Niihama
Niihama
新居浜市 | |
---|---|
![]() Downtown Niihama and Seto Inner Sea | |
Camphor Laurel |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Niihama_city_center_area_Aerial_photograph.2010.jpg/270px-Niihama_city_center_area_Aerial_photograph.2010.jpg)
Niihama (新居浜市, Niihama-shi) is a
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Niihama_Kuchiya_Old_photograph.jpg/220px-Niihama_Kuchiya_Old_photograph.jpg)
Niihama is positioned in the north-center area of the island of
Neighbouring municipalities
Ehime Prefecture
- Saijō
- Shikokuchūō
Kōchi Prefecture
Climate
Niihama has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Niihama is 13.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1839 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 24.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.0 °C.[2]
Climate data for Niihama (1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 18.4 (65.1) |
20.7 (69.3) |
24.6 (76.3) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.3 (90.1) |
35.7 (96.3) |
38.5 (101.3) |
38.3 (100.9) |
36.3 (97.3) |
31.6 (88.9) |
24.7 (76.5) |
20.4 (68.7) |
38.5 (101.3) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.5 (49.1) |
10.1 (50.2) |
13.3 (55.9) |
19.1 (66.4) |
23.7 (74.7) |
26.9 (80.4) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.2 (90.0) |
28.2 (82.8) |
22.6 (72.7) |
17.1 (62.8) |
12.2 (54.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.8 (37.0) |
2.9 (37.2) |
5.3 (41.5) |
10.1 (50.2) |
14.9 (58.8) |
19.4 (66.9) |
23.6 (74.5) |
24.5 (76.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
15.2 (59.4) |
9.7 (49.5) |
5.1 (41.2) |
12.9 (55.2) |
Record low °C (°F) | −3.4 (25.9) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
1.6 (34.9) |
6.4 (43.5) |
11.6 (52.9) |
17.3 (63.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
11.6 (52.9) |
7.4 (45.3) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−5.9 (21.4) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 41.2 (1.62) |
51.9 (2.04) |
89.7 (3.53) |
86.4 (3.40) |
118.0 (4.65) |
173.3 (6.82) |
170.9 (6.73) |
141.6 (5.57) |
199.0 (7.83) |
123.7 (4.87) |
66.3 (2.61) |
39.0 (1.54) |
1,305.3 (51.39) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 124.6 | 133.7 | 164.6 | 185.1 | 189.0 | 139.4 | 179.3 | 204.2 | 147.7 | 157.1 | 134.2 | 130.0 | 1,888.9 |
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[3] |
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Niihama has been decreased sightly since the 1980s.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1920 | 49,414 | — |
1930 | 61,406 | +24.3% |
1940 | 88,639 | +44.3% |
1950 | 88,639 | +0.0% |
1960 | 117,317 | +32.4% |
1970 | 126,992 | +8.2% |
1980 | 132,736 | +4.5% |
1990 | 129,467 | −2.5% |
2000 | 125,814 | −2.8% |
2010 | 121,784 | −3.2% |
History
Niihama is located in ancient
Government
Niihama has a
Economy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Besshi_dozan_kinenkan_museum.jpg/220px-Besshi_dozan_kinenkan_museum.jpg)
The Besshi copper mine (once considered to be one of the most productive in the world) jump-started the Sumitomo zaibatsu. Even though the mine has since closed (its legacy is now preserved in a small museum and onsen attraction, Minetopia Besshi), Sumitomo remains a large presence in town. The economy of Niihama is supported largely by factories as well as activities at its ports.
Education
Niihama has 17 public elementary schools and 12 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has five public high schools operated by the Ehime Prefectural Board of Education. The Niihama National College of Technology is a technology college in Niihama.
Transportation
Railways
Shikoku Railway Company - Yosan Line
Highways
Ports
- Port of Niihama
Sister city relations
Festivals and celebrations
Taiko Festival
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Niihama_Taiko_Festival_-_battle.jpg/220px-Niihama_Taiko_Festival_-_battle.jpg)
The Niihama Taiko Festival is a harvest festival held over 16–18 October each year. Each of 50 neighborhoods in Niihama has its own Taiko float, which consists of an ornately decorated wooden center frame, covered in panels made of gold thread (three to a side). The column is covered with a fabric top (usually red and white), which symbolically represents the sun; it is surrounded by long black cushions folded into a figure of 8 with hanging tassels, representing the clouds and rain. The design is intended to show gratitude for a good harvest. Gold dragons adorn the top panels of the float while the lower panels show traditional buildings, animals or legends. Inside the float, a drummer beats a deep booming taiko drum, providing the rhythm that guides 150 men below, who carry the float by four long wooden beams at the float's base. Four crew members stand on the beams and control the rest of the crew with flags, whistles and chants while four more are perched precariously on the top some 5.4 m above ground.
The floats weigh over two and a half tons and can cost over $100,000US to build (collected by donations within the local area). Men and boys as young as 16 begin the festival before sunrise on its first day by carrying the floats to their local shrine for a blessing by shinto priests. The most spectacular of these happens at Utsunomiya Jinja near Yamane Ground where several floats are carried up many steps at about 4am to a small shrine on the top of a hill. For three days straight (October 16–18), 12 to 14 hours per day, they carry the floats in parades all over the city and park them for display, drinking copious amounts of sake. Sake bottlers even release commemorative bottles with labels featuring pictures of various float-carrying teams.
The main events include a display of the Taiko floats in Yamane Park, Takihama Station, Kasenjiki Park, Shinto shrines across the city and at several Supermarket and shopping complexes (Jusco, Fuji Grand, M2, Co-op). On alternate years there is the spectacle of eight taikodai (floats) being loaded onto barges to travel to another location by sea. The Taiko-carrying teams are known to start fights, in which two teams ram their floats into each other until one or both floats are destroyed.
Local attractions
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Zuioji2.jpg/220px-Zuioji2.jpg)
Zuiō-ji Temple
Zuiō-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple at the edge of the mountains in south Niihama. It welcomes foreign visitors to participate in a Sunday morning zazen meditation session, or even to stay overnight. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Niihama.[citation needed]
Waterfalls
The mountainous area between Niihama and the village of Besshi includes two major
Otedama
Niihama is home to the national headquarters of the Otedama no Kai (お手玉の会, Traditional Japanese Juggling Association).
Planetarium
Niihama was home to the world's largest planetarium until the renovation of the Nagoya City Science Museum in March 2011.[5]
Notable people form Niihama
- Nana Mizuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
References
- ^ "Niihama city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
- ^ Niihama climate data
- ^ "新居浜 平年値(年・月ごとの値) 主な要素". Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- ^ Niihama population statistics
- ^ "Largest Planetarium". Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Niihama City official website (in Japanese)
- Niihama concierge (tourism) (in Japanese)
- Niihama Taiko Festival NHK(video)