Hamamatsu


Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the total urban area of. The city ranked first in the happiness index of Japan's government-designated cities, published by the Japan Research Institute, in both 2018 and 2022.

Overview

Hamamatsu is a member of the World Health Organization's Alliance for Healthy Cities .

History

Prehistoric ages

The area now comprising Hamamatsu has been settled since prehistoric times, with numerous remains from the Jōmon period and Kofun period having been discovered within the present city limits, including the Shijimizuka site shell mound and the Akamonue Kofun ancient tomb.

Ancient ages

In the Nara period, it became the capital of Tōtōmi Province.

Feudal period

During the Sengoku period, Hamamatsu Castle was the home of future shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Early modern ages

Hamamatsu flourished during the Edo period under a succession of daimyō rulers as a castle town, and as a post town on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto.

Late modern ages

After the Meiji Restoration, Hamamatsu became a short-lived prefecture from 1871 to 1876, after which it was united with Shizuoka Prefecture.
Hamamatsu Station opened on the Tōkaidō Main Line in 1889.
The same year, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, Hamamatsu became a town.
  • July 1, 1911: Hamamatsu is upgraded from a town to a city
  • 1918: Rice riots of 1918 affect Hamamatsu
  • 1921: The village of Tenjinchō merges with Hamamatsu
  • 1926: Imperial Japanese Army Hamamatsu Air Base opens
  • 1933: Imperial Japanese Army Flight School opens
  • 1936: The villages of Hikuma and Fujizuka merge with Hamamatsu
  • December 7, 1944: Tonankai earthquake causes much damage
  • June 1945: Hamamatsu largely destroyed by US air raids

    Contemporary ages

  • 1948: Hamamatsu Incident, ethnic rioting of Zainichi Korean residents.
  • 1951: The villages of Aratsu, Goto, and Kawarin merge with Hamamatsu
  • 1954: Eight villages in Hamana District merge with Hamamatsu
  • 1955: The village of Miyakoda merges with Hamamatsu
  • 1957: The village of Irino merges with Hamamatsu
  • 1960: The village of Seto merges with Hamamatsu
  • 1961: The village of Shinohara merges with Hamamatsu
  • 1965: The village of Shonai merges with Hamamatsu
  • May 1, 1990: Hamamatsu Arena opened
  • January 1, 1991: The village of Kami in Hamana District merges with Hamamatsu.
  • April 1, 1991: The first Hamamatsu International Piano Competition was held.
  • May 1, 1994: Act City Tower opened.
  • October 1, 1995: Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments opened.
  • April 1, 1996: Hamamatsu is designated a core city by the central government.
  • June 1, 1996: Hamamatsu City Fruit Park opened.
  • April 1, 1997: Hamamatsu is designated as an Omnibus Town.
  • April 1, 1998: Act City Musical School opened.
  • April 3, 2000: Shizuoka University of Art and Culture opened.
  • July 1, 2001: The city's 90th anniversary is commemorated
  • August 1, 2002: Launched the conference on Pan-Hamanako Designated City Simulation.
  • April 1, 2003: Shizuoka New Kawafuji National High School Competition was held.
  • June 1, 2003: Launched Tenryūgawa-Hamanako Region Merger Conference.
  • April 8 – October 11, 2004: Pacific Flora 2004 was held at Hamanako Garden Park.
  • July 1, 2005: Hamamatsu absorbed the cities of Hamakita and Tenryū; the town of Haruno, the towns of Hosoe, Inasa and Mikkabi, the towns of Misakubo and Sakuma, the village of Tatsuyama, and the towns of Maisaka and Yūtō were merged into Hamamatsu. Inasa District and Iwata District were both dissolved as a result of this merger. Therefore, there are no more villages left in Shizuoka Prefecture.
  • April 1, 2007: Hamamatsu became a city designated by government ordinance by the central government.

    Cityscapes

Geography

Hamamatsu is southwest of Tokyo.
Hamamatsu consists of a flat plain and the Mikatahara Plateau in the south, and a mountainous area in the north. It is roughly bordered by Lake Hamana to the west, the Tenryū River to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the south.

Climate

The climate in southern Hamamatsu has a humid subtropical climate with cool to mild winters with little snowfall; however, it is windy in winter because of the dry monsoon called Enshū no Karakaze, which is unique to the region. The climate in northern Hamamatsu is much harsher because of foehn winds. Summer is hot with the highest temperature often exceeds 35 degrees in the Tenryu-ku area, while it snows in winter.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hamamatsu has been increasing over the past 70 years.

Foreign population

Hamamatsu has a significant non-Japanese population. The population of Nikkei foreigners, especially Brazilians, increased after a 1990 change in Japanese immigration law allowed them to work in Japan. At one point, Hamamatsu had the largest Brazilian Nikkei population of any Japanese city. Many foreigners work in the manufacturing sector, taking temporary jobs in Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha plants. the number of non-Japanese in Hamamatsu was 33,332. Portuguese signage can be seen throughout the city, and many businesses catering to Brazilians display Brazilian flags. The city also hosts a Brazilian school. However, Natsuko Fukue of The Japan Times wrote in 2010 that many foreign children have difficulty integrating to society in Hamamatsu because "Japanese and foreign communities live largely separate from one another."
The foreign population dropped significantly after the 2008 financial crisis, with the Hamamatsu city government offering aid for some foreign nationals to return to their home countries. The foreign population was estimated as 25,084 as of August 1, 2019, per official city statistics.

Neighboring municipalities

; Aichi Prefecture
  • Shinshiro
  • Tōei
  • Toyohashi
  • Toyone
; Nagano Prefecture
  • Iida
  • Tenryū
; Shizuoka Prefecture
  • Iwata
  • Kawanehon
  • Kosai
  • Mori
  • Shimada

    Government

Hamamatsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 46 members. The city contributes 15 members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly.

Wards

Hamamatsu is administratively divided into three wards:
NameArea Population Pop Density
Chūō-ku, Hamamatsu268.45608,145
Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu345.77155,996
Tenryū Ward943.8424,515

Reorganization

On 1 January 2024, the number of wards was reduced from seven to three as part of a municipal reorganization. Naka-ku, Higashi-ku, Nishi-ku, Minami-ku and Kita-ku were merged into a new Chūō-ku, Hamakita-ku and Kita-ku were merged to form Hamana-ku, while Tenryu-ku will remain unchanged. The reorganization was initially approved by a referendum held on April 7, 2019.

Economy

Hamamatsu has been famous as an industrial city, especially for musical instruments and motorcycles. It also has been known for fabric industry, but most of those companies and factories went out of business in the 1990s. As of 2010, Greater Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu Metropolitan Employment Area, has a GDP of US$54.3 billion.
2014 Hamamatsu's GDP per capita was US$41,470.

Companies headquartered in Hamamatsu

Radio stations

Airways

Airport

There are no commercial airports in Hamamatsu. However, Shizuoka Airport is the closest, located from Hamamatsu Station, between Makinohara and Shimada.
Chūbu Centrair International Airport in Aichi Prefecture, located about west of the city, is the second closest.

Railways

High-Speed Rail

; Central Japan Railway Company
  • Tōkaidō Shinkansen: - -
  • *JR Central Hamamatsu workshop: maintenance facility for the Tōkaidō Shinkansen

    Conventional Lines

; Central Japan Railway Company
  • Tōkaidō Main Line: - -
  • Iida Line: - -
; Enshū Railway
  • Enshū Railway Line: -
;Tenryū Hamanako Railroad
  • Tenryū Hamanako Line: - -

    Roads

Expressways

Colleges and universities

Senior high schools operated by Shizuoka Prefecture:
There is one senior high school operated by the city government: Hamamatsu Municipal Senior High School
Elementary and junior high schools are operated by the city government., the city had 117 public elementary schools and 52 public junior high schools.