Toyama (富山市, Toyama-shi, Japanese:[toꜜjama]) is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Chūbu region on central Honshū, about 200 km (120 mi) north of the city of Nagoya and 300 km (190 mi) northwest of Tokyo. As of 1 June 2019[update], the city had an estimated population of 415,844 in 176,643 households,[2] and a population density of 335 persons per km2. Its total area was 1,241.77 square kilometres (479.45 sq mi).
The nearest towns are Imizu (west), and Namerikawa (east), both by the sea and part of the Toyama urban area. The nearest major city is Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, which is 65 km (40 miles) away.
Climate
Toyama has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) with hot, humid summers and cool winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, particularly in July, September and from November through January. Despite winter in Toyama being relatively mild, its position near the Sea of Japan places it within the heavy snow belt of Japan and on average 3.8 m (12 ft) of snow falls each season, almost all of it from December through March, as well as occasionally experiencing some tremendous amounts of snowfall.
Climate data for Toyama (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1939−present)
The area of present-day Toyama city was part of ancient Etchū Province.
The Toyama Plain is good farmland and historically it was a point of strategic and traffic importance since prehistoric times.
Feudal period
During the Sengoku period, it was frequently a battlefield, coming under the control of warlord Sassa Narimasa, who built a castle town around Toyama Castle and channeled rivers to bringing about a flourishing agricultural industry.
Early modern ages
Edo period
The area subsequently became part of Kaga Domain under the Maeda clan during the Edo period, during which time a positive industrial promotion policy was implemented on the production of Chinese medicine and washi (Japanese paper).
Also, thanks to the improvement of kitamaebune sea transportation routes, these industries thrived and Toyama became known nationwide as the province of medicine.
Recent history
Late modern ages
Meiji period
After the Meiji Restoration, with the creation of the municipalities system, the city of Toyama was established on April 1, 1889, as one of the first 30 cities in Japan. Economically, the area developed heavy and chemical industries based on abundant hydroelectric electricity.
Toyama has become one of the most influential cities on the Sea of Japan with its good water supply, drainage system and thriving agricultural, forestry, fishery, commercial and manufacturing industries.
Contemporary ages
During World War II, Allied Prisoners of War (POWs) were sent to Toyama as forced labor.[6] The city was almost completely destroyed on the night of August 1–2, 1945. At the time of the bombing, the city was a center for aluminum, ball-bearing and special steel production. Left unscathed however, were the war-related factories just outside the city.[7][8] The city during the time had a population of around 150,000 residents. The city also held Kakure Kirishitan, or "Hidden Christians" in Japan, forced from Nagasaki into internment camps after the government tried to punish them for their Christian beliefs.
2005 mergers
On April 1, 2005, the towns of Ōsawano and Ōyama (both from Kaminiikawa District), the towns of Fuchū and Yatsuo, and the villages of Hosoiri and Yamada (all from Nei District) were merged into Toyama. Kaminiikawa District and Nei District were both dissolved as a result of this merger.
Government
Toyama city hall
Toyama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 38 members.
Hokuriku Electric Power Company (colloquially known as Hokuden), the regional power-supply monopoly, is based in Toyama.[10] Bearing parts and industrial robot company Nachi-Fujikoshi and software company INTEC are also headquartered in Toyama.[11][12]
Regional banks include Hokuriku Bank, First Bank of Toyama, and Toyama Bank.[13]
Toyama has 65 public elementary schools and 26 public middle schools operated by the city government. There is also one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the national government. The city has fourteen public high schools operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education. and one public combined middle/high school operated by the national government. There are also seven private high schools. Toyama Shogyo High School is a commercial high school.
Toyama Chindon Contest (Toyama Band of musical sandwichmen contest) – proposed by the Toyama Chamber of Commerce in 1955 and is held annually in early April. This event has become a festival, and many bands of sandwichmen (men wearing sandwich boards for advertisements) participate, attracting many tourists every year.
Kaze No Bon – held annually on September 1 to 3, in the Yatsuo region.[16]
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