is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture's second-largest city in both population and area. It has been populated since prehistoric times. the city had an estimated population of 677,867 in 106,087 households, and a population density of .
Overview The city's name is made up of two kanji, shizu, meaning "still" or "calm"; and oka, meaning "hill(s)". In 1869, Shizuoka Domain was first created out of the older Sunpu Domain, and that name was retained when the city was incorporated in 1885. In 2003, Shizuoka absorbed neighboring Shimizu City (now Shimizu Ward) to create the new and expanded city of Shizuoka, briefly becoming the largest city by land area in Japan. In 2005, it became one of Japan's "designated cities".
Geography Shizuoka City lies in central Shizuoka Prefecture, about halfway between Tokyo and Nagoya along the Tōkaidō Corridor, between Suruga Bay to the south and the Minami Alps in the north. Shizuoka had the largest area of any municipality in Japan after merging with Shimizu City in April 2003, until February 2005, when Takayama in Gifu Prefecture superseded it by merging with nine surrounding municipalities.
The total area of the city is . Shizuoka is the 5th largest city in Japan in terms of geographic area after Takayama, Hamamatsu, Nikkō, and Kitami. It is also the 2nd largest city in Shizuoka Prefecture in terms of both geographic area and population after Hamamatsu, but ranks higher as an Urban Employment Area, and leads as a metropolitan area and business region.
The fan-like shape of the Shizuoka Plain and Miho Peninsula were formed over the ages by the fast-flowing Abe River, carrying along collapsed sand and earth. These areas form the foundations of the city today. The isolated Mount Kunō separates the Suruga coastline from the Shimizu coastline.
Basic data Area of densely populated region
Urban planning area
Area zoned for urbanization
Nature
Mountains
Rivers (upstream)
Lakes (Ikawa Dam) (Hatanagi-I Dam)
Climate On the south-central Pacific coast Shizuoka has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), which is hot and humid in the summer, and rarely snows in the winter. It is close to the warm Kuroshio Current and is wet even by Japanese standards with only slightly less precipitation than Kanazawa on the opposite side of Honshū, but it is paradoxically the sunniest of Japan's major cities owing to the absence of summer fog and its sheltered location from the northwesterly winds off the Sea of Japan. Further north, the mountainous Ikawa area is part of the Japanese snow country, where there are ski areas.
Area
Wards
Administrative center, made up of the former Shizuoka north of the Tōkaidō Main Line excluding Osada district
Former Shizuoka south of the Tōkaidō Main Line and Osada district
Former city of Shimizu and towns of Kanbara and Yui.
Administrative district "image colours" On 22 December 2006, colours and logos were established for each of the wards.District Image Colours and Logo Marks Aoi Ward Aoi Ward Green Suruga Ward Suruga Ward Red Shimizu Ward Shimizu Ward Blue
Demographics the city had an estimated population of 704,989 in 286,013 households and a population density of .
Demographic Population As of Male 343,339August 2019 Female 361,651 Households 286,013 Foreign 9,389 May 2019 Total 704,989 August 2019
Historic population Per Japanese census data, the population of Shizuoka has been declining slowly since 1990.
Bordering municipalities
Shizuoka Prefecture Fuji Fujieda Fujinomiya Kawanehon (Haibara District) Shimada Yaizu
Yamanashi Prefecture Hayakawa (Minamikoma District) Minami-Alps Minobu (Minamikoma District) Nanbu (Minamikoma District)
Nagano Prefecture Iida Ina Ōshika (Shimoina District)
History
Ancient history The area that is now the city of Shizuoka has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Numerous kofun have been found within the city limits, and the Toro archaeological site indicates that a major Yayoi period (circa 400 BC–300 AD) settlement existed in what is now part of the central city area.
Suruga was established as a province of Japan in the early Nara period. At some point between the year 701 and 710, the provincial capital was relocated from what is now Numazu, to a more central location on the banks of the Abe River at a location named (a contraction of ) or alternatively .
Pre-modern Shizuoka During the Muromachi period, Sunpu was the capital of the Imagawa clan. The Imagawa were defeated at the Battle of Okehazama, and Sunpu was subsequently ruled by Takeda Shingen, followed by Tokugawa Ieyasu. However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Ieyasu, and installed Nakamura Kazutada to rule Sunpu. After the Toyotomi were defeated in the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu recovered Sunpu, reassigning it to his own retainer, Naitō Nobunari in 1601. This marked the start of Sunpu Domain.
In April 1606, Ieyasu officially retired from the post of shōgun, and retired to Sunpu, where he established a secondary court, from which he could influence Shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada from behind the scenes. Subsequently, aside for brief periods, Sunpu was tenryō (territory under direct administration by the Shogunate), ruled by the , an appointed official based in Sunpu.
From the Meiji period to World War II In 1869, after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, the former shogunal line, headed by Tokugawa Iesato was sent to Sunpu and assigned the short-lived Sunpu Domain. The same year, Sunpu was renamed "Shizuoka". Shizuoka Domain became Shizuoka Prefecture with the abolition of the han system in 1871, which was expanded in 1876 through merger with the former Hamamatsu Prefecture and western portions of Ashigaru Prefecture in 1876. Shizuoka Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line was opened on 1 February 1889. The same day, a fire burned down most of downtown Shizuoka.
The modern city was founded on 1 April 1889. At the time, the population was 37,681, and Shizuoka was one of the first 31 cities established in Japan.
An electric tram service began in 1911. In 1914, due to heavy rains caused by a typhoon, the Abe River flooded, inundating the downtown area. In the national census of 1920, the population of Shizuoka was 74,093. The area of the city continued to expand through the 1920s and 1930s through merger with outlying towns and villages. In 1935, the city was struck by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, resulting in much damage. Although soon rebuilt, a large fire in 1940 again destroyed much of the center of the city.
During World War II, Shizuoka lacked targets of major military significance, and was initially only lightly bombed during several American air raids. However, in a major firebombing raid of 19 June 1945, the city suffered an extreme amount of damage with high civilian casualties.
Post-war Shizuoka The area of the city continued to expand through the 1950s and 1960s through merger with outlying towns and villages. On 1 October 1964, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen began services to Shizuoka, and on 25 April 1969 the city was connected to the Tōmei Expressway. On 7 July 1974, the Abe River flooded, and landslides occurred during heavy rains, killing 23 people. On 16 August 1980, a major gas leak in an underground shopping center near Shizuoka Station resulted in an explosion, killing 15 people and seriously injuring 233 others. The Shizuoka City Hall moved to new premises in 1986. On 1 April 1992, Shizuoka was designated a core city by the central government, giving it increased autonomy.https://web.archive.org/web/20130629153438/http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000215647.pdf List of Core Cities, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
The 1 April 2003 merger with Shimizu City (current Shimizu Ward) greatly expanded the area and population of Shizuoka, which then became a designated city on 1 April 2005, and was divided into three wards.
Despite being somewhat geographically isolated from the rest of the city, the town of Kanbara (from Ihara District) was merged into Shizuoka on 31 March 2006,City mergers seen tailing off as the initial excitement fades | The Japan Times becoming part of Shimizu-ku. On 1 November 2008, the town of Yui (also from Ihara District) was also merged into Shimizu-ku, resulting in the dissolution of Ihara District.http://www.city.shizuoka.jp.e.qv.hp.transer.com/000_001670.html Shizuoka city home page, Yui merger documents
Government
Shizuoka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 48 members. The city contributes 13 members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Shizuoka 1st district and Shizuoka 4th district in the lower house of the Japanese Diet.
Mayors Former Shizuoka city from 1889 to 2003
+ Mayors of Shizuoka (from 1889 to 2003) Term Name Start Finish1Tetsutaro Hoshino(星野鉄太郎)13 May 188917 April 19022Hiroyasu Nagashima(長嶋弘裕)14 May 190213 May 19143Keisuke Komori(小森慶助)28 May 191427 May 19184Kinpei Banno(伴野欣平)18 June 19182 July 19265Genzaburo Kojima(小島源三郎)8 September 19267 September 19296Michinosuke Miyazaki(宮崎通之助)3 March 193125 January 1933
+ Mayors of Shizuoka (from 1889 to 2003) Term Name Start Finish7Sadahito Suga(菅貞仁)14 March 193312 August 19358Motojiro Ozaki(尾崎元次郎)12 October 193530 June 19389Seiji Inamori(稲森誠次)29 August 19385 August 194210Motojiro Ozaki(second term)7 October 194221 August 194411Michinosuke Miyazaki(second term)11 September 194411 November 194612Shigeru Masuda(増田茂)5 April 19479 April 1955
+ Mayors of Shizuoka (from 1889 to 2003) Term Name Start Finish13Jyunsaku Yamada(山田順策)2 May 19551 May 195914Hikoo Matsunaga(松永彦雄)2 May 19591 May 196315Jyunpei Ogino(荻野準平)2 May 19631 May 198316Daigo Kawai(河合代悟)2 May 19831 May 198717Shingo Amano(天野進吾)2 May 198731 July 199418Zenkichi Kojima(小嶋善吉)28 August 199431 March 2003
Former Shimizu city from 1924 to 2003
+ Mayors of Shimizu (from 1924 to 2003) Term Name Start Finish1Yozo Oshima(大島要蔵)7 July 19249 September 19252Katsushiro Yamada(山田勝四郎)13 January 19268 March 19293Tokisaburo Shiobara(塩原時三郎)12 October 192922 February 19324Enao Oishi(大石恵直)18 March 193214 June 19375Katsushiro Yamada(second term)11 July 193715 November 19466Masaharu Yamamoto(山本正治)6 April 19477 April 19557Heiichiro Suzuki(鈴木平一郎)30 April 195530 April 19598Toru Ina(稲名徹)1 May 195922 July 19609Kamezo Ina(稲名亀造)15 September 196012 September 196410Zensaku Ikegami(池上善作)13 September 19646 July 196511Torajiro Sato(佐藤虎次郎)20 August 196519 August 197712Yoshio Ina(稲名嘉男)20 August 197719 August 198513Hiromasa Miyagishima(宮城島弘正)20 August 198531 March 2003
Since 2003 merger + Mayors of Shizuoka Term Name Start Finish1–2Zenkichi Kojima14 April 200312 April 20113–6Nobuhiro Tanabe13 April 201112 April 20237 Takashi Namba13 April 2023current
Administration Ward offices Shizuoka City Office/Aoi Ward Office:5-1 Ōtemachi, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi 420-8602 Aoi Ward Ikawa Branch Office:656-2 Ikawa, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi 428-0504 Suruga Ward Office:10-40 Minamiyahata-chō, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka-shi 422-8550 Suruga Ward Osada Branch Office:13-1 Kami-Kawahara Suruga-ku, Shizuoka-shi 421-0132 Shimizu City Office/Shimizu Ward Office:6-9 Asahi-chō, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka-shi 424-8701 Shimizu Ward Kanbara Branch Office:1-21-1 Kanbara Shinden, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka-shi 421-3211
Sister cities Shizuoka has twin and friendship relationships with several cities.International Sister Cities & Friendship Cities ‐ 静岡市 Shizuoka website retrieved 8 July 2008Domestic Sister Cities & Friendship Cities ‐ 静岡市 Shizuoka website retrieved 8 July 2008
International Sister cities CityCountryStatesinceStocktonUnited StatesCaliforniaOctober 16, 1959OmahaUnited StatesNebraskaApril 1, 1965ShelbyvilleUnited StatesIndianaNovember 3, 1989CannesFranceProvence-Alpes-Côte d'AzurNovember 5, 1991 Friendship cities CityCountryStatesinceHuếVietnamThừa Thiên Huế provinceApril 12, 2005
National Sister cities