Okazaki is in the coastal plains of southeastern Aichi Prefecture. The ground rises to undulating hills in the former Nukata area to the northeast. About 60 percent of the city area is forested and remains sparsely populated.[citation needed]
Okazaki is about 250 miles (400 km) from Tokyo, to the southwest.[4]
The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classificationCfa). The average annual temperature in Okazaki is 15.5 °C (59.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,507.6 mm (59.35 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.4 °C (81.3 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.1 °C (39.4 °F).[5]
Climate data for Okazaki (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1979−present)
Per Japanese census data,[7] the population of Okazaki has grown steadily over the past 60 years. This fast population growth reflects the low unemployment rate, as well as affordable housing close to Nagoya. Of the total population, in November 2019 there were 12,581 are foreign nationals (2.92% of the total, compared with the nationwide average of 1.55%). There are 6,148 foreign males and 6,433 foreign females with a total of 6990 households. Including those registered as stateless, the foreign population comes from 71 nationalities, though more than half are fromBrazil. Other significant foreign communities include Koreans, Chinese and Filipinos.
The area around present-day Okazaki has been inhabited for many thousands of years. Archaeologists have found remains from theJapanese Paleolithic period.Numerous remains from theJōmon period, and especially from theYayoi andKofun periods, have been found, including manykofun burial mounds.
During this time,Okazaki Domain, a feudalhan was established to rule the immediate area around Okazaki and was entrusted to afudai daimyō.Several smaller domains were in the present-day city limits, including Fukozu (later Mikawa-Nakajima),Okudono Domain andNishi-Ohira Domain. The town prospered as apost station on theTōkaidō connectingEdo withKyoto.
Following theMeiji Restoration, the modern town of Okazaki was established on October 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system inNukata District ofAichi Prefecture. On October 1, 1914, Okazaki annexed neighboring Hirohata Town. Okazaki was proclaimed a city on July 1, 1916.
In 1955, through a series of mergers and consolidations, the area of Okazaki expanded considerably. The former towns of Iwazu, Fukuoka, and Yahagi, and the villages of Motojuku, Yamanaka, Kawai, Fujikawa, and Ryugai were all merged into Okazaki. The 1959Isewan Typhoon caused considerable damage, and killed 27 residents. On October 15, 1962, Okazaki annexed the neighboring town of Mutsumi.
Okazaki was proclaimed acore city on April 1, 2003, with increased autonomy from the prefectural government. On January 1, 2006, the town ofNukata (fromNukata District) was merged into Okazaki.
Okazaki was noted in the Meiji period as a centre for textiles and commerce and the production ofmiso; modern Okazaki is a hub for the chemical and machinery industries.
The area has historically been one of the main centres of the production of stonetōrō (Japanese lanterns). The traditionalstonemasonry there was registered by the government as aJapanese craft in 1979.[11][12]
Okazaki has 48 public elementary schools and 21 public junior high schools operated by the city government, and one private middle school. The city has seven public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education and four private high schools, including theHikarigaoka Girls' High School. The prefecture also operates four special education schools for the handicapped, and the national government operates one special education school as well.
The city formerly housed the Escola São Paulo, a Brazilian international school.[13]
Okazaki Castle was originally built in 1455. Captured by theMatsudaira clan in 1524 (and probably relocated from the other side of the river), the castle remains associated withTokugawa Ieyasu, even though the latter transferred toEdo in 1590. During theEdo period it served as the seat of theOkazaki Domain and dominated the city until theMeiji Restoration.
Okazaki is famous for itsfireworks. The Tokugawa shogunate restricted production ofgunpowder outside of the immediate region of Okazaki (with few exceptions). Even today, more than 70% of Japan's fireworks are designed and manufactured here. A large fireworks festival, which people from all over Japan come to see, is held annually on the first Saturday in August in the area surrounding Okazaki Castle.
Hatchō miso (八丁味噌) is a darkmiso paste made using a process of steaming soybeans (instead of boiling) followed by maturation in cedar barrels under the weight of 3 tons of carefully stacked river stones for at least 2 years. Located 8chō (hatchō, or approximately 900m) west of Okazaki Castle near the Yahagi river, there are two 8-cho miso companies — Maruya from 1337[14] and Kakukyu.[15]
The old tiled buildings are heritage-listed and Kaku has been a family business for 18 generations. It is one of the most famousmiso producers in Japan, supplying theEmperor by appointment, and popular as a health food. A 2006NHK morning drama serial,Junjo Kirari (Sparkling Innocence), was largely filmed in and around the Hatchō miso grounds. Tours are available every 30 minutes and free samples are provided. Hatchō miso's health properties are considered so great that it was donated toChernobyl's citizens following the disaster, to help prevent and treatradiation sickness.
The Buddhist temple of Takisan-ji (7th century) includes severalImportant Cultural Properties of Japan. The main hall is from theKamakura period and is the location of a fire festival held each February on the closest Saturday to the lunar calendar New Year. The distinctiveSanmon gate and the main image are designated as important cultural properties. Adjoining the temple isTakisan Tōshō-gū, aShinto Shrine built in 1646 byTokugawa Iemitsu.
While the localMikawa dialect is considered to be generally indistinguishable from what is considered modern standardJapanese, there are subtle and distinctive differences. Mikawa dialect has, on the other hand, substantial differences when compared to the dialect ofNagoya and western areas of Aichi, where theNagoya dialect (also known asOwari-ben, Owari being the traditional name for the Nagoya region) is the traditional dialect. Cognitively Mikawa-ben and modern contemporary Japanese are extremely close, in part due to the influence of the Tokugawa shogunate and accidents of history. In recent decades a large number of people moving into Okazaki and the surrounding cities (particularly to work in the motor vehicle industry) and mass media have influenced the local dialect, with the result that in day-to-day life more people are using only standard Japanese.
^ab"International Exchange".List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived fromthe original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved21 November 2015.
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