Mito, Ibaraki

Mito (水戸市; -shi) is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and has a central location, moderately offset towards the coast in that prefecture. As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 263,748 and a total area is 217.45 km², giving a density of 1,212.91 persons per km². Mito natto is the city's culinary speciality and is well-known across Japan.

Mito is the site of the Japanese garden Kairaku-en, located near Senba lake and counted as one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. Constructed by Tokugawa Nariaki in 1842, the park is known nationwide for its breathtaking ume trees. Many people come to the park in spring to view the spectacular blossoms, particularly during the Ume Festival. In summer, Mito also holds the Mito Koumon Festival.

Ume Festival at Kairaku-en in Mito

Mito was the seat of the so-called Mito School, a congregation of nativist scholars of Confucian persuasion led by Aizawa Seishisai (会沢正志斎), who during the eigthteenth and nineteenth centuries advocated Western learning as a means not only to further Japanese technological development and international strength, but as means to prove Japanese uniqueness and superiority among nations.

History

The Yamato people settled in Mito around the fourth century CE. Around the end of the Heian period, Baba Sukemoto, a warlord of the Heike family, moved to Mito and built a castle there. Mito Castle changed hands several times after that: a daimyo named Satake Yoshinobu won it in the mid-1500s, but he was forced to surrender it to Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 after the epic Battle of Sekigahara. Ieyasu's son Tokugawa Yorifusa then took over Mito Castle, becoming one of the three "gosanke" family members fortified outside of Edo. The Tokugawas directly ruled Mito until the mid-1800s, when the bakufu in Edo was overthrown.

The modern city of Mito was formed on April 1, 1889, with a population of 25,000. It was designated as the prefectural capital. By 1900, the Joban Line connected it to Tokyo, and by 1910, telephones and electric lighting were available throughout the city. Although more than three-fourths of the city burned to the ground near the end of World War II, the population had rebounded to 70,000 just two years later, and has continued to grow ever since.

Today, Mito is primarily a commercial and administrative city: most industry in Ibaraki is concentrated around the nearby city of Tsukuba. Mito has a modest but thriving tourism industry, centered on Kairakuen Park and local museums dedicated to the Tokugawa family. Mito is also the site of Ibaraki University.

Mito will grow further in 2007 as the neighboring town of Ibaraki will merge with Mito on December 8, 2007. This merger will raise Mito's population to over 300,000, and qualify it to a status of core city over its current status of special city.

Transportation

The Mito Tower

Mito is located on the Joban Line (Mito Station) and Joban Expressway, which connect it to Tokyo and Tsukuba to the south and Hitachi and Iwaki to the north. The Suigun Line runs north to Koriyama, and the Mito Line runs west to Oyama. The closest major airport is Narita International Airport. An airport offering domestic service will be completed in nearby Omitama in 2009.

Professional Sports

Mito is the home city of the J-League professional soccer team, Mito HollyHock.

Famous residents

• Aizawa Seishisai (1782-1863)
• Stomu Takeishi (b. 1964, jazz bass player)

Tourist Attractions

• Kodokan School
• Mito Castle
• Lake Senba
• Kairakuen Park
• Ibaraki Museum of Modern Art
• Art Tower Mito
• Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of History
• The Tokugawa Museum

External links

• Mito official website in English
• Mito official website in Japanese

• Seifu-Meitokukai Foundation: The Tokugawa Museum