Kisarazu

Kisarazu

木更津市
Kisarazu 木更津市
City
	Center of Kisarazu
	Flag Seal
	Location of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture
	Kisarazu
	Coordinates: 35°22′33.5″N 139°55′0.6″E / 35.375972°N 139.916833°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Chiba Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Watanabe Yoshikuni
Area
• Total	138.95 km2 (53.65 sq mi)
Population (February 2016)
• Total	134,239
• Density	966/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Camellia
- Flower	Satsuki azalea
Phone number	0438-23-7111
Address	1-1 Shiomi, Kisarazu-shi, Chiba-ken 292-8501
Website	http://www.city.kisarazu.lg.jp/

Kisarazu (木更津市, Kisarazu-shi) is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2016, the city had an estimated population of 134,239, and a population density of 966 persons per km². The total area is 138.95 square kilometres (53.65 sq mi).

Geography

Kisarazu is located in the western part of the Bōsō Peninsula. The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a bridge-tunnel across Tokyo Bay, connects Kisarazu and the cities of Kawasaki and Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Neighboring municipalities

Chiba Prefecture

History

Early history

The area of modern Kisarazu has been inhabited since the Japanese Paleolithic period, and numerous remains from the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods have been found within the city limits. The area also is prominent in the Yamatotakeru mythology. Under the Ritsuryō system of the Nara period, the area became part of Kazusa Province. The area was contested between the Later Hōjō clan, Takeda clan and Satomi clan during the Sengoku period. During the Edo period under the Tokugawa shogunate, part of the area was under the control of the feudal domain of Jōzai, with large portions as tenryō territory controlled directly by the Shogunate and administered by numerous hatamoto.

Meiji Restoration and Kisarazu Prefecture

Kisarazu was part of the complex reconfiguration of administrative areas at the start of the Meiji period. In 1871, as part of the abolition of the han system, the Sakurai Domain, located partly in Kisarazu, was abolished and "Sakurai Prefecture" was established.

In November of the same year, the prefecture was combined with the former Awa Province and Kazusa Province to form "Kisarazu Prefecture". The prefectural seat was established in the present-day Kaifusa district of Kisarazu. Kisarazu Prefecture was established two years later in 1873. It was combined with Inba Prefecture to form present-day Chiba Prefecture.

World War II and Post-War Period

Kisarazu was developed as a center for military activity as part of the militarization of Japan in the 1930s. In 1935-1936 the Imperial Japanese Navy, established the Kisarazu Air Field for the Kisarazu Air Group on landfill in the northern part of Kisarazu to protect Tokyo from attack. The base served as an arsenal for the IJN, and employed up to 17,000 workers during the war. It was this site that received the remains of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto after being trasported back to Japan aboard Musashi. The Nakajima Kikka, Japan's first jet-powered aircraft, was tested at the base in 1945. The base was used by the United States Air Force from 1945 as "Kisarazu Air Base". In 1956, the base was officially transferred to the control of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).

Kisarazu Town, founded on April 1, 1889. On November 3, 1942. Kisarazu Town, Iwane Village, Kiyokawa Village, and Namioka Village marged New and expanded Kisarazu City. Kisarazu City was merged expanded through merger with neighboring Aoyagi Town on March 31, 1955, and again through merger with Amaha Town and Osawa Town on April 25, 1971.

Economy

Kisarazu has a mixed economy based on commercial fishing, agriculture, and heavy industry along its Tokyo Bay shoreline. It serves as the commercial center for central Bōsō Peninsula, and is increasingly a bedroom community for neighboring Kimitsu and the Kawasaki – Yokohama metropolis across Tokyo Bay.

Transportation

Railway

JR East – Uchibō Line
- Iwane - Kisarazu
JR East – Kururi Line
- Kisarazu - Gion - Kazusa-Kiyokawa - Higashi-Kiyokawa --- Makuta

Highway

Seaports

Port of Kisarazu

Education

Seiwa University
Kisarazu has 20 public and one private elementary school, 13 public and two private middle schools, and two public and three private high schools.

Local attractions

Nakanoshima Park (Kisarazu)
Enmyō-in - Buddhist temple
Kōzō-ji - 30th temple in the Bandō Sanjūsankasho the circuit of 33 Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan

Sister city relations

Oceanside, California, United States,^[1] from June 29, 1990

Noted people from Kisarazu

Haruo Oka - musician
Hideki Takahashi - actor
Akira Nakao - actor
Kaori Fukuhara – voice actress
Miyuki Miura – karate master

In popular culture

Kisarazu's profile has been raised in recent times by the popularity of the TV show and subsequent film, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, which were set and filmed in the city.