Yamato, Kanagawa

Coordinates: 35°29′N 139°27′E / 35.483°N 139.450°E / 35.483; 139.450
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Yamato
大和市
Special city
Yamato City Hall
Yamato City Hall
UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
City symbols 
• TreeYamazakura (Prunus jamasakura)
• FlowerNogiku (a group of Asteraceae)
• BirdAzure-winged magpie
Phone number046-263-1111
Address1-1-1 Shimotsuruma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa-ken 242-8601
WebsiteOfficial website

Yamato (大和市, Yamato-shi) is a city located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 June 2021, the city had an estimated population of 242,065 and a population density of 8900 persons per km².[1] The total area of the city is 27.09 km2 (10.46 sq mi).[2]

Geography

Yamato is located approximately 40 to 50 kilometers from central Tokyo and 20 kilometers from central Yokohama. It measures 3.22 kilometers from east-to-west by 9.79 kilometers north-to-south, and is thus long and narrow orientated from north-to-south. It is located on the Sagamino Plateau (Sagamino Plateau) and has a gently sloping terrain from north to south. The height difference is 38 meters, but there are almost no hills. The highest point in the city is 90 meters above sea level at the site of the Shimotsuruma Asama Shrine, and the lowest point is 30 meters above sea level.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture

Tokyo

Climate

Yamato has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yamato is 14.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1632 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.3 °C.[3]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Yamato has grown steadily over the past 70 years.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1950 22,326—    
1960 40,975+83.5%
1970 102,760+150.8%
1980 167,935+63.4%
1990 194,866+16.0%
2000 212,761+9.2%
2010 228,186+7.2%
2020 239,169+4.8%

History

The area around present-day Yamato city has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found

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 with increased local autonomy.

In 2020, the city gained international attention for outlawing walking in designated areas while using a smartphone, it was the first of its kind to do so without implementing a fine or monetary penalty.[5][6]

Government

Yamato has a

Diet of Japan
.

Education

Yamato has 19 public elementary schools and nine public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has four public high schools operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, and the prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped. The city also has one private elementary school, one private middle school and one private high school. A private junior college, the St. Cecilia Women's Junior College is located within Yamato.

Transportation

Railway

Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line

Odakyu Electric Railway – Odakyū Enoshima Line

Sotetsu Main Line

Highway

Sister cities

Yamato is

twinned
with:

Notable people from Yamato

References

  1. ^ "Yamato city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. ^ "Introduction of Yamato City" (in Japanese). Japan: Yamato City. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  3. ^ Yamato climate data
  4. ^ Yamato population statistics
  5. ^ Dayman, Lucy (19 August 2020). "The Japanese city that banned 'smartphone-walking'". BBC.
  6. ^ "Yamato becomes Japan's 1st city to 'ban' use of phones while walking". Mainichi Shimbun. 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-06-25.

External links

Media related to Yamato, Kanagawa at Wikimedia Commons

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