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Chiba (city)

Chiba (千葉市, Chiba-shi, pronounced [tɕiꜜba]) is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay.[1] The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In June 2019, its population was 979,768, with a population density of 3,605 people per km2. The city has an area of 271.77 square kilometres (104.93 sq mi).

Chiba
千葉市

 Japan

Shunichi Kamiya (from April 2021)

271.77 km2 (104.93 sq mi)

979,768

3,600/km2 (9,300/sq mi)

043-245-5111

1-1 Chiba-minato, Chūō-ku, Chiba-shi 260-8722

千葉

ちば

チバ

Chiba

Chiba

Chiba City is one of the Kantō region's primary seaports, and is home to Chiba Port, which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in Japan. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses along the coast. There are several major urban centres in the city, including Makuhari, a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located.


Chiba is famous for the Chiba Urban Monorail, the longest suspended monorail in the world. Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori Shell Midden, the largest shell mound in the world at 134,000 m2 (160,000 sq yd), Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in Japan which forms part of the longest artificial beach in Japan, and the Chiba City Zoological Park, popular on account of the standing red panda Futa.

Etymology[edit]

The name of Chiba in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The first, , means "thousand" and the second, means "leaves". The name first appears as an ancient kuni no miyatsuko, or regional command office, as Chiha no Kuni no Miyatsuko (千葉国造).[2] The name was adopted by a branch of the Taira clan, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late Heian period. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan, which held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the Azuchi–Momoyama period. The name "Chiba" was chosen for Chiba Prefecture at the time of its creation in 1873 by the Assembly of Prefectural Governors (地方官会議, Chihō Kankai Kaigi), an early Meiji-period body of prefectural governors that met to decide the structure of local and regional administration in Japan.[3]

History[edit]

Early history[edit]

The first records related to the city of Chiba record the emigration of Taira Tsuneshige (1083?–1088), a powerful bushi warlord of the late Heian period, to Shimōsa Province, which historically occupied the north of Chiba Prefecture. Tsuneshige was appointed as gunji administrator of Sōma District, but was transferred to the same position in Chiba District two years later. Here he proclaimed himself Chiba Tsuneshige (千葉常重), became a kokushi governor of the province, and used the area around present-day Chiba City as a power base to rule over Shimōsa Province, Kazusa Province, as well as establish himself as a military force in the Kantō region.[4] Tsuneshige's son, Chiba Tsunetane (千葉常胤) (1118–1201) was instrumental in aiding Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) with the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate. Tsuneshige built a spacious residence and numerous temples in present-day Chiba City, and in the same period he transferred his power base from Ōji Castle to Inohana Castle on Mount Inohana.[5] The area of present-day Chiba City became jōkamachi (城下町), or castle town, and prospered under the Chiba clan.[6] The clan's power extended in the region until the Muromachi period.[7][8]

Medieval period[edit]

The Chiba clan's power and influence declined because of wars around the Kantō region during the Nanboku-chō and Muromachi periods. In the 16th century, instead of the Chiba clan, the Hara clan, which was one of the servants of Chiba clan, wielded power in this region. In the Sengoku period, the Hara clan was forcibly removed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義明, not to be confused with 足利義昭). Then, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was also removed by the Sakai (酒井 not to be confused with the Sakai clan in Mikawa) clan, which was one of the servants of the Satomi (里見) clan. Finally both the Chiba and Sakai clans were annihilated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Later history[edit]

In the Edo period, the Oyumi (生実氏), Morikawa (森川氏) clan, and the Sakura (佐倉氏) clans governed the area now occupied by the city. A part of the area was also governed directly by the Tokugawa Bakufu. The Oyumi clan governed their territory stably. On the other hand, according to the Sakura clan, from the beginning of the Edo period, changed governors frequently, including Takeda Nobuyoshi, Matsudaira Tadateru, Ogasawara Yoshitsugu (小笠原吉次), and Doi Toshikatsu. Finally the Hotta clan stabilized the governance of their territory. Chiba prospered in this period as a shukuba (宿場) post-town of the Tokugawa shogunate.[6]

Modern history[edit]

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Chiba Prefecture was established in 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture. The border between Kisarazu and Inba was the location of Chiba Town and was thus chosen as the location of the prefectural government. With the opening of the Sobu Main Line, Chiba developed rapidly, becoming the political, economic, and cultural capital of Chiba Prefecture. The town of Chiba was established within Chiba District with the creation of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Chiba City formed on January 1, 1921.[6] Numerous small villages and towns were merged into the previous town of Chiba (千葉町), a process that continued until 1944. Large-scale land reclamation added to the area of the city throughout the 20th century. The city was a major center of military production leading up to World War II, and as such, was a target of aerial bombing by the United States. The city was almost completely destroyed by the end of the war. Post-war industrialization led to the city becoming a major part of the Keiyō Industrial Zone.[6] Chiba became a Designated City of Japan on April 1, 1992.[1]

Chiba Zoo

Makuhari Messe

to Tokyo, Narita and Kashima

Higashi-Kantō Expressway

to Kisarazu

Tateyama Expressway

Keiyō Road

(Japan National Route 126

Chiba-Tōgane Road

Japan National Route 14

Japan National Route 16

Japan National Route 51

Japan National Route 128

Japan National Route 357

Chiba University

Chiba Prefectural University of Health Sciences

Kanda University of International Studies

Tokyo Dental College

Shukutoku University

Keiai University

Chiba Keizai University

Tokyo University of Information Sciences

The Open University of Japan

Uekusa University

(Chiba campus)

Teikyo Heisei University

Chiba Meitoku College

Japan Christian Junior College

Chiba Kaihin Hospital (Mihama-ku)

Chiba University Hospital (Chuo-ku)

Kashiwado Hospital (Chuo-ku)

Tokyo Dental College Chiba Hospital (Mihama-ku)

Koizumi Clinic (Hanamigawa-ku)

Mizuno Clinic (Hanamigawa-ku)

Hirayama Hospital (Hanamigawa-ku)

North Vancouver, Canada (1970)

Canada

Asunción, Paraguay (1970)

Paraguay

Houston, United States (1972)

United States

Quezon City, Philippines (1972)

Philippines

Minneapolis, United States (1986)

United States

Düsseldorf, Germany (2019)

Germany

born in Shizuoka but moved to Chiba

Sawa Ishige

born in Chiba in 1959

Ryuta Kawashima

of Arashi (born in Chiba in 1982)

Masaki Aiba

of X Japan and Ra:IN

Pata

of L'Arc-en-Ciel, from Chiba and a graduate of The Chiba University of Commerce

Yukihiro

of NEWS (Originally from Funabashi, Chiba)

Tomohisa Yamashita

Japan Academy Prize-winning actor (Originally from Kurashiki, Okayama)

Naohito Fujiki

top star of Snow Troupe in the Takarazuka Revue (born in Chiba in 1972)

Natsuki Mizu

of Hey! Say! JUMP

Daiki Arioka

Shiho Fujita, better known as

Sifow

actress, model, news anchor

Mirei Kiritani

creator of Berserk (born in Chiba in 1966)

Kentaro Miura

creator of Oreimo (born in Chiba in 1981)

Tsukasa Fushimi

prominent electrical engineer and professor (retired) at Chiba Institute of Technology[15]

Susumu Tadakuma

model (Originally from Ichikawa, Chiba)

Tao Okamoto

formerly of AKB48

Rena Kato

formerly of NMB48

Reina Fujie

voice actress and former child actress

Rina Hidaka

Go-player and Honorable citizen of Chiba City (1996).[16]

Cho Chikun

pop idol and member of girl group TrySail

Shiina Natsukawa

rapper and member of co-ed group AAA

Mitsuhiro Hidaka

racing driver

Kenta Yamashita

racing driver

Seiji Ara

men's artistic gymnast, all-around champion at the 2020 Summer Olympics (born in Narita, but resides in Chiba)

Daiki Hashimoto

creator of My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected (born and currently resides in Chiba)

Wataru Watari

racing driver

Shinichi Yamaji

head of unit 731

Shiro Ishii

rhythmic gymnast, hoop bronze medallist at the 2017 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships

Kaho Minagawa

Kabosu, the Shiba Inu dog featured in the

Doge meme

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