Hamamatsu

:This article is about the city in Shizuoka Prefecture. For the area in eastern Tōkyō, see Hamamatsuchō

Name	Hamamatsu
Japanesename	浜松
Official name	浜松市 · Hamamatsu City
Settlement type	Designated city
Imageskyline	Hamamatsu from above.jpg
Imagecaption	A bird's-eye view of downtown Hamamatsu.
Mapimage	Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture Ja.svg
Region	Chūbu
Prefecture	Shizuoka
Area km2	1511.17
Popdate	February 2009
Population	813,369
Density km2	538
Latitudedegrees	34
Latitudeminutes	43
Longtitudedegrees	137
Longtitudeminutes	44
Tree	Pine
Flower	Mikan
Bird	Japanese Bush Warbler
Symbolimage	Flag of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.svgborder
Symboldescription	Flag of Hamamatsu
Mayor	Yasutomo Suzuki
Cityhallpostalcode	430-8652
Cityhalladdress	103-2 Motoshiro-chō, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka-ken
Cityhallphone	53-457-2111
Cityhalllink	City of Hamamatsu

is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. On July 1, 2005, the city merged with 11 surrounding cities and towns. It became a city designated by government ordinance on April 1, 2007.

History

The area now comprising Hamamatsu has been settled since prehistoric times, with numerous remains from the Jomon period and Kofun period having been discovered within the present city limits, including the Akamonue Kofun in what is now present-day Hamakita-ku In the Nara period, it became the capital of Tōtōmi Province. During the Sengoku period, Hamamatsu Castle was the home of future Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hamamatsu flourished during the Edo period under a succession of daimyo rulers as a castle town, and as a post town on the Tōkaidō. After the Meiji Restoration, Hamamatsu became a short-lived prefecture from 1871–1876, after which it was united with Shizuoka Prefecture. The Tōkaidō Main Line railway opened Hamamatsu Station in 1889. The same year, in a cadastal reform of Japan, 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

1948 - Hamamatsu Incident, ethnic rioting Zainichi Korean residents.

1951 - The villages of Aratsu, Goto, 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 Hamamatsu 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.

January 1, 1997 - Started separated collection of garbage in residential areas.

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 - Commemorated the city's 90th anniversary.

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 (Shizuoka International Garden and Horticulture Exhibition) was held at Hamanako Garden Park.

July 1, 2005 - Hamamatsu merged with Hamakita and Tenryū; Inasa, Hosoe, and Mikkabi in Inasa District (resulting in the district's dissolution); Yūtō and Maisaka in Hamana District; Sakuma, Misakubo, and Tatsuyama in Iwata District (also dissolved as a result); and Haruno in Shūchi District.

April 1, 2007 - Hamamatsu became a city designated by government ordinance by the central government.

Geography

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. The climate in southern Hamamatsu is mild with little snow fall in the winter; 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. In summers, the highest temperature often exceeds 35 degrees in the Tenryu-ku area, while it snows in winter.

Wards

Hamamatsu is administratively divided into seven wards:

* Hamakita-ku (浜北区)

Higashi-ku (東区)

Kita-ku (北区)

Minami-ku (南区)

Naka-ku (中区) - administrative center

Nishi-ku (西区)

Tenryū-ku (天竜区)

Tourism

Act City Tower Observatory - Hamamatsu's only skyscraper, situated next to JR Hamamatsu Station, is a symbol of the city. It was designed to resemble a harmonica, a reminder that Hamamatsu is sometimes known as the "City of Music". The building houses shopping and a food court, the Okura Hotel, and an observatory on the 45th floor overlooking all of central Hamamatsu, even down to the sand dunes at the shore.

Chopin Monument This is a 1:1-scale replica of the famous Art Nouveau bronze statue of Chopin by the famed artist Wacław Szymanowski. The original is in Hamamatsu's sister city, Warsaw.　

Hamamatsu Castle - Hamamatsu Castle Park stretches from the modern city hall building to the north. The castle is located on a hill in the southeast corner of the park, near city hall. It was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu. His rule marks the beginning of the Edo Period. Tokugawa Ieyasu lived here from 1571 to 1588. There is a small museum inside, which houses some armor and other relics of the period, as well as a miniature model of how the city might have looked 400 years ago. North of the castle is a large park with a Japanese garden, a koi pond, a ceremonial teahouse, and some commons areas.

Nakatajima Sand Dunes - one of the 3 largest sand dune areas in Japan

Hamamatsu Flower Park

Hamamatsu Fruit Park

Hamamatsu Municipal Zoo

Industry

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. Of the 274,700 Japanese Brazilians working in Japan, currently 19,000 work in Hamamatsu.

Companies headquartered in Hamamatsu

Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.

Kawai Musical Instruments Mfg.

Roland Corporation

Suzuki Motor Co.

Tōkai Gakki (also known as Tokai Guitars Company Ltd.)

Yamaha Corporation

Companies founded in Hamamatsu

Honda Motor Co.

Transportation

Railways

Hamamatsu is a station on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen and Tōkaidō Main Line. As of 2009, this station is served by a small selection of Hikari services and all passing Kodama services. Hamamatsu is approximately halfway along the Tōkaidō line, as the journey time to both Tokyo and Shin-Osaka is approximately one and half hours with Hikari, and two hours with Kodama.

Tōkaidō Main Line stops at the following stations:

Bentenjima Station

Maisaka Station

Takatsuka Station

Hamamatsu Station

Tenryūgawa Station

Iida Line stops at several stations in Sakuma area.

Enshu Railway Line, also known as Akaden (the red train), is a local line running north from Shin-Hamamatsu Station through Nishikajima Station.

Tenryū Hamanako Line stops at several stations in Kita-ku, Hamakita-ku, and Tenryū-ku.

Roads

Expressways

* Tōmei Expressway (Hamamatsu I.C., Hamamatsu Nishi I.C., and Mikkabi I.C.)

* Second Tomei Expressway (under construction)

* Sanen Nanshin Highway (under construction)

* Bypasses

* Hamamatsu Bypass

* Hamana Bypass

* National Highways

* Route 1

* Route 42

* Route 150

* Route 152

* Route 257

* Route 301

* Route 362

Bus

Bus is the major public transportation in Hamamatsu. Almost all services are operated by Enshu Railway Co. (Entetsu Bus).

Airport

There are no civilian airports in Hamamatsu. 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.

== Festivals ==

Akiha Fire Festival

Ever since long ago, Mount Akiha was believed to have supernatural powers to prevent fires. Bow and arrow, sword, and fire dances are performed at the Akiha Shrine. At the Akiha Temple a firewalking ceremony is performed where both believers and spectators celebrate the festival. (Haruno, Tenryu-ku — December)

Enshu Dainenbutsu

When a family commemorates the first Obon holidays after the death of a loved one, they may request that a dainenbutsu (Buddhist chanting ritual) be performed outside their house. This is one of the local performing arts of the region. The group always forms a procession in front of the house led by a person carrying a lantern and marches to the sound of flutes, Japanese drums and cymbals. (Saigagake Museum, Hamamatsu City — July 15)

Hamamatsu Festival

Hamamatsu Festival, held from May 3 through May 5 each year, is well-known for Takoage Gassen, or the kite fight, and luxuriously decorated palace-like floats. The festival originated about 430 years ago, when the lord of Hamamatsu Castle celebrated the birth of his first son by flying kites. In the Meiji Era, the celebration of the birth of a first son by flying Hatsu Dako, or the first kite, became popular, and this tradition has survived in the form of Hamamatsu Festival. It is extremely exciting to see over 160 large kites flying in the sky to the sound of trumpets. Those who visit Hamamatsu at this time of the year can experience the city at its most exciting time.

During the nights of Hamamatsu Festival, people parade downtown carrying over 70 yatai, or palace-lake floats, that are beautifully decorated while playing Japanese traditional festival music. The festival reaches its peak when groups of people compete by violently marching across town. (Naka-ku, Minami-ku — May)

Hamakita Hiryu Festival

This festival is held in honor of Ryujin, the god of the Tenryu River, and features a wide variety of events such as the Hamakita takoage (kite flying) event and the Hiryu himatsuri (flying dragon fire festival) which celebrates water, sound, and flame. (Hamakita-ku — June)

Hamamatsu International Piano Competition

This festival celebrates Hamamatsu's history as a city of musical instruments and music, and brings dozens of the best young pianists from all over the world. It has been held triennially since 1991 at the Act City Concert Hall and Main Hall. (November)

Hamakita Manyo Festival

This event takes place in Manyo-no-Mori Park to commemorate the Manyo Period and introduce its culture. As part of the festival, people reenact the ancient past by wearing traditional clothes from the Heian period and presenting Japanese poetry readings. (Hamakita-ku, Hamamatsu — October)

Inasa Puppet Festival

One of the few puppet festivals held in Japan, featuring 60 performances of about 30 plays by puppet masters from all over the country. The shows provide a full day of enjoyment for both children and adults. (Inasa, Kita-ku — November)

Princess Road Festival

This reenactment of a procession made by the princess in her palanquin along with her entourage of over 100 people including maids, samurai, and servants makes for a splendid scene beneath the cherry blossoms along the Toda River. In the Edo period, princesses enjoyed traveling this road which came to be known as a hime kaidō (princess road). (Hosoe, Kita-ku — April)

Shoryu Weeping Ume Blossom Festival

In Ryusui Garden there is a stream with seven small waterfalls and about 80 weeping ume trees pruned to give the appearance of dragons riding on clouds to the heavens. There are also 200 young trees planted along the mountainside. (Inasa, Kita-ku — late February to late March)

Notable people

Michio Suzuki (1887–1982) After the establishment of Suzuki Loom Works in Hamamatsu City in 1909, Suzuki kept expanding his business and, in 1929, invented a new type of weaving machine, which was exported overseas. Suzuki filed as many as 120 patents and utility model rights. He started on a protocol of an automobile in 1939 and laid the foundation of Suzuki Motors, the car maker, by releasing the Colleda motorcycle and a light-weight car called the Suzulight.

Soichiro Honda

Torakusu Yamaha

Kenjiro Takayanagi

Koichi Kawai

Koji Suzuki

Hiromi Uehara

Radio stations

FM Haro! (JOZZ6AB FM, 76.1 MHz)

K-MIX (JOKU FM, 78.4 MHz)

NHK FM (JOPK FM, 82.1 MHz)

http://www.radiophoenix.jp/index.html (internet, português)

Colleges and universities

Hamamatsu Gakuin University

Hamamatsu University

Hamamatsu University School of Medicine

Seirei Christopher University

Shizuoka University (Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Information)

Shizuoka University of Art and Culture

Hamamatsu International Cultural Exchange

International relations

Hamamatsu has ratified Music Culture Exchange Treaty with the following cities (however, of the following Rochester is the only official sister city): Rochester, United States (since October 1, 1996)

Twin towns and sister cities

Hamamatsu is twinned with: Warsaw, Poland (since February 1, 1990) Rochester, United States (since October, 2006) Camas, United States (since September, 1981) Chehalis, United States (since October, 1998) Porterville, United States (since October, 1981)

References

External links

City's official website

City's official website (In Japanese)

Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments

Hamamatsu Daisuki Net (I love Hamamatsu)

Category:Cities in Shizuoka Prefecture Category:Populated coastal places in Japan *