Tahara, Aichi

Tahara 田原市
City
Panorama view of around Tahara, from Mount Zao Park
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Tahara in Aichi Prefecture
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Tōkai)
Prefecture	Aichi Prefecture
Area
• Total	188.81 km2 (72.90 sq mi)
Population  (February 2012)
• Total	63,810
• Density	338/km2 (880/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Cinnamomum camphora
- Flower	Broccolini
Phone number	0531-22-1111
Address	30-1 Minami Banba, Tahara-cho, Tahara-shi, Aichi-ken 441-3492
Website	City of Tahara

Tahara City Hall

Tahara (田原市, Tahara-shi) is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

As of February 2012, the city has an estimated population of 63,810 and a population density of 338 inhabitants per square kilometre (880/sq mi). The total area is 188.81 km² (73 sq mi).

Geography

Tahara is situated in southern Aichi Prefecture, and occupies most of Atsumi Peninsula. The peninsula is bounded on the north by Mikawa Bay and to the south lies the Philippine Sea, though it is commonly believed to be the Pacific Ocean. Situated as it is between those two bodies of water, Tahara has a warm, maritime climate.

Neighboring municipalities

• Toyohashi

History

The area of present-day Tahara has been continuously occupied since prehistoric times. Archaeologists have been found numerous remains from the Jōmon period and burial mounds from the Kofun period. During the Nara period, the area was assigned to ancient Atsumi County, and was divided into several shōen during the Heian period. During the Kamakura period, the area was noted for production of a certain type of pottery. During the Sengoku period, the area was under the control of the Toda clan, who constructed Tahara Castle. The Toda, who were allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu were dispossessed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but returned as daimyō of Tahara Domain at the start of the Edo period. The Toda were later replaced by the Miyake clan, who ruled until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The noted scholar Watanabe Kazan was from Tahara.

At the start of the Meiji period, on October 1, 1889 Tahara was a collection of villages within Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture. Tahara Village was elevated to town status on October 3, 1892 and Fukue village became Fukue Town on February 22, 1897. Fukue later changed its name to Atsumi Town on April 15, 1955. On November 11, 1958, the village of Akabane was raised to town status.

Tahara was raised to city status on August 20, 2003 when the former town of Tahara absorbed the village of Akabane (both from Atsumi District. On October 1, 2005, the town of Atsumi (also from Atsumi District) was merged into Tahara. Therefore, Atsumi District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

Economy

Tahara is a regional commercial center with a mixed economy of manufacturing and agriculture. Due to its long coastline, Tahara has many ports for commercial fishing. The main industrial employer is Toyota Motor Corporation, which has its award-winning Tahara plant in Tahara which makes many Lexus-brand cars and some Toyota models. The Toyota Celica was manufactured in Tahara from 1979 to 1999. Many Lexus models are manufactured within this plant, as are many Toyota models for domestic and international markets.

Energy

Tahara has a consortium of companies investing in renewable energy needs. As of November 2012, a new solar energy and wind energy power generation facility will provide 19,000 households with electricity.

Transportation

Tahara can be accessed by rail, motor vehicle, or ferry.

Railway

• Toyohashi Railroad – Atsumi Line
  • Yagumadai • Toshima • Kambe • Mikawa Tahara

Highway

• Japan National Route 259 is the main highway that runs the length of Atsumi Peninsula. An alternate reading of the kanji in this highway numeral designation is ji-go-ku. In Japanese, the word jigoku means Hell, and thus some locals refer to it as ji-go-ku-douro, or the "Highway to Hell". This term was encouraged by the perception of a higher fatality rate along the road, especially before it was widened and improved.
• Japan National Route 42

Bus services

Toyotetsu buses and city-operated environmentally friendly public transport facilitate access throughout Tahara, even to the westernmost point at Cape Irago.

Seaports

From the Port of Irago, the Ise-wan Ferry connects Tahara with the town of Toba, Mie prefecture. The ferry can accommodate motor vehicles. The ferry also docks at the Central Japan International Airport, built on an artificial island in Ise Bay, south of Nagoya.

Sister cities

• - Georgetown, Kentucky, USA since April 20, 1990
• – Princeton, Indiana, USA since August 8, 2002
• - Kunshan, Jiangsu, China, since May 14, 1993
• – Dongjak-gu, Seoul, Korea, since December 2006
• – Miyada, Nagano, Japan since November 9, 1999

Local attractions

• Yoshigo Kaizuka – Important Jomon period shell midden
• Site of Tahara Castle

Noted people from Tahara

• Watanabe Kazan – Edo period samurai and artist
• Noboru Ueda – motorcycle racer

External links

Media related to Tahara, Aichi at Wikimedia Commons

• Tahara official website Template:Ja icon (with link to English pages)