Shimada, Shizuoka

Shimada 島田市
—  City  —
Horai bridge in Shimada
Flag
Location of Shimada in Shizuoka
Shimada
Coordinates: 34°50′N 138°11′E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Shizuoka
Government
• Mayor	Katsurō Sakurai
Area
• Total	315.88 km2 (121.96 sq mi)
Population (February 2010)
• Total	100,846
• Density	319/km2 (830/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	osmanthus
- Flower	rose, azalea
- Bird	Blue-and-White Flycatcher
Phone number	547-37-8200
Address	1-1 Chūō-chō, Shimada-shi, Shizuoka-ken 427-8501
Website	www.city.shimada.shizuoka.jp/hisyokouhou/English.jsp

Shimada (島田市, Shimada-shi) is a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 100,846 and a population density of 319 persons per km². The total area is 315.88 km².

Geography

Shimada is located in the Shida Plains of west-central Shizuoka Prefecture. It is located on both banks of the Ōi River. The area enjoys a warm maritime climate with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.

Surrounding municipalities

• Aoi-ku, Shizuoka
• Tenryū-ku, Hamamatsu
• Fujieda
• Kakegawa
• Kikugawa
• Makinohara
• Yaizu
• Yoshida, Haibara District
• Kawanehon, Haibara District
• Mori, Shuchi District

History

Shimada (Kanaya) began as an outlying fortification to Kakegawa Castle erected by Yamauchi Kazutoyo in the Sengoku period to control the crossing of the Ōi River. In the Edo period, Kanaya-juku and Shimada-juku developed as post towns on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. The area was mostly tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate with a daikansho based at a Jinya located within Shimada-juku. As the Tokugawa shogunate forbade the construction of any bridge or establishment of a ferry service on the Ōi River for defensive purposes, travellers were often detained at either Shimada or Kanaya for days, sometimes weeks, waiting for the river levels to fall to fordable levels. The first bridge (the Hōrai Bridge) across the river connected these two towns in 1879, after the Meiji Restoration.

During the cadastral reform of the early Meiji period in 1889, Kanaya Town was created within Haibara District, and Shimada Town within Shida District. On April 16, 1889, the two towns were connected by rail, with the opening of Shimada Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line.

Shimada was elevated to city status on January 1, 1948. On January 1, 1955, it annexed neighboring Rokugo Village, Otsu Village, Daichō Village and a portion of Ikumi Village. On June 1, 1961 it further expanded through annexation of Hatsukura Village. In May 2005, Shimada and the town of Kanaya finally merged. On April 1, 2008 the new Shimada City further expanded with another merger to absorb the neighboring town of Kawane.

Economy

The economy of Shimada is primarily agricultural, with green tea as the main crop. By extension, Kenrico is a pharmaceutical company based in Shimada that largely focuses on natural remedies. Light industries include factories for the production of automobile components.

Transportation

Highways

• Japan National Route 1
• Japan National Route 473

Rail

• JR Central - Tōkaidō Main Line
  • Rokugo - Shimada- Kanaya
• Ōigawa Railway Ōigawa Main Line
  • Kanaya • Shin-Kanaya • Daikanchō • Higiri • Goka • Kamio • Fukuyō •

Owada • Ieyama • Nukuri • Kawaneonsen-Sasamado •

International relations

Shimada is twinned with the following cities.

• Himi, Toyama, Japan, from April 15, 1987
• Huzhou, Zhejiang, China, from May 1987
• Brienz, Switzerland, from August 10, 1986
• Richmond, California, USA, from December 1961. There is currently a student exchange program between Shimada and Richmond.

Notable people from Shimada

• Tarzan Goto - professional wrestler
• Yukihiro Ikeda - musician
• Takahiro Kawamura - professional soccer player
• Kayoko Kishimoto - actress
• Sho Naruoka - professional soccer player
• Hirotoki Onozawa - professional rugby player
• Masaki Yamamoto - professional soccer player

External links

• Official website