Kumagaya 熊谷市 | |
|---|---|
 Kumagaya City office | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture | |
  Kumagaya | |
| Coordinates:36°8′50.6″N139°23′19.1″E / 36.147389°N 139.388639°E /36.147389; 139.388639 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Kantō |
| Prefecture | Saitama |
| First official recorded | late 6th century AD (official) |
| Town settled | April 1, 1889 |
| City settled | April 1, 1933 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Tetsuya Kobayashi (from November 2021) (Ind.) |
| Area | |
• Total | 159.82 km2 (61.71 sq mi) |
| Population (January 2021) | |
• Total | 195,277 |
| • Density | 1,221.9/km2 (3,164.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time) |
| Phone number | 048-524-111 |
| Address | 2-47-1 Miyamachi, Kumagaya-shi 360-8601 |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | Official website |
| Symbols | |
| Bird | Eurasian skylark |
| Fish | Pungitius |
| Flower | Sakura |
| Tree | Zelkova serrata |
Kumagaya (熊谷市,Kumagaya-shi) is acity located inSaitama Prefecture,Japan. As of 1 February 2021[update], the city had an estimatedpopulation of 195,277 in 87,827 households and apopulation density of 1200 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 159.82 square kilometres (61.71 sq mi).
Kumagaya is one of the largest cities in northern Saitama Prefecture. About two-thirds of the city area is located between theTone River and theArakawa Riveralluvial fan, approximately 60 km from central Tokyo and 45 km from the prefectural capital atSaitama City. The highest point in the city is Mikajiri Kannon, which is located on the Kushibiki plateau at an altitude of 83.3 meters. The city is known for its abundant and high quality ground water.
Kumagaya has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification:Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kumagaya is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1532 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C.[2]
Kumagaya is known for being one of the hottest areas in summer in Japan. This is caused by very hot winds from Tokyo and theChichibu basin in the west of the prefecture. In central Tokyo, the summermonsoon enhanced bysea breeze is heated by theurban heat island. Also, from the Chichibu Mountains, theFöhn blows. The two winds converge above the city at about 2 p.m.
On August 16, 2007, the city recorded air temperature of 40.9 °C (105.6 °F), breaking the 74-year record for thehighest temperature recorded in Japan. "Very Hot! Kumagaya" (あついぞ！熊谷) is a catchphrase of the city.[3] On July 23, 2018, the national record was broken again with a temperature of 41.1 °C (106.0 °F),[4] surpassing the previous record of 41.0 °C (105.8 °F) recorded inKōchi Prefecture in August 2013.[5]
There was a largehailstorm on June 29, 1917 at about 5 p.m. Thehailstones had a diameter of 29.5 centimetres and weighed 3.4 kilograms.[6]
TheJapan Meteorological Agency maintains a local meteorological observatory in Kumagaya.
| Climate data for Kumagaya, Saitama (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1896−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 23.0 (73.4) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.9 (80.4) | 32.7 (90.9) | 36.2 (97.2) | 39.8 (103.6) | 41.1 (106.0) | 40.9 (105.6) | 39.7 (103.5) | 33.8 (92.8) | 27.6 (81.7) | 26.3 (79.3) | 41.1 (106.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.8 (49.6) | 10.8 (51.4) | 14.3 (57.7) | 19.9 (67.8) | 24.6 (76.3) | 27.1 (80.8) | 30.9 (87.6) | 32.3 (90.1) | 27.9 (82.2) | 22.1 (71.8) | 16.8 (62.2) | 12.0 (53.6) | 20.7 (69.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.3 (39.7) | 5.1 (41.2) | 8.6 (47.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 18.8 (65.8) | 22.3 (72.1) | 26.0 (78.8) | 27.1 (80.8) | 23.3 (73.9) | 17.6 (63.7) | 11.7 (53.1) | 6.5 (43.7) | 15.4 (59.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.4 (31.3) | 0.3 (32.5) | 3.6 (38.5) | 8.6 (47.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 18.3 (64.9) | 22.3 (72.1) | 23.3 (73.9) | 19.7 (67.5) | 13.7 (56.7) | 7.2 (45.0) | 1.8 (35.2) | 11.0 (51.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −10.5 (13.1) | −11.6 (11.1) | −8.7 (16.3) | −4.5 (23.9) | 0.3 (32.5) | 7.8 (46.0) | 11.8 (53.2) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.4 (47.1) | 0.5 (32.9) | −4.0 (24.8) | −9.8 (14.4) | −11.6 (11.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 36.5 (1.44) | 32.3 (1.27) | 69.0 (2.72) | 90.7 (3.57) | 115.1 (4.53) | 149.5 (5.89) | 169.8 (6.69) | 183.3 (7.22) | 198.2 (7.80) | 177.1 (6.97) | 53.5 (2.11) | 30.9 (1.22) | 1,305.9 (51.43) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 7 (2.8) | 7 (2.8) | 1 (0.4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.4) | 16 (6.4) |
| Average rainy days | 3.1 | 3.8 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 12.1 | 9.9 | 11.4 | 9.3 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 95.8 |
| Average snowy days | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 3 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 53 | 52 | 55 | 60 | 64 | 73 | 76 | 74 | 75 | 71 | 65 | 58 | 65 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 217.0 | 199.8 | 203.2 | 197.1 | 192.0 | 133.9 | 146.0 | 169.3 | 131.6 | 144.1 | 171.6 | 200.9 | 2,106.5 |
| Source:Japan Meteorological Agency (Avreages: 1981-2010, Extremes: 1896-present)[7][8] | |||||||||||||
Per Japanese census data,[9] the population of Kumagaya peaked around the year 2000 and has declined since.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 126,910 | — |
| 1960 | 134,508 | +6.0% |
| 1970 | 156,955 | +16.7% |
| 1980 | 178,610 | +13.8% |
| 1990 | 200,246 | +12.1% |
| 2000 | 206,446 | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 203,180 | −1.6% |
| 2020 | 194,415 | −4.3% |
Kumagaya was part of ancientMusashi Province and was controlled by varioussamurai clans from theHeian period. One of these clans, the Kumagaya clan, rose to prominence during theKamakura period. During theEdo Period, the area was divided between the holdings ofOshi Domain andtenryō territory under direct control of theTokugawa shogunate.Kumagai-shuku developed as apost town on theNakasendō highway during this period. After theMeiji restoration, the town of Kumagaya was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.
Kumagaya has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral city council of 30 members. Kumagaya contributes three members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between theSaitama 11th district andSaitama 12th district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
November 6, 2021 to present[citation needed]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(March 2016) |
Kumagaya is a major industrial and commercial center within northern Saitama. Eightnational highways and three railway lines serve the city. While many people commute towards south Tokyo, its daytime population is larger than the night population thanks to commuters from surrounding towns.
.svg){kind=logo}
JR East –JR East -Takasaki Line
Chichibu Railway -Chichibu Main Line
Kumagaya istwinned with:
Invercargill, New Zealand[10]
| Saitama |
|  | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core cities | ||||
| Special cities | ||||
| Cities | ||||
| Districts | ||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
