Yamato, Kanagawa

Yamato 大和市
Special city
Yamato City Hall
Flag Seal
Location of Yamato in Kanagawa Prefecture
Yamato
Coordinates: 35°29′N 139°27′E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Kanagawa Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Satoru Ōki
Area
• Total	27.09 km2 (10.46 sq mi)
Population  (May 1, 2017)
• Total	234,859
• Density	8,700/km2 (22,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
City symbols
• Tree	Yamazakura (Prunus jamasakura)
• Flower	Nogiku (a group of Asteraceae)
• Bird	Azure-winged magpie
Phone number	046-263-1111
Address	1-1-1 Shimotsuruma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa-ken 242-8601
Website	www.city.yamato.lg.jp

Yamato (大和市, Yamato-shi) is a city located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

As of May 1, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 234,859, with 104,432 households, and a population density of 8,700 persons per km². The total area is 27.09 km² (10.46 sq mi).

History

The area around present-day Yamato city has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found stone tools from the Japanese Paleolithic period and ceramic shards from the Jōmon period at numerous locations in the area. It is mentioned in the Engishiki records from the Heian period. By the Kamakura period, this area part of the Shibuya shōen. It came under control of the Ashikaga clan in the early Muromachi period and was later part of the territories of the Later Hōjō clan from Odawara. With the start of the Edo period, the area was part of the tenryō territory in Sagami Province controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, but administered through various hatamoto. Under the rule of the 5th shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, one of these hatamoto, Sakamoto Shigeharu (1630–1693) by virtue of his position as Ōmetsuke and Jisha-bugyō, exceeded 10,000 koku in income, and thus became daimyō of the newly proclaimed Fukami Domain in October 1682. However, his revenues decreased below 10,000 koku in May 1687 and the domain was suppressed.

During the cadastral reforms after the Meiji Restoration, the area of present-day Yamato became part of Kōza District, Kanagawa Prefecture. On April 1, 1889, it was administratively divided into Shibuya Village and Tsurumi Village, which later changed its name on September 25, 1891 to Yamato Village. The area was connected by rail in 1926 via the Sagami Railway and in 1929 by the Odakyu Electric Railway, leading to an increase in population. The Imperial Japanese Navy Sagamino Air Base was established in 1940. Yamato Village became Yamato Town in 1943, and Shibuya Village became Shibuya Town in 1944. However, Shibuya was dissolved in 1955, with a portion merging with nearby Fujisawa, and the remaining portion reverting to village status. That portion was merged with Yamato in 1957, which became Yamato City in 1959. In April 2000, Yamato exceeded 200,000 in population, and was proclaimed a special city.

Geography

Yamato is located in the plains of north-central Kanagawa Prefecture. Izumi no Mori, a nature park in the heart of the city, is open year round, and its springs are the source of the Hikiji River.

Surrounding municipalities

• Kanagawa Prefecture
  • Zama
  • Fujisawa
  • Ebina
  • Sagamihara
  • Ayase
  • Yokohama
• Tokyo
  • Machida, Tokyo

Transportation

Railway

• Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line
  • Chūō-Rinkan Station - Tsukimino Station
• Odakyū Enoshima Line
  • Chūō-Rinkan Station - Minami-Rinkan Station - Tsuruma Station - Yamato Station - Sakuragaoka Station - Kōza-Shibuya Station
• Sotetsu Main Line
  • Sagami-Ōtsuka Station - Yamato Station

Highway

• Tōmei Expressway
• Japan National Route 16
• Japan National Route 246
• Japan National Route 467

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan

Twin towns — Sister cities

Yamato is twinned with:

• Minami-Uonuma, Niigata, Japan
• Taiwa, Miyagi, Japan
• Kōshū, Yamanashi, Japan

Noted people from Yamato

• Jungo Fujimoto - professional football player
• Mitsuko Horie - singer, voice actress
• Ryuichi Kawamura - singer-songwriter
• Takeo Kawamura - professional baseball player
• Eiko Kawashima - singer-songwriter
• Nahomi Kawasumi - professional football player
• Masahiko Kondō - singer
• Hiroshi Nagano - singer, actor
• Noriko Narazaki - judoka
• Shinobu Ohno - professional football player

External links

Media related to Yamato, Kanagawa at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Website (in Japanese)