Uwajima, Ehime

Uwajima 宇和島市
—  City  —
[[File:|border|100px|border|alt=|Flag of Uwajima]] Flag
Location of Uwajima in Ehime
Uwajima
Coordinates: 33°13′N 132°34′E
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Ehime
Government
• Mayor	Hirohisa Ishibashi (since February 2001)
Area
• Total	469.48 km2 (181.3 sq mi)
Population (October 1, 2010)
• Total	86,631
• Density	184.53/km2 (477.9/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Querus phillyraeoides
- Flower	Citrus unshiu
Phone number	(0895) 24-1111
Address	1 Akebonochō, Uwajima-shi, Ehime-ken 798-8601
Website	City of Uwajima

Uwajima (宇和島市, Uwajima-shi) is a city located in Ehime, Japan. In 1595, what is now Uwajima was known as Itajima village. Takatora Tohdo became lord of the Uwa region, and ordered the restoration of Marugushi Castle. The city was founded by the mergers of the city of Uwajima and parts of former Kitauwa District.

After Date Hidemune, the eldest son of Date Masamune, a prominent lord in northern Japan, took over Uwa in 1614, the clan strongly promoted Uwajima Castle as a center of industry, education, and culture.

In 1871 Uwa became Uwajima Prefecture. The following year it was renamed Kamiyama Prefecture. In 1873, Kamiyama Prefecture was combined with Ishizuchi Prefecture. After Ehime Prefecture was established, the capital was moved to Matsuyama to the north.

Municipal timeline

Before the city

• 1889: The town system began
• 1917: Maruho village was merged with Uwajima

After becoming a city

• 1921: The city of Uwajima was founded after annexing the village of Yahata
• 1934: The city was extended by combining Kushima Village in 1934 and renovating the bay area for factory usage
• 1945: The center of the city was largely destroyed by bombing. However, post-war reconstruction was remarkable, and the city recovered admirably.
• 1955: Miura and Takamitsu villages merged
• 1974: Uwaumi village merged

After the second founding

• August 1, 2005: Uwajima absorbed the towns of Mima, Tsushima and Yoshida, all from Kitauwa District, to form the new and expanded city of Uwajima.

Attractions

Uwajima has a famous Date Museum [1] which features many historically important objects tied to the history of the region and the Daimyo family Date which ruled this area.

Uwajima castle is also worth a visit.

Uwajima is home to an unusual fertility shrine called Taga Shrine, which features a large, realistic phallus carved from a log approximately 9 feet in length, 1 foot in diameter. Next to the shrine is a graphic sex museum, filled with artifacts and paintings from around the world.

A mask of the Cow Demon (牛鬼, ushioni), one of the many used at the bullfighting festival.

Every July a festival is held in Uwajima known as "Ushioni Festival," "Gaiya Festival," or the "Warei Shrine Festival." Among the festivities are ushioni teams parading down the street, a dance contest to the town song known as the "Gaiya" dance, traditional dancing, and a bullfight. The word "Gaiya" is in a local dialect, approximately translating to "awesome" in English.

The city is known for bullfighting, which differs from the more widely-known Spanish bullfights in that there is no matador. Two bulls fight in a ring until one bull's knees touch the ground or flees, marking it the loser. Bullfights are generally held in January, April, July, and August.

The author of the Japanese novel "Socrates in Love" is from Uwajima. The novel was later turned into a movie.

A famous product (meibutsu) of Uwajima is jakoten, a type of fried kamaboko.

Locals are known to frequent these establishments, among others: Flowers: Kazahana Izakaya: Ichi Salon: oasis hair & relaxation Bar: TE-TSU Gourmet: Violin D'Ingres

Tsushima

Tsushima is approximately 200 km², and is therefore a significant portion of Uwajima's current land area, despite not being highly populated (fewer than 15,000 people). It's made up of a number of small villages that shared a municipal government as Tsushima until they were amalgamated into Uwajima.

Tsushima is known for the Iwamatsu River and the festival they have each year where people eat tiny, live fish.

They are also known for pearl farming and fish farming as well as being part of the prefecture's mikan industry.

Nanrakuen Park is a beautiful place; there is also a children's amusement area called Playland across the street.

Gallery

• 

  Uwajima Castle

• 

  Uwajima as viewed from the castle

• 

  Warei Shrine

• 

  Taga Shrine statues

See also

• Date Munenari
• Iyo Province
• Uwajima Domain
• Akinori Iwamura

External links

• Uwajima official website in Japanese
• Wikitravel: Uwajima
• Nanrakuen Website in Japanese
• Ehime Tourism Information: Uwajima