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Imabari 今治市 | |
|---|---|
 View of Seto Inner Sea and downtown Imabari | |
 Flag  Emblem | |
 Location of Imabari in Ehime Prefecture | |
 | |
  Imabari Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates:34°4′N133°0′E / 34.067°N 133.000°E /34.067; 133.000 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Shikoku |
| Prefecture | Ehime Prefecture |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Shigeki Tokunaga (since February 2021) |
| Area | |
• Total | 419.14 km2 (161.83 sq mi) |
| Population (August 31, 2012) | |
• Total | 152,111 |
| • Density | 362.91/km2 (939.94/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| City hall address | 1-4-1 Bekku-chō, Imabari-shi, Ehime-ken 794-8511 |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | Official website |
| Symbols | |
| Flower | Azalea |
| Tree | Camphor Laurel |
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Imabari (今治市,Imabari-shi) is acity inEhime Prefecture,Japan. It is the second largest city in the prefecture. As of 31 August 2022[update], the city had an estimatedpopulation of 152,111 in 75,947 households and apopulation density of 360 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 468.19 square kilometres (180.77 sq mi). The population is the second largest in Ehime Prefecture afterMatsuyama City.
Imabari is located in central Ehime Prefecture, facing theSeto Inland Sea to the east and northwest, and including a portion of theGeiyo Islands in betweenShikoku andHonshu, includingŌmishima,Ōshima and Hakatajima. The land portion occupies the northeastern part of the Takanawa Peninsula. The highest elevation in the city is Mound Kirō on Ōshima Island at 307.8 meters.
Ehime Prefecture
Imabari has ahumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Imabari is 15.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1740 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.9 °C.[2]
| Climate data for Imabari (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1976−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.0 (64.4) | 21.7 (71.1) | 28.1 (82.6) | 30.0 (86.0) | 33.6 (92.5) | 35.4 (95.7) | 37.7 (99.9) | 37.7 (99.9) | 36.3 (97.3) | 33.1 (91.6) | 24.8 (76.6) | 20.8 (69.4) | 37.7 (99.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.8 (49.6) | 10.3 (50.5) | 13.6 (56.5) | 18.8 (65.8) | 23.6 (74.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 30.7 (87.3) | 32.2 (90.0) | 28.2 (82.8) | 22.9 (73.2) | 17.3 (63.1) | 12.2 (54.0) | 20.5 (68.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.9 (42.6) | 6.1 (43.0) | 9.0 (48.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 22.0 (71.6) | 26.2 (79.2) | 27.4 (81.3) | 24.0 (75.2) | 18.6 (65.5) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.1 (46.6) | 16.0 (60.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) | 1.7 (35.1) | 4.3 (39.7) | 8.8 (47.8) | 13.7 (56.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 22.7 (72.9) | 23.9 (75.0) | 20.4 (68.7) | 14.6 (58.3) | 8.9 (48.0) | 4.1 (39.4) | 11.9 (53.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.8 (25.2) | −6.5 (20.3) | −3.7 (25.3) | −0.7 (30.7) | 5.2 (41.4) | 10.9 (51.6) | 16.0 (60.8) | 17.7 (63.9) | 12.8 (55.0) | 4.7 (40.5) | 0.5 (32.9) | −3.2 (26.2) | −6.5 (20.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 49.6 (1.95) | 59.8 (2.35) | 96.6 (3.80) | 97.0 (3.82) | 111.8 (4.40) | 196.2 (7.72) | 191.8 (7.55) | 93.8 (3.69) | 165.2 (6.50) | 122.2 (4.81) | 69.6 (2.74) | 59.4 (2.34) | 1,325.5 (52.19) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.7 | 7.2 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 11.0 | 9.3 | 6.7 | 9.5 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 99.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 139.6 | 146.0 | 184.7 | 198.8 | 215.0 | 163.4 | 202.4 | 229.7 | 161.6 | 165.3 | 136.8 | 129.7 | 2,072.9 |
| Source:JMA[3][4] | |||||||||||||
Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Imabari has been declining since the 1980s.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 143,218 | — |
| 1930 | 155,568 | +8.6% |
| 1940 | 156,810 | +0.8% |
| 1950 | 198,109 | +26.3% |
| 1960 | 193,816 | −2.2% |
| 1970 | 189,918 | −2.0% |
| 1980 | 197,818 | +4.2% |
| 1990 | 191,504 | −3.2% |
| 2000 | 180,627 | −5.7% |
| 2010 | 166,532 | −7.8% |
| 2020 | 151,672 | −8.9% |
The area in which Imabari is situated is part of ancientIyo Province and had long been a strategic point for the control of the Seto Inland Sea. In theSengoku period it was dominated by the Murakami clan, a maritime clan who engaged in shipping or as pilots for vessels through the complex channels and rocky straits in between Shikoku and Honshu, but who also occasionally acted as pirates or as the mercenary naval force for a powerful warlord. After theBattle of Sekigahara,Tokugawa Ieyasu installed his generalTōdō Takatora asdaimyō of the 200,000kokuImabari Domain. Tōdō Takatora constructedImabari Castle and thecastle town which forms the core of the modern city. The domain was subsequently ruled by a cadet branch of theHisamatsu-Matsudaira clan until the end of theEdo period. The town of Imabari was established on December 15, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The town merged with the village of Hiyoshi on February 11, 1920, to become the city of Imabari. Industrialization progressed rapidly in the early 20th century, centered around the textile and shipbuilding industries. The city was bombed three times in the final months ofWorld War II, with the firstair raid on April 24, 1945, killing 68 civilians, the second on May 8 killing 29 (mostly students of Imabari Girls' High School) and the third and largest on August 5, during which 454 people died and 80% of the city center was destroyed. The city reconstructed rapidly in the post-war era.
On January 16, 2005, the towns ofHakata,Kamiura,Kikuma,Miyakubo,Namikata,Ōmishima,Ōnishi,Tamagawa, andYoshiumi, and the villages ofAsakura andSekizen (all fromOchi District) were merged into Imabari. As a result, there are no more villages within Ehime Prefecture.
Imabari has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 28 members. Imabari, together with Kamijima, contributes six members to the Ehime Prefectural Assembly.
In terms of national politics, Imabari is part of Ehime 2nd district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan. Prior to 2022, the city was part of Ehime 3rd district.[6]
Imabari is home to a large number of shipbuilding and maritime servicing facilities along the northern and eastern coastlines of the city. Facilities include a small container port and maintenance and construction shipyards belonging toImabari Shipbuilding, Japan's largest ship builder.
The port has also long been a trading center within Shikoku. The city is home to a large cotton processing industry, with particular emphasis on towels. The city produces around 60% of the towels made in Japan. As of 1998, there were over 200 towel production plants in the city. The city also specializes in the dyeing industry.
Imabari has 26 public elementary schools and 15 public middle schools operated by the city government and one private combined elementary/middle school. The city has six public high schools operated by the Ehime Prefectural Board of Education and five private high schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. TheImabari Meitoku Junior College is located in the city, as is theOkayama University of Science Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
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Shikoku Railway Company -Yosan Line
TheKurushima-Kaikyō Bridge, a toll road suspension bridge and integratedexpressway, connects Imabari and Shikoku across a series of islands in the Seto Inland Sea toHiroshima Prefecture. Opened in 1999, the bridge is part of theShimanami Kaidō, and features anexpressway for road vehicles as well as dedicated pedestrian and cycle lanes.
Imabari is twinned with:
Lakeland, Florida, United States, since July 6, 1995
Panama City, Panama, since March 2, 1977
FC Imabari, current men'sassociation football league,J2 League, current home stadium at ASICS Satoyama Stadium.
FC Imabari Ladies, women's association football league,Nadeshiko League, home stadium at Thanks Dream Stadium. (Arigatou Yume Stadium)[citation needed]
Geographic data related toImabari, Ehime atOpenStreetMap| Core city |  | |
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