| Kakegawa | |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | Japan |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | |
| Coordinates: | 34.7687°N 137.9984°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Japan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Chūbu (Tōkai) |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture |
| Subdivision Name2: | Shizuoka |
| Leader Title: | – Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Saburo Matsui (since April 2009) |
| Area Total Km2: | 265.69 |
| Population Total: | 117925 |
| Population As Of: | October 2019 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | Japan Standard Time |
| Utc Offset1: | +9 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Symbols |
| Blank Info Sec1: | |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | • Tree |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Sweet osmanthus |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | • Flower |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Chinese bellflower |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | • Bird |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | Japanese bush-warbler |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Phone number |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 0537-21-1111 |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Address |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | 1-1-1, Nagaya, Kakegawa-shi, Shizuoka-ken 436-8650 |
is a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 117,925 in 45,519 households.[1] The total area of the city is 265.69sqkm.
Kakegawa is in the coastal plains of southwest Shizuoka Prefecture. It is bordered to the south by the Pacific Ocean, and extends for approximately 30 kilometers north-south by 16 kilometers east-west.
Like most of Japan, Kakegawa's population is almost exclusively Japanese. However, Kakegawa has a noticeable Nikkei (particularly, South American) population and it is more common to find signs written in Portuguese than in English.
Per Japanese census data,[2] the population of Kakegawa has been increasing over the past 50 years.
The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Kakegawa is 16.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2100 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.8 °C.[3]
The Kakegawa area has been regional commercial center within Tōtōmi Province since at least the Kamakura period, but developed as a castle town under the Imagawa clan, whose headquarters was in neighboring Suruga Province. Kakegawa Castle was built by Asahina Yasuhiro, a retainer of Imagawa Yoshitada, in the Bunmei era (1469–1487). The castle later fell into the hands of the Tokugawa clan, but was then given to Toyotomi clan retainer Yamauchi Kazutoyo in 1580. After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Kakegawa Domain was created, and ruled by numerous fudai daimyō. The area prospered during the Edo period, as the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto passed through Kakegawa, whose post stations included Nissaka-shuku and Kakegawa-juku. Neighboring Yokosuka Domain, a smaller fudai holding, was also located within what are now the city limits of Kakegawa.
After the Meiji Restoration, Kakegawa was made part of the short-lived Hamamatsu Prefecture in 1871, which merged with Shizuoka Prefecture in 1876. Kakegawa Town was created in the cadastral reform of April, 1891, four years after the opening of Kakegawa Station on what later became the Tōkaidō Main Line railway. The town expanded steadily over the years, annexing neighboring villages and towns in Ogasa District, and was elevated in status of that of a city in 1954.
On April 1, 2005, the towns of Daitō and Ōsuka (both from Ogasa District) were merged into Kakegawa.
Kakegawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 30 members.
Kakegawa has a mixed economy. It serves as a regional commercial center for west-central Shizuoka Prefecture. In the agricultural sector, production and processing of green tea predominates. The city is surrounded by green tea fields and is known for its high quality tea. Other crops include cantaloupe, tomatoes, strawberries and roses. In terms of industrial production, Kakegawa has several light industry industrial complexes. Major products include telecommunications equipment and electronics, cosmetics, automotive components and musical instruments.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan. Kakegawa is twinned with:[5] [6]
Corning, United States (1987) Eugene, United States (1979)
Hoengseong County, South Korea (2001)
Ōshū, Japan (1985)
Rize, Turkey (2015)[7]
Pesaro, Italy (2019)