Sawara, Chiba

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For the sushi/sashimi ingredient also known as "Spanish mackerel", see mackerel.

**Sawara**
**佐原市**
Former municipality
Since	March 27, 2006
Currently part of	Katori
Sawara's location in Chiba, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō region
Prefecture	Chiba
District	Katori District
Physical characteristics
Area	119.88 km²
Population (as of February 1, 2005)
Total	47,244
Density	394/km²
Symbols
Tree	Populus
Flower	Siberian Iris

Sawara canal and historical district

Biannual Sawara Matsuri Festival

Sawara (佐原市, Sawara-shi^?) was a city located in Katori District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Sawara has been settled since prehistoric times, and has numerous remains of Jōmon period shell middens and Kofun period burial mounds. By the Nara period, it had developed as a port, and as a monzenmachi associated with Katori Shrine, and in the Heian period was a regional commerce center for numerous shōen in the area. During the Edo period, it was partly under the control of the Omigawa Domain, a feudal domain of the Tokugawa shogunate. Modern Sawara Town was created in 1898 and raised to city status on March 15, 1951 through merger with neighboring town of Katori and the villages of Kasai and Higashi-Oto. It expanded further on February 11, 1955 through annexation of the neighboring villages of Mizuho, Shinshima, Tsunomiya and Okura. IN March 1996, Sawara established sister city relations with Nanjing in China.

On March 27, 2006 Sawara was merged with the towns of Omigawa, Yamada and Kurimoyo, all from Katori District, to form the new city of Katori, and thus no longer exists as an independent municipality.

In February 2006 (the last data available before its merger into Katori), the city had an estimated population of 47,244 and a population density of 394 persons per km². Its total area was 119.88 km².

[edit] Points of interest

Sawara Municipal Aquatic Botanical Garden
Sawara's town center, which is an old Japanese merchant town, with historical canal.^[1]
Waterfall bridge - a waterfall falls from this bridge at specific times during the day