Tatebayashi, Gunma

Tatebayashi 館林市
City
Tatebayashi city hall
Flag Seal
Location of Tatebayashi in Gunma Prefecture
Tatebayashi
Coordinates: 36°14′41.4″N 139°32′31.6″E / 36.244833°N 139.542111°ECoordinates: 36°14′41.4″N 139°32′31.6″E / 36.244833°N 139.542111°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Gunma Prefecture
Area
• Total	60.97 km^2 (23.54 sq mi)
Population (February 2015)
• Total	76,560
• Density	1,260/km^2 (3,300/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Pinus thunbergii
- Flower	Rhododendron obtusum
- Bird	Anas poecilorhyncha
Phone number	0276-72-4111
Address	1-1 Shiromachi, Tatebayashi-shi, Gunma-ken 374-8501
Website	Official website

Tatebayashi (館林市 Tatebayashi-shi) is a city located in southeastern Gunma Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of February 2015, the city had an estimated population of 75,560 and a population density of 1260 persons per km². Its total area was 60.97 km². Tatebayashi is famous for Azalea Hill Park and Bunbuku Chagama of Morinji Temple.

Geography

Tatebayashi is located in the extreme southeastern portion of Gunma Prefecture in the Kantō Plains, bordered by Tochigi Prefecture to the north. The Tone River and Watarase Rivers pass through the city.

Surrounding municipalities

• Gunma Prefecture
  • Ōra
  • Chiyoda
  • Meiwa
  • Itakura
• Tochigi Prefecture
  • Ashikaga
  • Sano

History

During the Edo period, the area of present-day Tatebayashi was a castle town and administrative center of Tatebayashi Domain, a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate in Kōzuke Province.

Tatebayashi Town was created within Ōra District, Gunma Prefecture on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration. On April 1, 1954 the town of Tatebayashi and the villages of Satoya, Ōshima, Akabane, Rokugō, Minoya, Tatara, and Watarase merged to form the city Tatebayashi.

Economy

Tatebayashi is a regional commercial center and transportation hub. Food processing dominates the manufacturing sector of the local economy.

Education

There are two public and one private high school, five public middle schools and 11 public elementary schools in Tatebayashi

University

• • Kanto Junior College

Transportation

Railway

• Tobu Railway – Isesaki Line
  • Morinjimae - Tatebayashi - Watarase
• Tobu Railway – Sano Line
  • Tatebayashi - Watarase
• Tobu Railway – Koizumi Line
  • Tatebayashi - Narushima

Highway

• Tōhoku Expressway – Tatebayashi IC
• Japan National Route 122
• Japan National Route 354

Local attractions

• site of Tatebayashi Castle
• Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi
• Gunma Prefectural Tsutsujigaoka Park
• Jō-numa marsh
• Tatara-numa marsh
• Morinji Temple

Sister-city relations

• - Maroochy Shire Council, Australia, since July 1996^[1]
• - Kunshan, China, friendship city since 2004^[2]

Notable people

• Katai Tayama, novelist
• Kenjiro Shoda, mathematician
• Chiaki Mukai, astronaut and doctor ^[3]

References

1. "Sister Cities and International Partnerships". http://business.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au. Sunshine Coast Regional Council. May 6, 2015. External link in |website= (help)
2. "Kunshan China". The People's Government of Kunshan. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
3. "Biographical Data: CHIAKI MUKAI (M.D., PH.D.) JAXA ASTRONAUT (PAYLOAD SPECIALIST)". http://www.jsc.nasa.gov. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. October 2013. External link in |website= (help)

External links

Media related to Tatebayashi, Gunma at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (Japanese)
• Tatebayashi, Gunma travel guide from Wikivoyage