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Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Tohoku Region > Aomori Prefecture > Hirosaki
Introduction
Hirosaki (弘前市, Hirosaki-shi) is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. As of September 2015, the city had an estimated population of 176,590, and a population density of 337 persons per km². The total area is 524.20 square kilometres (202.39 sq mi).
Hirosaki developed as a castle town for the 100,000 koku Hirosaki Domain ruled by the Tsugaru clan during the Edo period. The city is currently a regional commercial center, and the largest producer of apples in Japan.[citation needed] The city government has been promoting the catchphrase "Apple Colored Town Hirosaki", and "Castle and Cherry Blossom and Apple Town" to promote the city image. The town is also noted for a large number of western-style buildings dating to the Meiji period.
History
The area around Hirosaki formed part of the domains of the Northern Fujiwara in the Heian period; Minamoto Yoritomo awarded it to the Nambu clan in the early Kamakura period after the defeat of the Northern Fujiwara (1189). During the Sengoku period a local retainer of the Nambu, Ōura Tamenobu, declared his independence (1571) and seized local castles. He assisted Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the Battle of Odawara in 1590, and was confirmed in his holdings with revenues of 45,000 koku. He also changed his name to Tsugaru. After siding with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, his revenues increased to 47,000 koku and he began construction of a castle in Takaoka (present-day Hirosaki). His successor, Tsugaru Nobuhira, completed the castle in 1611, but its massive 5-storey donjon was lost to lightning in 1627. The domain’s revenues increased to 100,000 koku in 1628.
In 1808, Takaoka was renamed[by whom?] Hirosaki. The Tsugaru clan sided with the Satchō Alliance in the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, and was rewarded by the new Meiji government with an additional 10,000 koku. However, with the abolition of the han system on August 29, 1871, Hirosaki Domain was abolished, and replaced by Hirosaki Prefecture. The prefecture was renamed Aomori Prefecture in October of the same year, and the prefectural capital was relocated to the more centrally located Aomori.
Chōyō Elementary School was established on October 1, 1873. Apple horticulture was introduced to Hirosaki from 1877 and the 59th National Bank, the predecessor of Aomori Bank opened in March 1878. Hirosaki was proclaimed a city on April 1, 1889 and was thus one of the first 30 cities in Japan. The Ōu Main Line connected Hirosaki with Aomori on December 1, 1894.
Hirosaki became the home garrison town for the Imperial Japanese Army’s IJA 8th Division from October, 1898. The division was prominently active in the Russo-Japanese War.
Hirosaki City Hospital was established in 1901, and Hirosaki City Library in 1906. The first telephone service in the city stated from 1909. The first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1918. In 1927, the Kōnan Railway connected Hirosaki with Onoe. Hirosaki University was established in 1949.
On March 1, 1955, Hirosaki expanded through annexation of neighboring villages of Shimizu, Wattoku, Toyoda, Horikoshi, Chitose, Fujishiro, Niina, Funazawa, Takasugi, Susono and Higashimeya. Nishimeya became an enclave. The city further expanded on September 1, 1957 through annexation of neighboring Ishikawa Village.
The first Chrysanthemum and Maple Festival took place in 1964, and the first Hirosaki Castle Snow Lantern Festival in 1977. In 1979, the city was connected to the Tōhoku Expressway by a spur road named "Apple Road".
On November 15, 2006, the town of Iwaki, and village of Sōma were merged into Hirosaki.
Culture
Hirosaki is known for its tradition of Tsugaru-jamisen, a virtuosic style of shamisen playing. It is the site of shrine.
Geography
Hirosaki is located in southwest Aomori Prefecture, in the Tsugaru plains in the southern Tsugaru Peninsula, south of Mount Iwaki and bordering on Akita Prefecture
Neighbouring municipalities
- Tsugaru, Hirakawa
- Nakatsugaru District – Nishimeya
- Minamitsugaru District – Ōwani, Fujisaki, Inakadate
- Kitatsugaru District – Itayanagi, Tsuruta
- Nishitsugaru District – Ajigasawa
- Ōdate, Akita
Climate
Hirosaki has a hot humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfa) characterized by short warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.
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