Everything about Yokohama totally explained
is the capital of
Kanagawa Prefecture, located in the
Kantō region of the main island of
Honshū and is a major commercial hub of the
Greater Tokyo Area.
Yokohama's population of 3.6 million makes it
Japan's largest incorporated
city and second most populous urban area after
Tokyo (during nighttime - Yokohama ranks 3rd in daytime population, after
Osaka).
Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's isolation in the late 19th century, and is today one of its major
ports along with
Kobe,
Osaka,
Nagoya,
Hakata,
Tokyo, and
Chiba.
History
Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal
Edo period, a time when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with Western foreigners. A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853 and again in 1854, when Commodore
Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of
American warships, demanding
that Japan open several ports for commerce. The
Tokugawa shogunate agreed in 1854 by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity.
It was initially agreed that one of the ports to be opened to foreign ships would be the bustling town of
Kanagawa-juku (in what is now
Kanagawa Ward) on the
Tōkaidō, a strategic highway which linked
Edo to
Kyoto and
Osaka. However, the
Tokugawa shogunate decided that the location of Kanagawa-juku was too close to the Tōkaidō for comfort, and port facilities were built across the inlet in the sleepy fishing village of Yokohama instead. The
Port of Yokohama was opened on
2 June,
1859.
The Port of Yokohama quickly became the base of foreign trade in Japan. Japan's first English language newspaper, the
Japan Herald, was first published in Yokohama in 1861. Foreigners occupied a district of the city called "Kannai" ("inside the barrier"), which was surrounded by a
moat, and were protected by their
extraterritoriality status both within and outside the moat. Many individuals crossed the moat, causing a number of problems. The
Namamugi Incident, one of the events that preceded the downfall of the shogunate, took place in what is now
Tsurumi Ward in 1862.
Ernest Satow wrote about the incident in his
A Diplomat in Japan.
After the
Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading
silk, with the main trading partner being
Great Britain. Many Western influences first reached Japan in Yokohama, including Japan's first daily newspaper (1870) and Japan's first gas-powered street lamps (1872). Japan's first railway was constructed in the same year to connect Yokohama to Shinagawa and Shimbashi in Tokyo. In the same year,
Jules Verne set in Yokohama an episode of his widely-read "
Around the World in Eighty Days", capturing - though he hadn't been there personally - the atmosphere of a fast-developing, Western-oriented Japanese city.
In 1887, a British merchant,
Samuel Cocking, built the city's first power plant, a coal burning plant, at first for his own use, but it became the basis for the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company. The city was officially incorporated on
April 1,
1889. By the time the extraterritoriality of foreigner areas was abolished in 1899, Yokohama was the most international city in Japan, with foreigner areas stretching from Kannai to the
Yamate Bluff area and the large
Yokohama Chinatown.
The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city towards
Kawasaki, which eventually grew to be the
Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence to Yokohama, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, the largest slum in Japan at the time.
Much of Yokohama was destroyed on
1 September,
1923 by the
Great Kantō earthquake. The Yohohama police reported casualties at 30,771 dead and 47,908 injured, our of a pre-earthquake population of 434,170. In the aftermath of the quake, mass murder of Koreans by vigilante mobs occurred in the Kojiki-yato slum, fuelled by rumours of rebellion and sabotage.
Martial law was in place until
19 November. Rubble from the quake was used to reclaim land for parks, the most famous of which is the Yamashita Park on the waterfront which opened in 1930.
Yokohama was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again by thirty-odd U.S. air raids during
World War II. An estimated 7,000–8,000 people were killed in a single morning on
29 May,
1945 in what is now known as the Great Yokohama Air Raid, when
B-29s dropped firebombs over the city and in the space of just 1 hour and 9 minutes reduced 34% of the city to rubble.
During the
American occupation, Yokohama was a major transshipment base for American supplies and personnel, especially during the
Korean War. After the occupation, most local U.S. naval activity moved from Yokohama to an American base in neighboring
Yokosuka.
The city was designated by
government ordinance on
September 1,
1956.
The city's
tram and
trolleybus system was abolished in 1972, the same year as the opening of the first line of
Yokohama Municipal Subway.
Construction of
Minato Mirai 21 ("Port Future 21"), a major urban development project on reclaimed land, started in 1983. Minato Mirai 21 hosted the Yokohama Exotic Showcase in 1989, which saw the first public operation of
maglev trains in Japan and the opening of Cosmo Clock 21, at the time the largest
Ferris wheel in the world. 1989 also saw the opening of the 860m-long
Yokohama Bay Bridge.
In 1993, Minato Mirai saw the opening of the
Yokohama Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan.
The
2002 FIFA World Cup final was held in June at the
International Stadium Yokohama.
In 2009, the city will mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the port and the 120th anniversary of the commencement of the City Administration. An early part in the commemoration project incorporates the Fourth
Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) which will be held in Yokohama in May 2008. The TICAD Yokohama Promotion Committee, described Africa as "an element essential to our discussion on the global environment." Yokohama, which is seeking to demonstrate the image of a creative, environmentally-minded city as well as its "power of citizens" to the world, has coined the slogan "Yokohama Meets Africa."
A noteworthy feature of this year's conference will be the award of the
Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, established by the Government of Japan to honor individuals and organizations for outstanding achievements in the fields of medical research and medical services in Africa. Winners in the two categories will collect a medal and an honorarium of 100 million Yen (about $1 million) each. The prize, officially named "The Prize in Recognition of Outstanding Achievements in the Fields of Medical Research and Medical Services in Africa Awarded in Memory of Dr.
Hideyo Noguchi," is managed by
Japan International Cooperation Agency (
JICA). Noguchi (1876-1928) was a prominent Japanese bacteriologist who died in Accra, Ghana, of yellow fever virus, in pursuit of his research on vaccines to stop diseases such as yellow fever and poliomyelitis. He had travelled extensively in Central and South America before coming to Africa.
Historical Population
Census Date Population Rank in Japan
- 2005 3,579,133 2nd
- 2000 3,426,651 2nd
- 1995 3,307,136 2nd
- 1990 3,220,331 2nd
- 1985 2,992,926 2nd
- 1980 2,773,674 2nd passing Osaka
- 1975 2,621,771 3rd
- 1970 2,238,264 3rd passing Nagoya
- 1965 1,788,915 4th
- 1960 1,375,710 4th passing Kyoto
- 1955 1,143,687 5th
- 1950 951,189 5th
- 1945 814,379 5th
- 1940 968,091 5th passing Kobe
- 1935 704,290 6th
- 1930 620,306 6th
- 1925 405,888 6th
- 1920 422,942 6th
Economy
The city has a strong economic base, especially in the
shipping,
biotechnology, and
semiconductor industries.
Nissan will move its headquarters to Yokohama from
Chūō, Tokyo by 2010.
(External Link
)
Places of interest
The places of interest are mainly around the historic port area of
Kannai. Next to the waterfront Yamashita Park is
Yokohama Marine Tower, the tallest lighthouse in the world. Further inland lies
Yokohama Chinatown, the largest
Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Also in the vicinity is the
Yokohama Stadium, the Silk Center, the
Yokohama Doll Museum. There is also a large immigration office, near Yamashita Park. Nearby
Isezakicho and Noge areas offer many colourful shops and bars and, with their restaurants and stores catering to residents from
China,
Thailand,
South Korea, and other countries, have an increasingly international flavour.
The small but fashionable
Motomachi shopping area (where there are various shops starting with Cyrillus, Godiva, and so on) leads up to
Yamate, or "The Bluff" as it used to be known, a 19th/early 20th century Westerners' settlement overlooking the harbour, scattered with foreigners' mansions. A foreigners' cemetery and the Harbour View Park is in the area. The Rose Garden can be found in the park.
There are various points of interest in the futuristic Minato Mirai 21 harbourside redevelopment. The highlights are the
Landmark Tower which is the tallest building in Japan, Queen's Square Yokohama (a shopping mall) and the Cosmo Clock 21, which was the largest Ferris wheel in the world when it was built in 1989 and which also doubles as "the world's biggest clock".
The Shin-Yokohama district, where the
Shinkansen station is located, is some distance away from the harbour area, and features the 17,000 capacity
Yokohama Arena, the
Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, and
Nissan Stadium, once known as the
International Stadium Yokohama when it was the setting for the final for the
2002 FIFA World Cup held on
June 30,
2002.
The city is also home to the
Central League baseball team, the
Yokohama BayStars, and the
soccer teams,
Yokohama F Marinos and
Yokohama FC.
Politics and government
The Yokohama Municipal Assembly consists of 92 members elected from 18 Wards. The
LDP has minority control with 30 seats with
Democratic Party of Japan with a close 29. The mayor is Hiroshi Nakada.
Wards
Yokohama has 18
wards (
ku):
Sister cities
Yokohama has
sister city agreements with the following cities:
Constanţa, Romania
Lyon, France
Odessa, Ukraine
Manila, Philippines
Mumbai, India
San Diego, California, U.S.
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
Vancouver, Canada
Education
Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the city of Yokohama. There are 9 public high schools which are operated by the Yokohama City Board of Education, and a number of public high schools which are operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education.
Yokohama in fiction
Two successful Godzilla films feature Yokohama and the famous clock (being destroyed) in Godzilla vs. Mothra and GMK.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Yokohama'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://yokohama.totallyexplained.com">Yokohama Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
