(66.7)		 13.2
(55.8)		 6.9
(44.4)		 1.9
(35.4)		 10.7
(51.3)
Record low °C (°F) −11.8
(10.8)		 −9.0
(15.8)		 −7.8
(18.0)		 −3.1
(26.4)		 0.3
(32.5)		 6.0
(42.8)		 11.9
(53.4)		 13.6
(56.5)		 8.4
(47.1)		 0.6
(33.1)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 −7.4
(18.7)		 −11.8
(10.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 29.7
(1.17)		 26.5
(1.04)		 58.3
(2.30)		 74.8
(2.94)		 99.4
(3.91)		 147.8
(5.82)		 202.1
(7.96)		 195.6
(7.70)		 204.3
(8.04)		 142.2
(5.60)		 43.0
(1.69)		 23.8
(0.94)		 1,247.4
(49.11)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 8
(3.1)		 9
(3.5)		 2
(0.8)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 1
(0.4)		 19
(7.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) 3.5 4.4 8.3 9.0 10.6 14.5 16.6 14.0 13.4 9.9 6.1 3.8 114.2
Average relative humidity (%) 54 52 52 55 60 70 73 72 72 68 62 57 62
Mean monthly sunshine hours 213.1 201.2 211.0 205.2 197.4 138.5 146.3 167.7 134.9 155.6 181.0 202.0 2,153.7
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[11][12]

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 51,015—    
1930 53,052+4.0%
1940 52,898−0.3%
1950 68,710+29.9%
1960 240,301+249.7%
1970 273,864+14.0%
1980 311,121+13.6%
1990 335,704+7.9%
2000 341,738+1.8%
2010 340,390−0.4%
2020 332,149−2.4%

Per Japanese census data,[13] the population of Maebashi has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

Government

Maebashi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 38 members. Maebashi contributes eight members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Gunma 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Successive mayors
Period Mayor Term start Term end
1 Zentarō Shimomura May 19, 1892 June 2, 1893
2 Tomojirō Yashiro July 22, 1893 September 23, 1898
3 Gen Sasaji November 11, 1898 May 9, 1902
4 ShūSaku Inaba June 13, 1902 January 14, 1909
5 Keizaburo Ehara February 28, 1909 September 20, 1911
6 Teppei Kon October 23, 1911 June 14, 1913
7 Jirō Kimura August 30, 1913 August 30, 1925
8 Katsuzō Takeuchi September 16, 1925 October 26, 1930
9 Ineichi Tanaka November 7, 1930 December 9, 1933
10-11 Keizaburō Ehara December 24, 1933 December 23, 1941
12 Yasuo Hori February 23, 1942 November 13, 1946
13-14 SAhikō Sekiguchi April 5, 1947 May 31, 1958
15-19 Shigemaru Ishii July 12, 1958 July 11, 1978
20-22 Seiichi Fujii July 12, 1978 January 11, 1988
23-24 Kiyota Fujishima February 28, 1988 February 27, 1996
25-26 Yasoji Hagiwara February 28, 1996 February 27, 2004
27-28 Masao Takagi February 28, 2004 February 27, 2012
29-30 Ryu Yamamoto February 28, 2012 ongoing

Source:Maebashi City

Economy
A map showing Maebashi Metropolitan Employment Area.

As of 2010, Greater Maebashi, Maebashi Metropolitan Employment Area, has a GDP of US$59.8 billion.[14][15] The air conditioning system and compressor manufacturing company Sanden Corporation as well as the tofu and tofu products company Sagamiya Foods have manufacturing sites in the city.[16] The Gunma Bank is headquartered in Maebashi.

Education

Universities

Primary and secondary schools

Maebashi has 54 public elementary schools and 21 public middle schools operated by the city government, and two private elementary and two private middle schools. The city has nine public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education and one by the city government. There are five private high schools and one private combined middle/high school.

International schools:

Transportation

Railway

JR East – Jōetsu Line

JR East – Ryōmō Line

Highway

Sports

Thespakusatsu Gunma at Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma was originally formed in Kusatsu, but plays in Maebashi due to J.League stadium requirements.

Local attractions

Festivals
  • Ogo Gion Festival

Noted people from Maebashi

Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan

Maebashi is twinned with:[19]

In addition, Maebashi cooperates with Menasha, Wisconsin, United States.[20]

Pewter City from Japanese game series Pokémon was geographically placed in the city of Maebashi.[21]

References
  1. "UEA Code Tables". Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  2. Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), "Maebashi area"; retrieved 2015-5-10.
  3. "Maebashi City official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  4. Takasaki City Office. September 30, 2014. "Demography Study"
  5. Maebashi City Office. March 27, 1989. "Declaration from the Municipal Council" Archived 2014-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Maebashi no Rekishi (History of Maebashi) Archived 2018-08-17 at the Wayback Machine (July 24, 2012)
  7. Craven, Wesley; Cate, James, eds. (1953). The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. The Army Air Forces in World War II. Volume V. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 656, 675. OCLC 256469807.
  8. Caidin, Martin (1960). A Torch to the Enemy: The Fire Raid on Tokyo. Bantam War Books. ISBN 0-553-29926-3.
  9. Archived August 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Maebashi Hours of Bright Sunshine
  11. 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  12. "47624: Maebashi (Japan)". ogimet.com. OGIMET. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  13. Maebashi population statistics
  14. Yoshitsugu Kanemoto. "Metropolitan Employment Area (MEA) Data". Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo.
  15. Conversion rates - Exchange rates - OECD Data
  16. "Major Corporations in Gunma Prefecture". Department of Industry and Economy, Gunma Prefecture. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  17. アクセス. Gunma Korean Elementary and Junior High School. December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved October 14, 2015. 群馬朝鮮初中級学校 群馬県前橋市荒牧町 2-2
  18. Yagyū, Toshinaga (1957, 1989) Shōden Shinkage-ryū. Kōdansha, reprinted by Shimazu Shobō, ISBN 4-88218-012-X.
  19. "姉妹都市バーミングハム市". city.maebashi.gunma.jp (in Japanese). Maebashi. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  20. "メナーシャ市". city.maebashi.gunma.jp (in Japanese). Maebashi. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  21. https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_world_in_relation_to_the_real_world
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