City in T?hoku, Japan
Hanamaki
(
花?市
,
Hanamaki-shi
)
is a
city
in
Iwate Prefecture
,
Japan
. As of 31 March 2020
[update]
, the city had an estimated population of 94,691, and a population density of 100 persons per km
2
, in 37,773 households.
[1]
The total area of the city is 908.39 square kilometres (350.73 sq mi).
[2]
Hanamaki is famous as the birthplace of the novelist and poet
Kenji Miyazawa
and Iwate Prefecture's local specialty,
Wanko
soba
, as well as its
hot spring resorts
.
Geography
[
edit
]
Hanamaki is located in central Iwate Prefecture, in the
Kitakami River
valley at the conflux of three rivers with the Kitakami River; the Sarugaishi-gawa from the east and the Se-gawa and Toyosawa-gawa from the west. In the west the city rises to the foothills of the
?u Mountains
with the highest peak being Mt. Matsukura at 968 metres (3,176 ft). To the east the city rises to the highest peak in the
Kitakami Range
,
Mount Hayachine
at 1,917 metres (6,289 ft). The largest reservoir is
Lake Tase
on the Sarugaishi River. Lake Hayachine on the Hienuki River is quite spectacular with steep mountains rising above it. Lake Toyosawa is in the western part of the city on the Toyosawa River. Parts of the city are within the borders of the
Hayachine Quasi-National Park
. A chain of 12 hot springs that lie along the edge of the ?u Mountains form the Hanamaki Onsenkyo Village.
Neighboring municipalities
[
edit
]
Iwate Prefecture
Climate
[
edit
]
Hanamaki has a
humid climate
(
Koppen climate classification
Cfa
) characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Hanamaki is 10.4 °C (50.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,324 millimetres (52.1 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.0 °C (75.2 °F), and lowest in January, at around ?2.3 °C (27.9 °F).
[3]
Climate data for Hanamaki, Iwate (2003?2020 normals, extremes 2003?present)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
9.1
(48.4)
|
13.6
(56.5)
|
22.1
(71.8)
|
29.3
(84.7)
|
33.3
(91.9)
|
34.0
(93.2)
|
36.6
(97.9)
|
36.3
(97.3)
|
35.8
(96.4)
|
28.9
(84.0)
|
21.9
(71.4)
|
17.3
(63.1)
|
36.6
(97.9)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
2.4
(36.3)
|
3.7
(38.7)
|
8.4
(47.1)
|
15.0
(59.0)
|
21.4
(70.5)
|
25.1
(77.2)
|
27.5
(81.5)
|
29.3
(84.7)
|
25.2
(77.4)
|
18.7
(65.7)
|
11.8
(53.2)
|
4.9
(40.8)
|
16.1
(61.0)
|
Daily mean °C (°F)
|
?1.8
(28.8)
|
?0.9
(30.4)
|
3.0
(37.4)
|
8.7
(47.7)
|
15.1
(59.2)
|
19.5
(67.1)
|
22.6
(72.7)
|
24.0
(75.2)
|
19.7
(67.5)
|
12.9
(55.2)
|
6.5
(43.7)
|
0.8
(33.4)
|
10.8
(51.5)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
?6.4
(20.5)
|
?5.6
(21.9)
|
?2.1
(28.2)
|
2.7
(36.9)
|
9.3
(48.7)
|
14.5
(58.1)
|
18.8
(65.8)
|
19.9
(67.8)
|
15.4
(59.7)
|
7.7
(45.9)
|
1.6
(34.9)
|
?3.2
(26.2)
|
6.1
(42.9)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
?17.5
(0.5)
|
?18.2
(?0.8)
|
?11.8
(10.8)
|
?6.9
(19.6)
|
?0.6
(30.9)
|
5.1
(41.2)
|
10.9
(51.6)
|
10.5
(50.9)
|
4.3
(39.7)
|
?1.6
(29.1)
|
?10.2
(13.6)
|
?14.8
(5.4)
|
?18.2
(?0.8)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
51.7
(2.04)
|
49.4
(1.94)
|
80.8
(3.18)
|
97.6
(3.84)
|
98.8
(3.89)
|
120.0
(4.72)
|
205.0
(8.07)
|
156.0
(6.14)
|
156.8
(6.17)
|
125.3
(4.93)
|
84.0
(3.31)
|
85.0
(3.35)
|
1,310.4
(51.59)
|
Average precipitation days
(≥ 1.0 mm)
|
10.7
|
10.1
|
11.4
|
10.1
|
10.3
|
9.0
|
13.1
|
11.4
|
10.3
|
10.2
|
12.7
|
13.9
|
133.2
|
Source:
JMA
[4]
[5]
|
Demographics
[
edit
]
Per Japanese census data,
[6]
the population of Hanamaki peaked at around the year 2000 and has declined since.
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1920
| 69,110
| ?
|
---|
1930
| 79,108
| +14.5%
|
---|
1940
| 83,401
| +5.4%
|
---|
1950
| 102,933
| +23.4%
|
---|
1960
| 105,687
| +2.7%
|
---|
1970
| 101,858
| ?3.6%
|
---|
1980
| 105,678
| +3.8%
|
---|
1990
| 106,727
| +1.0%
|
---|
2000
| 107,175
| +0.4%
|
---|
2010
| 101,451
| ?5.3%
|
---|
2020
| 93,193
| ?8.1%
|
---|
History
[
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]
The area of present-day Hanamaki was part of ancient
Mutsu Province
, and has been settled since at least the
J?mon period
. During the
Sengoku period
, the area was dominated by various
samurai
clans before coming under the control of the
Nambu clan
during the
Edo period
, who ruled
Morioka Domain
under the
Tokugawa shogunate
. The town developed as a
post station
on the
?sh? Kaid?
highway during the Edo period.
In the
Meiji period
, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the modern towns of Hanamaki and Hanamaki-Kawaguchi were created within
Hienuki District, Iwate
. The two towns were merged on April 10, 1929, with the merged municipality retaining the name of Hanamaki. On April 1, 1954, the villages of Yuguchi, Yumoto, Miyanome, Yasawa and Ohta were annexed by Hanamaki. An additional village, Sasama, joined the following year.
In January 2006, Hanamaki merged with the towns of
Ishidoriya
,
?hasama
, thus dissolving Hienuki District, and with the town of
T?wa
from
Waga District
.
[7]
Government
[
edit
]
Hanamaki has a
mayor-council
form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral
city legislature of 25 members. Hanamaki contributes four seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the city is part of
Iwate 3rd district
of the
lower house
of the
Diet of Japan
.
Economy
[
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]
Agriculture, notably
dairy farming
dominates the local economy. Hanamaki is also noted for electrical appliances. The area is also noted for its many
onsen
(hot spring) resorts.
[8]
Education
[
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]
Fuji University
, a private university, is located in Hanamaki.
The city government operates 19 public elementary schools
[9]
and 11 public junior high schools.
[10]
There are seven public high schools operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school.
[11]
Transportation
[
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]
Railway
[
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]
East Japan Railway Company
(JR East) -
T?hoku Shinkansen
East Japan Railway Company
(JR East) -
T?hoku Main Line
East Japan Railway Company
(JR East) -
Kamaishi Line
Highway
[
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]
Airport
[
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]
Local attractions
[
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]
Hanamaki is known historically for its many
onsen
(hot springs). Kenji Miyazawa's various legacies are the old Hanamaki city's other perennial tourist attraction; notably the Miyazawa Kenji Memorial Museum features several exhibitions related to his life and works
[12]
. The city also has a ski slope.
One of Hanamaki's most notable events is the Hanamaki Matsuri, an
annual festival
which takes place the second weekend of September and dates back to 1593. The three-day festivities include a dance of over one thousand synchronized traditional dancers; the carrying of over one hundred small
shrines
; and the parading of a dozen or so large, hand-constructed floats depicting historical, fictional, or mythical scenes and accompanied by drummers, flautists, and lantern-carriers. Of these dances, the most famous is
Shishi Odori
(dance of the deer). This dance involves men dressing as deer and banging drums.
With the city's recent mergers, Hanamaki now lays claim to its absorbed towns' attractions. ?hasama is famous for local varieties of traditional
Kagura
dance.
Kagura
dancers often appear at area festivals or functions. On a hill above the town of ?hasama proper stands a statue resembling the wolf-like costumes donned by Hayachine Kagura dancers.
Mt. Hayachine
, which at 1917 m (6289 ft) is the second highest mountain in Iwate Prefecture, lies in the northeast section of ?hasama. The area is home to the regionally well-known Edel Wine. In September, the ?hasama Wine House hosts the annual Wine Festival. Around the time of Japan's
Girls' Festival
, ?hasama puts on displays of its collection of
dolls
, many of which are several hundred years old. Local history suggests that the dolls may have been given to residents of ?hasama by travelers from
Kyoto
on their way to trade in
Hokkaid?
. Ishidoriya has a history of brewing
sake
connected with the Nambu
Toji
tradition.
International relations
[
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]
Each of the former towns merged with Hanamaki also conducted exchanges on their own, most of which have been taken up by the new Hanamaki city. ?hasama was paired Berndorf. Mt. Hayachine is home to a particular species of
edelweiss
, called
Hayachine Usuyukiso
, which grows exclusively on Mt. Hayachine. It was because of this flower that
mountain climbers
from ?hasama forged a friendship with those from Berndorf, Lower Austria. Ishidoriya was paired with
Rutland, Vermont
.
Notable people from Hanamaki
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
|
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International
| |
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National
| |
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Geographic
| |
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