Yokkaichi

Geography

Yokkaichi is located in the north-central of Mie Prefecture, part of the northeastern Kii Peninsula. It stretches the width of Mie Prefecture, and is bordered by Ise Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Shiga Prefecture to the northwest.

Neighboring municipalities

Mie Prefecture

Asahi

Inabe

Kawagoe

Komono

Kuwana

Suzuka

Tōin

Shiga Prefecture

Kōka

Climate

Yokkaichi has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Yokkaichi is 15.2 °C (59.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,807.3 mm (71.15 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.8 °C (80.2 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.3 °C (39.7 °F).

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Yokkaichi increased steadily between 1960 and 2010, but has since slightly decreased.

History

The area around modern Yokkaichi has been settled since prehistoric times. Numerous Kofun period burial mounds have been discovered, and the area was one of the battle sites of the Asuka period Jinshin War. However, until the end of the Heian period, the area was sparsely settled, and the site of Yokkaichi was only a small port village. The area developed during the Kamakura period and by the Azuchi–Momoyama period, the port was developed and a regular market was opened on the 4th, 14th, and 24th day each month. Thus, the city is named Yokkaichi: "yokka" means fourth day, and "ichi" means market. After the Honnō-ji Incident during which warlord Oda Nobunaga was assassinated, Tokugawa Ieyasu fled from Yokkaichi port by sea to his castle at Edo. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Yokkaichi was tenryō territory controlled directly by the shōgun and administered by a daikan based at the Yokkaichi Jin'ya. Throughout the Edo period, the area prospered as Yokkaichi-juku, the forty-third station on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. However, the city was largely destroyed by the Ansei great earthquakes.

Following the Meiji Restoration, Yokkaichi Town was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, and was designated the capital of Mie Prefecture. Yokkaichi's port advanced remarkably during the Meiji period, primarily under the guidance of Inaba Sanuemon, a resident merchant interested in increasing trade in the Yokkaichi and Ise area by modernizing the port facilities. Starting in 1872, the project took 12 years to complete due to typhoons and difficulties in financing the project. This led to the port city being designated an Official International Port in 1899 The primary trade items shipped through Yokkaichi were originally seed oil, Banko ware, and Ise tea; but now it has developed into a port that handles cotton, wool, glass, and heavy equipment. Yokkaichi was elevated to city status on August 1, 1897.

From 1939, Yokkaichi became a center for the chemical industry, with the Imperial Japanese Navy constructing a large refinery near the port area. Yokkaichi was one of the first cities bombed by the United States during World War II, when on April 18, 1942, the city was attacked by aircraft from the Doolittle Raid. During the final stages of World War II, on June 18, 1945, 89 B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped 11,000 incendiary bombs destroying 35% of the urban area and killing 736 people. This attack on Yokkaichi was followed by another eight air raids until August 8, 1945, killing another 808 people.

Government

Yokkaichi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 34 members. Yokkaichi contributes seven members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between Mie 2nd district and Mie 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Yokkaichi is a manufacturing center that produces Banko ware (a kind of earthenware and stoneware), automobiles, cotton textiles, chemicals, tea, cement, and computer parts such as flash memory by Kioxia and Western Digital.

Education

Universities

Humanitec Junior College

Yokkaichi Nursing and Medical Care University

Yokkaichi University

Primary and secondary education

Yokkaichi has 38 public elementary schools and 22 public middle schools operated by the city government, and there are three private middle schools. The city also operates one special education school for the disabled. The city has ten public high schools operated by the Mie Prefectural Board of Education and five private high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the disabled.

International schools

Escola Nikken (ニッケン学園) — Brazilian school

Yokkaichi Korean Elementary and Middle School (四日市朝鮮初中級学校) — North Korean school

Transportation

Railway

JR Tōkai – Kansai Main Line

Tomida - Tomidahama - Yokkaichi - Minami-Yokkaichi - Kawarada

Kintetsu Railway – Nagoya Line

Kintetsu Tomida - Kasumigaura - Akuragawa - Kawaramachi - Kintetsu Yokkaichi - Shinshō - Miyamado - Shiohama - Kita-Kusu - Kusu

Kintetsu Railway – Yunoyama Line

Kintetsu Yokkaichi - Nakagawara - Ise-Matsumoto - Ise-Kawashima - Takatsuno - Sakura

Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway – Utsube Line

Asunarou Yokkaichi - Akahori - Hinaga - Minami-Hinaga - Tomari - Oiwake - Ogoso - Utsube

Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway – Hachiōji Line

Hinaga - Nishihino

Sangi Railway – Sangi Line

Kintetsu-Tomida - Ōyachi - Heizu - Akatsukigakuenmae - Yamajo - Hobo - Hokusei Chūō Kōenguchi

Highway

Isewangan Expressway

Shin-Meishin Expressway

Higashi-Meihan Expressway

National Route 1

National Route 23

National Route 25

National Route 164

National Route 306

National Route 365

National Route 477

Seaports

Yokkaichi Port

Local attractions

Festivals and events

Amagasuka Ishidori Festival

Great Yokkaichi Festival

Matsubara Ishidori Festival

International relations

Yokkaichi has two sister cities and one sister port.

Long Beach, California, United States, since October 7, 1963

Sydney Port, Australia, since October 24, 1968

Tianjin, China, since October 28, 1980

Notable people from Yokkaichi

Toshiya Fujita, movie director

Naoki Hattori, racing driver

Goseki Kojima, manga artist

Masayo Kurata, voice actress

Miki Mizuno, actress

Fumio Niwa, author

Katsuya Okada, politician

Takuya Okada, chairman emeritus of AEON Group

Satoshi Saida, wheelchair tennis player

Naoki Segi, movie director

Shuu Shibutani, professional wrestler

Ui Shigure, light novel artist and virtual YouTuber

Yoriko Shono, writer

Ōzutsu Takeshi, sumo wrestler

Katsuaki Watanabe, president of Toyota

Akari Fujinami, female freestyle wrestler (gold medal, 2024 Summer Olympics)