| Chichibu | |||
| Native Name Lang: | ja | ||
| Settlement Type: | City | ||
| Pushpin Map: | Japan | ||
| Coordinates: | 35.9918°N 139.0855°W | ||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||
| Subdivision Name: | Japan | ||
| Subdivision Type1: | Region | ||
| Subdivision Name1: | Kantō | ||
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture | ||
| Subdivision Name2: | Saitama | ||
| Established Title: | First official recorded | ||
| Established Date: | 88 BC (official) | ||
| Established Title2: | City established | ||
| Established Date2: | April 1, 1950 | ||
| Leader Title: | Mayor | ||
| Leader Name: | Atsushi Kitabori (since May 2021) | ||
| Area Total Km2: | 577.83 | ||
| Population Total: | 61159 | ||
| Population As Of: | January 1, 2021 | ||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||
| Timezone1: | Japan Standard Time | ||
| Utc Offset1: | +9 | ||
| Blank Name Sec1: | Phone number | ||
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0494-22-2211 | ||
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Address | ||
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 8-15 Kumaki, Chichibu, Saitama 368-8686 | ||
| Blank Name Sec2: | Climate | ||
| Blank Info Sec2: | Cfa | ||
| Module: |
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is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 61,159 in 26,380 households and a population density of .[1] The total area of the city is .
Chichibu is in the westernmost part of Saitama. Unlike other parts of the prefecture, it is largely mountainous and the population is concentrated in river terraces along the Arakawa River. It is Saitama's largest municipality in terms of surface area and shares borders with Tokyo, Yamanashi, Nagano and Gunma Prefectures. A large portion of the city belongs to Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park.[2]
Because the region is not suitable for growing rice, many people have traditionally depended on sericulture (silk farming). Limestone from Mount Bukō, which rises south of the city center, is another major source of income for the region. The city is shifting its focus toward sightseeing, taking advantage of its rich natural environment and relative closeness to the Tokyo metropolitan area. The city is also famous for its brewing industry.
Chichibu has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Chichibu is 13.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1325 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.0 °C.[3]
Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Chichibu has decreased gradually over the past 60 years.
Chichibu was incorporated as a city on April 1, 1950, although Chichibu Province had already existed since before the Nara period and the region has developed many local traditions. Chichibu Province was incorporated into Musashi Province in the 7th century AD. During premodern times, the town developed as a marketplace of the district as well as the town around Chichibu Shrine. The city's older name, Ōmiya ("big shrine"), was derived from the shrine. Since its incorporation in 1950, the area of the city has grown through a series of mergers, the most recent in 2005.
Chichibu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Chichibu contributes one member to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Saitama 11th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
The local economy of Chichibu remains based on agriculture and forestry, as well as tourism.
Chichibu has 14 public elementary schools and eight public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.
Two lines serve the city: the Chichibu Main Line and Seibu Chichibu Line. The Chichibu Railway was constructed along the Arakawa River and first opened in 1914. Seibu Railway reached the city in 1969 and considerably reduced the travel time to Tokyo. It takes approximately one and a half hours to travel from Seibu-Chichibu Station to Ikebukuro Station, one of the major train terminals in Tokyo. These lines carry people as well as limestone from Mount Bukō. The two lines were directly connected on April 1, 1989. Chichibu Railway also operated the Mitsumine Ropeway, which carried passengers visiting . The ropeway was taken out of service since May 19, 2006, and was officially abandoned on December 1, 2007.[6]
Seibu Railway – Seibu Chichibu Line
20px Chichibu Railway – Chichibu Main Line
Two national roads, Route 140 and 299, serve the city. Route 140 connects the city to its nearest expressway interchange, Hanazono Interchange of the Kan-Etsu Expressway. The city had no road communication to Yamanashi Prefecture due to steep Okuchichibu Mountains, but the opening of the Karisaka Tunnel in 1998 enabled the city to connect to Yamanashi.[7]
Yasothon, Yasothon Province, Thailand,[8] since May 6, 1999On December 3, Chichibu holds an annual night festival (Intangible cultural heritage). It attracts crowds from Chichibu, Saitama prefecture, neighboring Tokyo, and the Kantō region. Kawase matsuri is Chichibu shrine's summer festival. It takes place every July 19 and July 20. Eight groups carrying special dashi floats march along to festival music around the city. Mikoshi (sacred portable shrines) are brought to special places in each neighborhood where they are enshrined. Neighborhood association heads wash the mikoshi in the Arakawa River.
Other attractions of the city include:
As a picturesque area within fairly easy reach of Tokyo, Chichibu has been much photographed. However, the photography of Chichibu by the Chichibu native Bukō Shimizu (1913–1995) is particularly extensive: Shimizu presented photographs of the mountains, people and customs of Chichibu in numerous books for the Japanese market, starting in 1954.[9] [10]
The town of Chichibu is the setting for the popular anime series and the anime films The Anthem of the Heart and Her Blue Sky, all of which were written by Mari Okada who was born in Chichibu.
The city considers itself as the inspiration for Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera, The Mikado; the name of the opera's setting, "Titipu", is pronounced "Chichipu" in Japanese. Rokusuke Ei, a popular essayist, was convinced that Chichibu, the site of a peasant uprising in 1884, inspired the author, W. S. Gilbert, to set the opera in Japan. Other Japanese researchers have concluded that Gilbert may simply have heard of Chichibu silk, an important export in the 19th century. A theatre company from Chichibu first presented The Mikado in Japanese in Chichibu on March 10, 2001, performed by local actors, and throughout other locations in Japan.[11] [12] In August 2006, it travelled with this production to the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England.[13]