Eniwa 恵庭市 | |
|---|---|
| City of Eniwa | |
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 Flag  Emblem | |
 Location of Eniwa inHokkaido (Ishikari Subprefecture) | |
  Eniwa Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates:42°53′N141°35′E / 42.883°N 141.583°E /42.883; 141.583 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Hokkaido |
| Prefecture | Hokkaido (Ishikari Subprefecture) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Yutaka Harada (since November 2009) |
| Area | |
• Total | 294.65 km2 (113.77 sq mi) |
| Population (July 31, 2023) | |
• Total | 70,278 |
| • Density | 238.51/km2 (617.75/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| Climate | Dfb |
| City hall address | 1, Kyōmachi, Eniwa-shi, Hokkaido 061-1498 |
| Website | www |
| Symbols | |
| Bird | Kingfisher |
| Flower | Lily of the Valley |
| Tree | Japanese yew |
Eniwa (恵庭市,Eniwa-shi;Japanese pronunciation:[eɲiwa]) is acity inIshikari Subprefecture,Hokkaido,Japan. It is on the Ishikari plain, 8 km north ofChitose, and 26 km south of the prefectural capitalSapporo. It is reached throughroute 36 and theChitose Railway Line. The town is separated into three major areas: Eniwa in the south, Megumino in the center, and Shimamatsu in the north.
Many farms are located around Eniwa, and the town has many manufacturing businesses, including theSapporo Brewery Hokkaido factory. There are threeJapan Ground Self-Defense Force camps in the city.
Eniwa's 2023 population of 70,278 makes it the fourth largest city in theIshikari Subprefecture, and the 13th largest in Hokkaido.
The town's name is taken from the nearbyMount Eniwa, in theShikotsu-Tōya National Park. The name inAinu,e-en-iwa (エエンイワ), means "sharp mountain."[1] The name was transliterated into Japaneseateji to meanblessed garden. The Japanese transliteration was chosen because of the homonymsniwa (庭; "garden") andniwa (二輪; "two rings"), the later referring to the two rivers that pass through the city, the Shimamatsu River and the Izari River, as well as the "blessings" (恵,e) between the two rivers.[2]
The first known settlement of Eniwa was in the InitialJōmon period in 7000 BC, at theKarinba ruins (Karinba Iseki).[3][4] The settlement received a surge of people in 2000 B,[5] and continued being settled for many years. Many artifacts have been found, including lacquered combs, beads, earthenware and stone accessories.[3] HistoricalSatsumon culture (700–1200CE) graves dating have been found around Eniwa, at the MoizariKofun Site (茂漁古墳群,Moizari kofun-gun).[6] The style is similar to those at theEbetsu Kofun Site and northernTōhoku historic graves. During theAinu settlement period (1200 CE until the Meiji era), there is historical evidence for settlements in the villages and further away on the plains.[3]
After theMatsumae clan settled on the southern tip of Hokkaido in 1590, they traded goods with the Ainu who lived in the area. In theEdo period, one of the 13 trading locations across the Ishikari plain wasShuma-mappu Location (シュママップ場所,Shumamappu Basho) (Ainu: Shuma-o-mappu (シュマ・オ・マップ)), which corresponds to the modern-day Shimamatsu River basin. The trading area was active until the end of the Edo era. Early Japanese contact with the area included in 1755, whenjezo spruce trees were harvested along the Izari river, and in 1805, when the river was farmed for salmon and trout.[5]
In 1857, theHakodatemagistrate decreed that a road betweenOtaru andChitose be developed, leading to the development of the Ishikari Plain.[5] When Hokkaido became a part of Japan in the earlyMeiji period, the area around Eniwa was incorporated intoIburi Province in 1869.[7]
Settlers fromKōchi Prefecture initially settled in Eniwa in 1870 in two villages: Izari Village (漁村,Izari-mura) in the south and Shimamatsu Village (島松村,Shimamatsu-mura) in the north.[2] In 1873, theSapporo Highway (札幌本道,Sapporo Hondō), the a road linking Hakodate withSapporo was completed, and it was built through both villages. In 1873, rice farming started in Shimamatsu, as well as the first postal service.[5]
In 1880, the Chitose town hall began administering five surrounding villages to Chitose, including Izari and Shimamatsu.[8] In 1886, 65 families fromWaki, Yamaguchi andIwakuni, Yamaguchi moved to the shores of the Izari river, which greatly increased the size of Izari.[2] A year later, the Izari town hall was built, meaning Chitose no longer administered Izari or Shimamatsu.[2][8] At this point, Eniwa had grown to 572 residents, and the first elementary school was opened.[2]Shinto shrines were constructed in 1901: Toyosaka Shrine in Izari and Shimamatsu Shrine. The Buddhist templeTen'yū-ji's main building was constructed in 1904.
In 1906, Izari and Shimamatsu were merged to form Eniwa Village (恵庭村,Eniwa-mura), a second class municipality.[2] The village also administeredHiroshima Village; in 1943 the village seceded. In 1922, the village received electricity, after the Izari River was used forhydroelectric power.[5] By 1923, the town had grown enough to become a first class municipality. Eniwa was first connected to by rail in 1926, after theSapporo Line (now known as the Chitose Line) was completed, andEniwa Station andShimamatsu Station were opened.[5]
In the 1930s, Eniwa became a site for mining gold and silver. In 1935, a small-scale private mine called the Kōryū Mine (光竜鉱山,Kōryū Kōzan) was opened in 1935 and run by theFujita company.[9] In 1939, the nationally runEniwa Gold Mine (恵庭鉱山,Eniwa Kōzan) opened. A mining town to the north-northwest ofMount Eniwa was constructed, and Kōryū Mine was expanded. The town featured around 40 five-family apartments and additional buildings for administration and amenities, however, no restaurants or entertainment areas were constructed.[10] Two elementary schools were operated for the area. Both mines were closed in 1943, due to theOrder for Gold Mine Consolidation.[11] By the end of the Eniwa Mine's operations, a total of 700 kg of gold and 3,500 kg of silver had been mined.[12] The mines and buildings were dismantled, though the Kōryū Mine was reopened in 1949 by Yutani Mining.[9]
After theOccupation of Japan beginning in 1945, many agricultural reforms were undertaken that made the farms around Eniwa more prosperous.[5] In September 1950, a military camp for training police personnel was built in Kashiwagi.[5][13] In 1951,Company C, 52d Infantry Regiment (Anti-Tank) of theUnited States Army held military practices at the camp.[5][14] When theJapan Ground Self-Defense Force'sNorthern Army was established in 1952, they took over running the camp and established the South Eniwa Camp in 1952.[15]
By 1951, the village's population was significant enough to be upgraded to a town.[2] In 1970 after the town had 34,500 residents, it was upgraded to Eniwa City, after a piece of regional legislation allowed Eniwa,Noboribetsu and laterDate to become cities.[2] In 1979, part of the farmland between Eniwa and Shimamatsu was developed into Megumino, a new suburb of the city. By 1982, theMegumino Station was built, along with theIto-Yokado shopping center and the Megumino Elementary School.
In 1987, residents exceeded 50,000.[2] TheSapporo Brewery Hokkaido factory was built in the south of Eniwa in 1989,[16] and a dedicated train station, theSapporo Beer Teien Station was built in 1990. In 1993, residents in Eniwa exceeded 60,000.[2]
In 2006, Eniwa's first community radio station began broadcast. It was originally calledFM Pumpkin (FMパンキン), but the name was changed toE-Niwa in 2010.[5]
In April 2013, construction began on East Garden Megumino (イーストガーデン恵み野,Īsuto Gāden Megumino), a 4.6-hectare (11-acre) housing development in east Megumino. The first houses were completed in May 2013, with the entire area expected to be completed in 2015.[17] The development of 25 hectares west of Megumino Station is being planned. Development consent was given in July 2011.[18]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 19,900 | — |
| 1960 | 29,575 | +8.25% |
| 1965 | 31,240 | +1.10% |
| 1970 | 34,449 | +1.97% |
| 1975 | 39,884 | +2.97% |
| 1980 | 42,911 | +1.47% |
| 1985 | 48,305 | +2.40% |
| 1990 | 55,615 | +2.86% |
| 1995 | 62,351 | +2.31% |
| 2000 | 65,239 | +0.91% |
| 2005 | 67,614 | +0.72% |
| 2010 | 69,334 | +0.50% |
| 2015 | 69,702 | +0.11% |
| Source:[19] | ||
As of July 31, 2023 the city had an estimatedpopulation of 70,278 residents, with 31,005households and thedensity of 239 persons per km2. 51% of the population is female.[20] Eniwa's population is 99.7% Japanese, with the remaining 0.3% being foreign residents.[21] 13.8% of residents are under 15 years of age, and the workforce comprises 64.4% of residents. 21.8% of people are over age 65. In the 2012 population records, 22 residents are listed ascentenarians.[21]
The bulk of the population, 68%, lives in central Eniwa, while 17.5% live in Megumino and 13.2% live in Shimamatsu. The remainder 1.3% of Eniwa residents live in the surrounding farmland.[20]
Eniwa is on theIshikari Plain, amongst farmland. The town is 8 km fromChitose (and theNew Chitose Airport), and to the north isKitahiroshima City. 26 km north of Eniwa is Sapporo, the largest city and prefectural capital of Hokkaido. All of these cities are connected by theChitose Line railway and by theJapan National Route 36. The town is on the Izari River and the Shimamatsu River.[2]
The area administered to by Eniwa extends north to the Shimamatsu river and stops at the border toNaganuma township inSorachi Subprefecture. Eniwa borders Chitose city along its south border, with the cities being separated by as little as 750 m in some places. To the west of Eniwa is theShikotsu-Tōya National Park. Eight mountains in the park are considered a part of Eniwa, includingMount Izari and Mount Soranuma. In the area is the hydroelectricIzarigawa Dam that dams the Izari river.
The city of Eniwa is separated into three major areas: Eniwa in the south, Megumino (恵み野) in the center and Shimamatsu in the north. Shimamatsu is separated from Eniwa and Megumino by approximately 300 meters.
Winters in Eniwa are colder than the surrounding areas, due to the town being inland. The average daily low temperature is between 5-6 degrees lower thanSapporo, 26 km to the north near theSea of Japan, and 4-5 degrees lower than inTomakomai, 28 km to the south on the coast of thePacific Ocean. Summers are slightly milder than in Sapporo.[22]
| Climate data for Eniwa, Hokkaido (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1976−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) | 7.6 (45.7) | 14.8 (58.6) | 25.7 (78.3) | 31.4 (88.5) | 31.1 (88.0) | 34.0 (93.2) | 34.3 (93.7) | 31.8 (89.2) | 25.2 (77.4) | 20.5 (68.9) | 14.5 (58.1) | 34.3 (93.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.5 (29.3) | −0.6 (30.9) | 3.4 (38.1) | 10.7 (51.3) | 16.7 (62.1) | 20.2 (68.4) | 23.7 (74.7) | 25.1 (77.2) | 21.9 (71.4) | 15.7 (60.3) | 8.1 (46.6) | 1.0 (33.8) | 12.0 (53.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −6.2 (20.8) | −5.5 (22.1) | −0.9 (30.4) | 5.4 (41.7) | 11.1 (52.0) | 15.2 (59.4) | 19.1 (66.4) | 20.6 (69.1) | 16.8 (62.2) | 10.2 (50.4) | 3.4 (38.1) | −3.5 (25.7) | 7.1 (44.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −12.8 (9.0) | −12.5 (9.5) | −6.5 (20.3) | 0.1 (32.2) | 5.9 (42.6) | 11.1 (52.0) | 15.7 (60.3) | 16.9 (62.4) | 11.8 (53.2) | 4.4 (39.9) | −1.6 (29.1) | −9.2 (15.4) | 1.9 (35.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −26.8 (−16.2) | −26.9 (−16.4) | −21.1 (−6.0) | −12.6 (9.3) | −2.5 (27.5) | 0.7 (33.3) | 7.0 (44.6) | 6.0 (42.8) | 0.2 (32.4) | −4.6 (23.7) | −15.1 (4.8) | −22.0 (−7.6) | −26.9 (−16.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 53.1 (2.09) | 52.7 (2.07) | 53.5 (2.11) | 56.9 (2.24) | 82.4 (3.24) | 85.5 (3.37) | 107.0 (4.21) | 153.8 (6.06) | 152.1 (5.99) | 109.1 (4.30) | 87.9 (3.46) | 67.4 (2.65) | 1,061.4 (41.79) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 155 (61) | 140 (55) | 96 (38) | 8 (3.1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.4) | 19 (7.5) | 116 (46) | 535 (211) |
| Average rainy days | 12.9 | 11.9 | 12.1 | 9.9 | 10.4 | 8.6 | 10.3 | 11.2 | 11.5 | 12.1 | 12.8 | 12.0 | 135.7 |
| Average snowy days | 18.4 | 16.1 | 11.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 13.1 | 62.5 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 102.7 | 109.1 | 151.0 | 171.3 | 179.4 | 151.8 | 135.2 | 143.5 | 156.6 | 148.6 | 111.5 | 96.4 | 1,657.1 |
| Source 1:JMA[23] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:JMA[24] | |||||||||||||
Traditionally, Eniwa's economy was based around farming, with the first major rice farms created in 1873.[5] Eniwa has two main crops: flowers and rice.[25] 3,800ha of land are dedicated to flowers, most of which arecut flowers. 2,700 ha of land are dedicated to rice farming, mostlyley farming, thoughpaddy field rice exists.[25] Rice in Eniwa is generally made up of theYume Pirika,Nanatsu Boshi,Oborozuki andFukkurinko.[26]
Eniwa also grows many vegetables. Vegetables with 100 ha or more dedicated space includewheat,soybeans,sugar beet,potatoes anddaikon (Japanese radish). Other farmed vegetables includeebisu kabocha pumpkins, carrots,adzuki beans and cabbages.[25] The ebisu kabocha is the city vegetable. Pumpkin-flavoredsoft serve,manjū and soup can be bought at theFlower Road Eniwaroadside station.[27]
In theHeisei era, manufacturing has increasingly become an important industry. In 1989, an area in southern Eniwa became dedicated to manufacture, called the Eniwa Techno Park (恵庭テクノパーク,Eniwa Tekuno Pāku).[5] In the same year, theSapporo Brewery Hokkaido factory was built. It deals with 120 million liters of beer per year.[16][28] There are many food production factories are in Eniwa, including ones for Sanmaruko, the restaurant chain Tonden,oden producer Horikawa, Hoshio Milk,Yamazaki Baking, Kibun Foods and Robapan.Morinaga Milk Industry built its Sapporo Factory in Eniwa in 1961; in April 2013 it halted all manufacturing there, leaving the site as a delivery depot.[29]
There are mechanical factories for Sanwa Holdings, MSK Farm Machinery,Mitsubishi's customized machinery division andOji Paper.
Three camps for theJapan Ground Self-Defense Force'sNorthern Army are in Eniwa — Camp Shimamatsu, Camp Kita Eniwa, and Camp Minami Eniwa — where the Northern Army performs military exercises, including the 1st Tank Group's tank practice.
There are a variety ofBuddhist temples,Shinto shrines and Christian churches in Eniwa. Most of the institutions were established in theMeiji period. The most recent Shinto shrine was built in 1908.
There are seven Buddhist temples in Eniwa. The largest isTen'yū-ji, anOtani-ha temple established in 1886.[30] Daian-ji was initially established as aterakoya school for the children of Eniwa in 1887, but grew to be a temple in 1911.[31] The Eniwa Buddhist temples follow a variety of schools. Two of the temples areOtani-ha, two areHongan-ji, Kōryū-ji is aKompira worshipingKōyasan Shingon-shū temple, Daian-ji isSōtō and Myōshō-ji isNichiren Shū.
There are four Shinto shrines around Eniwa.Toyosaka Shrine was first established in 1874 as an area dedicated toInari Ōkami, with a small shrine forŌkuninushi built at the site in 1891.[32] A second shrine, built to accommodate settlers fromToyama andIshikawa.[33]Shimamatsu Shrine was established in 1901 from donations from the people who lived in Shimamatsu.[34] The fourth, Kashiwagi Shrine, was established in 1908. Much of the shrine was demolished in 1982 due to dilapidation.[35] In Eniwa, there are six Shinto gods who have been enshrined:Toyouke-Ōmikami (at Toyosaka and Shimamatsu),Ōkuninushi (at Toyosaka),Amenominakanushi (at Kashiwagi) andAmaterasu,Inari Ōkami andKasuga Ōkami at Eniwa Shrine.
There are threeChristian churches in Eniwa, the Catholic Eniwa Parish, Eniwa Evangelical Christian Church and the EniwaEvangelical Lutheran church. In addition, there is aJehovah's Witness church, as well as a church for the Chitose and Eniwaward ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Eniwa has five public parks:Eniwa Park, Nakajima Park, Furusato Park, Megumino Central Park and Technopark Central Park. The parks are mostly around central and southern Eniwa.[36] The largest, Eniwa Park, is 411,000 m2. In addition, the land around the banks of the Izari River is consideredurban open space. Parks in Eniwa mostly consist of open spaces and woodland, though several feature sporting facilities, such as Nakajima Park's jogging track.
In 2006, an agricultural theme park calledEcorin Village was built in Eniwa. At the gardening center of the theme park is a greenhouse housingTomato no Mori (とまとの森; "Tomato Forest"), which in November 2013 was awarded theGuinness World Records award for the largest tomato plant in the world, measuring 85.46m2 at the time.[37]
Within the urban borders of Eniwa are severalpark golf grounds, a sport created in Hokkaido. Outside of the city, the Eniwa Country Club features three nine-holegolf courses.[38]
In theShikotsu-Tōya National Park to the west, many of the mountains such as Mount Izari and Mount Soranuma feature walking trails to their summits. The man-made Lake Eniwa (えにわ湖,Eniwa-ko) lake is behind the Izari Dam in the national park,.
Eniwa has two public high schools, five junior high schools, and eight elementary schools. In 2012, the city had 3,935 students enrolled at elementary schools and 2,079 at junior high schools.[39] In 2008, 300 students were enrolled at Eniwa North High School and 200 at Eniwa South High School.[40][41]
Eniwa's first school was opened in 1887, when Buddhist priest Kyūzō Nakayama established aterakoya for the children of Eniwa.[31] In 1897, the temple school was moved and became a public school, Eniwa Elementary School.[42] Three more elementary schools were opened in theMeiji period. By the early 1940s, Eniwa had eight elementary schools. In 1947, four new junior high schools were created, later amalgamating into two by 1964. The two high schools were opened in 1951. In the 1960s and 1970s, five elementary schools and one junior high school were closed or merged. With the building of Megumino in the late 1970s and increasing growth in the city, three new junior high schools and six new elementary schools were built between 1970 and 1991.[5]
Eniwa has one university and threevocational schools.Hokkaido Bunkyo University's main campus is in Eniwa. The university has two departments, foreign languages andhealth sciences.[43] The three vocational schools are in Megumino. The largest, theHokkaido High-Technology College, is a multi-discipline school, with four faculties: technology, medicine, education and recovery/sports science.[44] TheHokkaido Eco Communication College is aveterinary school,[45] and theNihon Fukushi Rehabilitation Gakuin is aphysical medicine and rehabilitation school. In addition to these,Kinki University has its Hokkaido seminar house for natural resource research in Eniwa.
Eniwa is connected to theHokkaido Railway network on theChitose Line. There are four train stations (from north to south):Shimamatsu Station,Megumino Station andEniwa Station, as well as the remotely controlledSapporo Beer Teien Station. The Eniwa Station is a designated stop forRapid Airport trains, though not a stop forlimited express trains such as theSuper Ōzora or theSuper Tokachi.
Japan National Route 36 andJapan National Route 453 run through Eniwa. There are twotoll express roads through Eniwa, theHokkaidō Expressway and theDōtō Expressway which begins at the Chitose-Eniwa junction. There are two bus services in Eniwa. The Hokkaido Chuo Bus transports passengers around Hokkaido and passes through Eniwa. The Eniwa Community Bus was established in 2004 and circuits around Eniwa.[5]
Eniwa is serviced by theNew Chitose Airport for air travel, 15 km away. It is an international airport, with destinations mainly in Asia such asSeoul,Shanghai andTaipei. However, the bulk of its traffic is Japanese domestic travelers.
In the spring and summer, community organisations plant flowers around the city's public gardens, leading to the moniker 'Gardening Town' (ガーデニングのまち,gādeningu no machi).[2]
Eniwa's mascots areEbisu-kun (えびすくん),Karin-chan (かりんちゃん) andEniwan (えにわん).[46]
Eniwa has twosister cities:[2]
Waki, Yamaguchi (established 1979)
Timaru, New Zealand (established 2008)
Media related toEniwa, Hokkaidō at Wikimedia Commons
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