Fujisawa, Kanagawa

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Template:Infobox City Japan

Enoshima Island
A controversial condominium by Hidetsugu Aneha Grand Stage Fujisawa
Near Fujisawa station

Fujisawa (藤沢市, Fujisawa-shi) is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 407,731 and a population density of 5,870 people per km². The total area is 69.51 km²

Geography

Fujisawa is located in the central part of the Kanagawa Prefecture. It faces Sagami Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The northern part of the city is situated on the Sagamino plateau while the southern part is on the Shonan Dunes. Fujisawa has three major topographical features: the island of Enoshima to the south connected to the Katase shoreline area by a road bridge, and two rivers, the Hikichi-gawa (引地川) and the Sakai-gawa (境川), which run north-south. The Hikichigawa can be traced from an area now designated as a nature reserve park in Yamato City, and flows directly along the boundary of the joint US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Atsugi Naval Air Base, and the United States Army Camp Zama. The Sakaigawa runs directly from the mountains between Machida and Hachioji, and for quite some distance forms the border between the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and Kanagawa Prefecture, but from Machida City centre the river can be directly followed by a foot and cycle path all the way to Fujisawa City centre, a distance of approximately 35 kilometers. Another cycle path runs along the Shonan Coastal path, from the Sagami River, Hiratsuka, to the Enoshima Bridge, Fujisawa.

Surrounding municipalities

History

The area around present-day Fujisawa city has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found stone tools and shell middens from the Japanese Paleolithic period and ceramic shards from the Jomon period, and graves from the Kofun period at numerous locations in the area. The area is mention in the Nara period Nihon Shoki chronicles. By the Heian period, central Sagami Province was divided into shoen controlled by the Muroaoka, Oe, and other local warlords. During the Kamakura period, Fujisawa was the setting for a number of battles to overthrown the Kamakura shogunate as mentioned in the late 14th century Taiheiki. During the Muromachi period, Fujisawa developed around Yugyo-ji, a Buddhist temple, which was established in 1325. With the Edo period, Fujisawa prospered as Fujisawa-shuku, a post station on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu built a palace in Fujisawa as a rest stop between Edo and Sunpu.

Following the Meiji Restoration, the area was divided into numerous villages within Koza District and Kamakura District in Kanagawa Prefecture. The Koza District office was located in Fujisawa from 1878. The area developed rapidly after the opening of Fujisawa Station of Tōkaidō Main Line in 1887. During the cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, Fujisawaosaka town (Koza District) and Fujisawaotomi town (Kamakura District) were created through the merger of numerous local hamlets. Emperor Meiji visited Fujisawa in 1891 to watch military maneuvers, and the IJA 49th Infantry Regiment under the IJA 1st Division was stationed in Fujisawa from 1907. During the same year, Fujisawaosaka town annexed Fujisawaotomi town, and expanded further in 1908 by annexing neighboring Kugenuma village, and Meiji village, renaming itself Fujisawa town.

The Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 caused severe damage to Fujisawa, with some 4,000 houses destroyed. An Imperial Japanese Navy Artillery School was established in Tsujido in 1926.

Fujisawa town was elevated in status to Fujisawa city on October 1, 1940. Fujisawa expanded by annexing Muraoka village in 1941, Mutsuai village in 1942, Katase town in 1947 and Goshomi, Chogo, Takakura, Endo villages in 1955. In 1964, Fujisawa hosted the yachting events of the 1964 Summer Olympics. In recent years, the opening of new train stations and rail lines have benefited areas of the city such as Shonandai, in the more northerly plateau area of the city, which has seen an influx of students for Keio and Bunkyo universities. The coastal plain has also seen increased population, with ever more dense housing, attracted by the mild maritime climate, proximity to good beaches, and the various traits of a 'Shonan lifestyle', often characterized by surfing, a relaxed beachside manner.

These improved transport links, such as the Yokohama Subway line and express train services on the Odakyu line, have made Fujisawa an increasingly attractive and cost-effective commuter suburb for Tokyo and Yokohama.

Economy

Fujisawa has a mixed economy with a strong industrial base. Isuzu retains a large truck factory near Shonandai, Kobe Steel has a factory in the east of the city, as does NSK Microprecision, a maker of bearings and precision parts. Sony operates the Shonan Technology Center in Fujisawa.[1] Also, plating equipment, ozone water purification and exhaust gas arrester equipment product company of Ebara is plant located on Fujisawa. [citation needed] and However, in recent years, IBM, Panasonic, and other companies have closed factories in Fujisawa as part of broader restructuring programmes. Fujisawa has extensive commercial shopping facilities and has the largest commercial city centre on the Shonan coast. Fujisawa is also a bedroom community for Yokohama and Tokyo.

Transportation

Railway

Highway

Education

Fujisawa has the usual range of city and prefectural schools, including Shonan High School, one of the leading high schools in Kanagawa with present Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara as one example graduate, as well as a number of similar private institutions.

There are four university campuses in Fujisawa; prestigious Keio University's Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) with three faculties and a graduate school in Endo, Nihon University's School of Natural Science at Mutsuai, and Tama University's Global Studies Faculty near Shonandai, all in the northern part of the city, and the Shonan Institute of Technology (SIT) in Tsujido Nishikaigan to the south.

Sister city relations

Local attractions

Fujisawa remains at the centre of the 'Shōnan Lifestyle' image, and its good rail and adequate road connections make it a very popular destination for day trippers from all over the Kanto region. Surfing and beach volleyball tournaments in summertime attract visitors, especially younger people, and they are also drawn to the seasonal bars and rest houses that are erected along the beach from Kugenuma Kaigan to Enoshima Kaigan.

Fujisawa has two major firework displays in the summer, in late July and early August, usually sandwiched in between the similar festivals in Chigasaki, Hiratsuka, Kamakura, and Yokohama Enoshima island has many attractions, including a botanical gardens, which include Enoshima Lighthouse which is open to visitors and with a height of 119.6 meters above sea level affords an excellent view of the area and, on a clear day, Mount Fuji. There are also a number of famous Shinto shrines, some located in caves on the south side of the island.

Like many places in Japan, Fujisawa has its 'meibutsu' or famous,signature products. One of the most popular seasonal products is shirasu, similar to but much smaller and softer than whitebait.

Tourist attractions

Shirahata Jinja is a Shinto shrine, dedicated to Samukawahiko-no-Mikoto and Minamoto no Yoshitsune. There are two portable shrines, Yoshitsune and Benkei. Yoshitsune and Benkei were major Japanese historical figures of the late Heian period.
  • Shojyoko-ji（Yugyo-ji） - Head temple of the Ji-sect of Japanese Buddhism.
  • Kugenuma Beach
  • The Ruin of Oba Castle

Notable people from Fujisawa

References

  1. ^ "Access & Map." Sony. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fujisawa, Kanagawa.
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