City in Japan
Special city in Kant?, Japan
Yamato
(
大和市
,
Yamato-shi
)
is a
city
located in central
Kanagawa Prefecture
, Japan. As of 1 June 2021
[update]
, the city had an estimated
population
of 242,065 and a
population density
of 8900 persons per km².
[1]
The total area of the city is 27.09 km
2
(10.46 sq mi).
[2]
Geography
[
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]
Yamato is located approximately 40 to 50 kilometers from central Tokyo and 20 kilometers from central Yokohama. It measures 3.22 kilometers from east-to-west by 9.79 kilometers north-to-south, and is thus long and narrow orientated from north-to-south. It is located on the Sagamino Plateau (Sagamino Plateau) and has a gently sloping terrain from north to south. The height difference is 38 meters, but there are almost no hills. The highest point in the city is 90 meters above sea level at the site of the Shimotsuruma Asama Shrine, and the lowest point is 30 meters above sea level.
Surrounding municipalities
[
edit
]
Kanagawa Prefecture
Tokyo
Climate
[
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]
Yamato has a
humid subtropical climate
(Koppen
Cfa
) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yamato is 14.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1632 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.3 °C.
[3]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Per Japanese census data,
[4]
the population of Yamato has grown steadily over the past 70 years.
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1950
| 22,326
| ?
|
---|
1960
| 40,975
| +83.5%
|
---|
1970
| 102,760
| +150.8%
|
---|
1980
| 167,935
| +63.4%
|
---|
1990
| 194,866
| +16.0%
|
---|
2000
| 212,761
| +9.2%
|
---|
2010
| 228,186
| +7.2%
|
---|
2020
| 239,169
| +4.8%
|
---|
History
[
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]
The area around present-day Yamato city has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found
stone tools
from the
Japanese Paleolithic
period and ceramic shards from the
J?mon period
at numerous locations in the area. It is mentioned in the
Engishiki
records from the
Heian period
. By the
Kamakura period
, this area became part of the Shibuya
sh?en
. It came under control of the
Ashikaga clan
in the early
Muromachi period
and was later part of the territories of the
Later H?j? clan
from
Odawara
. With the start of the
Edo period
, the area was part of the
tenry?
territory in
Sagami Province
controlled directly by the
Tokugawa shogunate
, but administered through various
hatamoto
. Under the rule of the 5th
sh?gun
,
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
, one of these
hatamoto
, Sakamoto Shigeharu (1630?1693) by virtue of his position as
?metsuke
and
Jisha-bugy?
, exceeded 10,000
koku
in income, and thus became
daimy?
of the newly proclaimed Fukami Domain in October 1682. However, his revenues decreased below 10,000
koku
in May 1687 and the
domain
was suppressed.
During the cadastral reforms after the
Meiji Restoration
, the area of present-day Yamato became part of
K?za District
, Kanagawa Prefecture. On April 1, 1889, it was administratively divided into Shibuya Village and Tsurumi Village, which later changed its name on September 25, 1891 to Yamato Village. The area was connected by rail in 1926 via the
Sagami Railway
and in 1929 by the
Odakyu Electric Railway
, leading to an increase in population. The
Imperial Japanese Navy
Sagamino Air Base was established in 1940. Yamato Village became Yamato Town in 1943, and Shibuya Village became Shibuya Town in 1944. However, Shibuya was dissolved in 1955, with a portion merging with nearby
Fujisawa
, and the remaining portion reverting to village status. That portion was merged with Yamato in 1957, which became Yamato City in 1959. In April 2000, Yamato exceeded 200,000 in population, and was proclaimed a
special city
with increased local autonomy.
In 2020, the city gained international attention for outlawing walking in designated areas while using a smartphone, it was the first of its kind to do so without implementing a fine or monetary penalty.
[5]
[6]
Government
[
edit
]
Yamato has a
mayor-council
form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral
city council of 28 members. Yamato contributes four members to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kanagawa 13th district of the
lower house
of the
Diet of Japan
.
Education
[
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]
Yamato has 19 public elementary schools and nine public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has four public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, and the prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped. The city also has one private elementary school, one private middle school and one private high school. A private junior college, the
St. Cecilia Women's Junior College
is located within Yamato.
Transportation
[
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]
Railway
[
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]
Tokyu Corporation
T?ky? Den-en-toshi Line
Odakyu Electric Railway
?
Odaky? Enoshima Line
Sagami Railway
-
Sotetsu Main Line
Highway
[
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]
Sister cities
[
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]
Yamato is
twinned
with:
Notable people from Yamato
[
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]
- Jungo Fujimoto
, professional football player
- Mitsuko Horie
, singer, voice actress
- Ryuichi Kawamura
, singer-songwriter
- Takeo Kawamura
, professional baseball player
- Eiko Kawashima
, singer-songwriter
- Nahomi Kawasumi
, professional football player
- Masahiko Kond?
, singer
- Hiroshi Nagano
, singer, actor
- Noriko Narazaki
, judoka
- Shinobu Ohno
, professional football player
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Yamato, Kanagawa
at Wikimedia Commons
|
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|
※
also a
prefectural capital
;
†
eligible for core city status but not yet nominated;
☆
to become core cities
|
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2,000,000 and more
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1,000,000?1,999,999
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500,000?999,999
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200,000?499,999
| |
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International
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National
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Geographic
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Academics
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