Yawata
Yawata
八幡市 | |
---|---|
Cinnamomum camphora |
Yawata (八幡市, Yawata-shi) is a
Geography
Yawata is located in southern Kyoto Prefecture near the confluence of three rivers: the
Neighboring municipalities
- Kyoto
- Jōyō
- Kyōtanabe
- Otokuni District ( Ōyamazaki)
- Kuse District ( Kumiyama)
- Hirakata
- Mishima District ( Shimamoto)
Climate
Yawata has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yawata is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1356 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.1 °C.[2]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[3] the population Yawata has since peaked in the 1990s and has declined slightly. Currently, many people commute to work or study outside the city, such as Hirakata, Kyoto, and Osaka, and the city is included in the Kyoto metropolitan area as an urban employment area.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1940 | 13,576 | — |
1950 | 16,063 | +18.3% |
1960 | 16,322 | +1.6% |
1970 | 22,974 | +40.8% |
1980 | 64,882 | +182.4% |
1990 | 75,758 | +16.8% |
2000 | 73,682 | −2.7% |
2010 | 74,246 | +0.8% |
2020 | 70,433 | −5.1% |
History
The area of Yawata was part of ancient Yamashiro Province and developed as a town in front of the gates of Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu, a Shinto shrine, which attracted a wide range of worship from the imperial family and samurai to the common people.The town of Yawata in Tsuzuki District, Kyoto were established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was elevated to city status on November 1, 1977.
Government
Yawata has a
Economy
Yawata has a mixed economy based on commerce, agriculture and light manufacturing. Industries are mainly located along Japan National Route 1 and are concentrated on metal processing. Due to transportation connections, Yawata is also a warehouse and distribution base. Due to its proximity to Osaka and Kyoto, the city is gradually becoming a commuter town.
Education
Yawata has eight public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by city government and one public high school operated by the Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.
Transportation
Railways
- Keihan Electric Railway - Keihan Main Line / Ōtō Line
- Keihan Electric Railway - Keihan Cable Line
Highways
- Shin-Meishin Expressway
- Keiji Bypass
- Daini Keihan Expressway
- National Route 1
- National Route 478
Sister city relations
- - Milan, Ohio, United States, sister city since August 12, 1986
- - Baoji, Shaanxi, China, partner city since November 2, 1992
Local attractions
- Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū
- Edison Memorial, as Thomas Alva Edison used bamboo filamentsfrom Yawata for his early light bulb tests
Notable people
- Hisashi Nogami - video game designer, director, and producer
References
External links
- Yawata City official website (in Japanese)
- Edison Ceremonial