Hikone, Shiga
Hikone
彦根市 | |
|---|---|
 City central, Lake Biwa and Hikone castle viewed from Sawayama castle ruin | |
 Flag  Emblem | |
 Location of Hikone in Shiga Prefecture | |
  Hikone Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates: 35°16′N 136°16′E / 35.267°N 136.267°E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Kansai |
| Prefecture | Shiga |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Hiroyuki Wada (since May 2021) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 196.84 km2 (76.00 sq mi) |
| Population (August 31, 2021) | |
| • Total | 111,958 |
| • Density | 570/km2 (1,500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| City hall address | 4-2 Motomachi, Hikone-shi, Shiga-ken 522-8501 |
| Phone number | 0749-30-6111 |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | Official website |
| Symbols | |
| Flower | Iris |
| Tree | Tachibana Orange |
Hikone (彦根市, Hikone-shi) is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2021[update], the city had an estimated population of 111,958 in 49066 households and a population density of 570 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 196.84 square kilometres (76.00 sq mi).
Geography
Hikone is located in central Shiga Prefecture, on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, and extending inland to the Ibuki Mountains. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Biwako Quasi-National Park.
Neighboring municipalities
Shiga Prefecture
Climate
Hikone has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hikone is 14.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1810 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.6 °C.[2] The highest recorded temperature was 37.7 °C (July 26, 2014) and the lowest was -11.3 °C (January 23, 1904).
| Climate data for Hikone (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1893−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
19.9 (67.8) |
24.5 (76.1) |
28.7 (83.7) |
31.6 (88.9) |
35.2 (95.4) |
37.7 (99.9) |
37.5 (99.5) |
35.7 (96.3) |
32.1 (89.8) |
26.1 (79.0) |
21.4 (70.5) |
37.7 (99.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.1 (44.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
11.6 (52.9) |
17.4 (63.3) |
22.6 (72.7) |
26.0 (78.8) |
30.2 (86.4) |
32.1 (89.8) |
27.6 (81.7) |
21.8 (71.2) |
15.6 (60.1) |
9.8 (49.6) |
19.1 (66.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) |
4.2 (39.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
12.4 (54.3) |
17.6 (63.7) |
21.8 (71.2) |
26.1 (79.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
23.6 (74.5) |
17.7 (63.9) |
11.7 (53.1) |
6.5 (43.7) |
15.0 (59.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) |
1.0 (33.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
8.1 (46.6) |
13.5 (56.3) |
18.4 (65.1) |
22.9 (73.2) |
24.1 (75.4) |
20.2 (68.4) |
14.0 (57.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
3.2 (37.8) |
11.5 (52.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11.3 (11.7) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
0.9 (33.6) |
6.9 (44.4) |
12.8 (55.0) |
14.0 (57.2) |
8.3 (46.9) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−8.7 (16.3) |
−11.3 (11.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 112.0 (4.41) |
99.6 (3.92) |
114.9 (4.52) |
117.3 (4.62) |
146.9 (5.78) |
175.6 (6.91) |
219.0 (8.62) |
124.6 (4.91) |
167.7 (6.60) |
140.7 (5.54) |
85.8 (3.38) |
105.9 (4.17) |
1,610 (63.39) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 36 (14) |
29 (11) |
6 (2.4) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
11 (4.3) |
81 (32) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 14.1 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 10.6 | 9.8 | 11.6 | 12.0 | 8.0 | 10.3 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 13.2 | 131.5 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 3 cm) | 5.3 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 | 12.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%)
|
75 | 74 | 72 | 70 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 73 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 75 | 74 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 99.8 | 115.6 | 162.6 | 183.8 | 197.3 | 154.4 | 169.8 | 213.0 | 162.9 | 163.0 | 134.6 | 106.4 | 1,863.3 |
| Source: JMA[3][4] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Hikone has increased steadily over the past 60 years.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 55,280 | — |
| 1930 | 62,877 | +13.7% |
| 1940 | 64,264 | +2.2% |
| 1950 | 77,606 | +20.8% |
| 1960 | 72,931 | −6.0% |
| 1970 | 78,753 | +8.0% |
| 1980 | 89,701 | +13.9% |
| 1990 | 99,519 | +10.9% |
| 2000 | 107,860 | +8.4% |
| 2010 | 112,156 | +4.0% |
| 2020 | 113,647 | +1.3% |
History
Hikone is part of ancient
The town of Hikone was established on April 1, 1889 within Inukami District, Shiga with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to city status on February 11, 1937 by merging with the neighboring villages of Matsubara, Aonami, Kitaaoyagi, Fukumitsu and Chimoto. The city escaped major damage in World War II.
In 2003, meetings were held to discuss the merger of Hikone with the towns of Toyosato, Kōra, and Taga (all from Inukami District). However, a survey conducted by the city in February 2004, revealed that most citizens opposed the merger, leading the city government to shelve the proposal.[citation needed]
Government
Hikone has a
Economy
The key industries of Hikone are the manufacturing of butsudan, textiles, and valves. Bridgestone has a tire manufacturing plant here. Fujitec, Ohmi Railway, and Heiwadō (the largest supermarket chain in Shiga) are headquartered in Hikone.[6]
In 1999, a small area south of the castle, called the Yume Kyōbashi Castle Road, was built in the old style and attracts visitors keen to see modern construction fused with traditional looks. Even the Kansai Urban Bank in this district has remodeled itself to fit in with the surrounding structures.
Education
There are three universities in Hikone:
Hikone is also the home of the Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU), a facility operated jointly by a consortium of the fifteen public universities in the State of Michigan and the government of Shiga Prefecture (in coordination with USP) that offers programs for American university students and scholars for the study of Japanese language and culture, as well as courses in English for the citizens of Shiga Prefecture. The Michigan Center, as it is known, was founded in 1989, under the auspices of the Michigan-Shiga Sister State Agreement, the oldest such relationship between a US state and Japanese prefectures.
Hikone has 17 public elementary schools and seven public middle schools operated by the city government and one middle school operated by the Shiga Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates six public high schools and two special education schools for the handicapped. There are also two private high schools.
Transportation
Railway
.svg){kind=logo}
- Hikone - Minami-Hikone - Kawase - Inae
Highway
Sister cities
Hikone is
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA (1969)
Xiangtan, Hunan, China
Local attractions
- Hikone Castle, National Treasure and Special National Historic Site
- Kōjinyama Kofun, National Historic Site
- Sawayama Castle ruins
- Lake Biwa
- Carrom, unlike in most parts of Japan, carrom is still popular in Hikone ever since it was introduced in the early 20th century.
Noted people from Hikone
References
- ^ "Hikone city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
- ^ Hikone climate data
- ^ 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
- ^ 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
- ^ Hikone population statistics
- ^ ISBN 1-884964-04-4.
- ISBN 4311750404.(in Japanese)
- ^ International relations Archived 2012-12-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 November 2012
External links
- Hikone City official website Archived 2009-08-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese, English, and Portuguese)
| Core city |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Cities | ||
| Districts | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
