Takehara, Hiroshima

Takehara 竹原市
—  City  —
Location of Takehara in Hiroshima
Takehara
Coordinates: 34°20′N 132°55′E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku
Prefecture	Hiroshima
Area
• Total	118.3 km2 (45.7 sq mi)
Population (October 2009)
• Total	29,093
• Density	246/km2 (637.1/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Bamboo
- Flower	Ume
Phone number	0846-22-2270
Address	5-1-35 Takehara Chuo, Takehara-shi, Hiroshima-ken 725-8666
Website	Takehara City

Takehara (竹原市, Takehara-shi) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan.

As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 29,093 and a density of 246 persons per km². The total area is 118.30 km².

The city was founded on November 3, 1958.

Ōkunoshima, the island where a poison gas plant of the Imperial Japanese Army was located, belongs to Takehara.

Occupying a strategic location on the Seto Inland Sea, it became renowned as a port city in the Muromachi period and then flourished as a centre of the salt industry in the latter days of the Edo period. More recently, it has styled itself as 'The Little Kyoto of Aki' and the Special Historical District of old warehouses was selected as one of Japan's '100 Most Scenic Towns'.

Tourism

Museums

• Takehara Museum Takehara Museum
• Kaguyahime Museum Bamboo Princess Museum The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
• Imai Museum Imai Museum
• History of Takehara Museum History of Takehara
• Ozasaya Sake Museum Szasaya Sake Museum

Mountains and islands

• Mount Asahi (Otake) Mt.Asahi
• Mount Kurotaki Mt.Kurotaki
• Ōkunoshima island Okuno-jima

Little Kyoto of Aki Province

• Takehara Historical Heritage (Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Historic Buildings in Japan)
• Jizo-do Jozo-do
• Chosei-ji Chosei-ji Temple
• Saihō-ji Saiho-ji Temple
• Shoren-ji Shoren-ji Temple and Kimura Castle Kobayakawa Takakage
  Shoren-ji Temple
• Ebisu-do Ebisu-do

Hotsprings

• Yusaka Onsen-kyo Yusaka Hotsprings
• Bamboo Joy Highland Bamboo Joy Highland

Festivals

• Miyakoto Matsuri Miyakoto Festival (April)
• Nika Renge Matsuri Nika Renge Festival (April)
• Take Matsuri Takehara Bamboo Festival (May)
• Tadanoumi Gion Matsuri Tadanoumi Gion Festival (July)
• Takehara Tanabata Matsuri Takehara Tanabata Festival (July)
• Tadanoumi Tenjin Yoichi Tadanoumi Tenjin Night Festival (July)
• Takehara Sumiyoshi Matsuri Takehara Sumiyoshi Festival (August)
• Takehara Summer Festival Fireworks Takehara Fireworks Display (August)
• Fukuda Shishimai Fukusa Lion dance (October)
• Machinami Takeakari Bamboo Lantern Festival (October)
• Takehara Ekiden Takehara Ekiden (October)
• Rabbit Cross Country Rabbit Cross Country in Okunojima island (November)
• New Year Sunrise New Year Sunrise (Mt.Kurotaki) (January)
• Futamado-myojin-sai Futamado-myojin Shrine Histrical Festival (February)

Sister cities

Takehara has Sister City relationships with:

• Damyang, South Korea

Takehara in media

The Japanese four-episode original video animation (OVA) Tamayura and its TV continuation Tamayura: Hitotose take place in Takehara, with many locations from the city and its surroundings rendered in great detail.

People from Takehara

• Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister from 1960 - 1964
• Shōgo Hamada, singer-songwriter
• Masataka Taketsuru, founder of Japan's whisky industry
• Masakazu Nakai, aesthetician, film theorist, librarian, and social activist

Gallery

• 

  Inland Sea panorama from Takehara Port

• 

  Takehara City view from Mt. Asahi

• 

  View of central Takehara taken from the east

• 

  The Historic District of Takehara

External links

Media related to Takehara, Hiroshima at Wikimedia Commons

• Takehara official website (Japanese)