Ōmihachiman 近江八幡市 | |
|---|---|
 Old city view from Mt. Hachiman | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Ōmihachiman in Shiga Prefecture | |
  Ōmihachiman Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates:35°07′42″N136°5′53″E / 35.12833°N 136.09806°E /35.12833; 136.09806 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Kansai |
| Prefecture | Shiga Prefecture |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Osamu Konishi <小西 理> (from April 2018) |
| Area | |
• Total | 177.45 km2 (68.51 sq mi) |
| Population (31 August 2021) | |
• Total | 82,233 |
| • Density | 463.42/km2 (1,200.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| City hall address | 236 Sakuragi-chō, Ōmihachiman-shi, Shiga-ken 523-8501 |
| Phone number | 0748-33-3111 |
| Website | Official website |
| Symbols | |
| Flower | Salvia |
| Tree | Azalea,Sakura |
Ōmihachiman (近江八幡市,Ōmihachiman-shi) is acity located inShiga Prefecture,Japan. As of 31 August 2021[update], the city had an estimatedpopulation of 82,233 in 34747 households and apopulation density of 570 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 76.97 square kilometres (29.72 sq mi).
Ōmihachiman is located in central Shiga Prefecture, on flatlands along the eastern shore ofLake Biwa, and extending inland to the foothills of theSuzuka Mountains.
Shiga Prefecture
Ōmihachiman has aHumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōmihachiman is 14.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1602 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.7 °C.[2]
Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Ōmihachiman has recently plateaued after several decades of growth.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 54,461 | — |
| 1960 | 52,756 | −3.1% |
| 1970 | 52,171 | −1.1% |
| 1980 | 70,772 | +35.7% |
| 1990 | 77,730 | +9.8% |
| 2000 | 78,669 | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 81,738 | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 81,122 | −0.8% |
Ōmihachiman is part of ancientŌmi Province and was originally apost station that developed aroundMusa-juku on theTōsandō (later theNakasendō) highway connectingHeian-kyō with the eastern provinces. During theSengoku period, the warlordOda Nobunaga builtAzuchi Castle in the hills on the border with Higashiōmi. UnderToyotomi Hidetsugu the center shifted to acastle town at the base ofHachimanyama Castle, which attracted many merchants ("Ōmi shōnin"), especially after the destruction of Azuchi Castle. Former merchant's residences and a canal used for transport are preserved in an old city area, designated aPreservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings[4] and anImportant Cultural Landscape.[5]
The town of Hachiman was established withGamō District, Shiga with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. In 1905, an American architectWilliam Merrell Vories came to Ōmihachiman as an English language teacher at commercial high school. Two years later he resigned the original work, but he remained in Ōmihachiman and spent most of his productive life here. He handed down western-style buildings, a pharmaceutical company, an educational foundation and a hospital to the city. The town expanded by annexing the neighboring villages of Utsuro in 1933 and Shima in 1951. On March 31, 1954, Hachiman merged with the villages of Okayama, Kanada, Kirihara and Mabuchi to form the city of Ōmihachiman. The name was changed from "Hachiman" to "Ōmihachiman" to avoid confusion with the then existing city ofYahata inFukuoka Prefecture, as both "Hachiman" and "Yawata" are written in the samekanji characters. On March 21, 2010, the town ofAzuchi was merged into Ōmihachiman.
Ōmihachiman has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 24 members. Ōmihachiman contributes three members to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part ofShiga 2nd district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan, and is represented byKenichiro Ueno.[6][7]
Agriculture, commercial fishing and seasonal tourism are major components of the economy of Ōmihachiman. The key industries of Ōmihachiman include the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.
Ōmihachiman has 12 public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government and three high schools operated by the Shiga Prefectural Department of Education. The city also has one private elementary school, one private middle school and one private high school.
Ōmihachiman istwinned with:[8]
Grand Rapids,Michigan, United States, friendship city since 1986Leavenworth,Kansas, United States, sister city since 1997
Mantua,Lombardy, Italy, friendship city since 2005
Miryang,Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, friendship city since 1994Hachiman area
Azuchi area
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