View from Sakaorimiya Kai-Zenko-ji, Kakueno in autumn Moats of Kofu Castle, Takeda Shingen festival Night view of Kofu, Kofu motsu-ni stew Kose Sports Stadium
Kōfu (甲府市, Kōfu-shi, Japanese:[ko̞ːɸɯᵝ]) is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 April 2019[update], the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households,[1] and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 212.41 square kilometres (82.01 sq mi).
ShōsenkyōThe Kōfu Basin with Kōfu City and a view of Mount Fuji
Kōfu is located in north-central Yamanashi Prefecture which is in Central Honshu. It extends from the northern border of the prefecture with Nagano Prefecture to the south until it almost reaches the prefecture's southern border. It is narrow along its east–west axis. The city bisects the Kōfu Basin and is 250 to 300 meters above sea level. Kōfu is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Three quarters of Kōfu's territory is a part of Mount Kinpu in the north. Much of the northern portion of the city is within the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. Mount Fuji is visible in the distance from Kōfu to the south.
Climate
Kōfu has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), though it is less wet than either the south or Sea of Japan coast due to its location in a shielded mountain valley. Temperature ranges are noticeably greater than in coastal regions: in 2004 Kōfu reached a temperature of 40 °C (104 °F) previously almost unknown in Japan, and it has fallen below 0 °C (32 °F) as early as 26 October,[2] which is about a month before the earliest freezing temperatures in such coastal cities as Kanazawa or Tokyo.
Climate data for Kofu (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1894−present)
An overview of Kofu city from Mount Atago. The left end is east and the right end is west. Mount Atago at the shooting point is located at the southern end of the Oku Chichibu Massif. Mount Fuji over Mount Misaka, the Southern Alps soars to the west, and it is surrounded by a 360-degree mountain area. A panorama photo taken in November 2013.
Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Kōfu has remained relatively stable over the past 50 years.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1940
102,419
—
1950
121,645
+18.8%
1960
160,963
+32.3%
1970
182,669
+13.5%
1980
199,262
+9.1%
1990
200,626
+0.7%
2000
196,154
−2.2%
2010
198,992
+1.4%
2020
189,591
−4.7%
History
Prehistoric ages
Archaeologists have discovered evidence of human settlement in the Kōfu area dating to the Japanese Paleolithic period, with continuous settlement through the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods.
During the Nara period, the provincial temple of Kai Province was established in what is now Kōfu, indicating that the Nara period provincial capital was located nearby, as the name of the city implies.
During the Heian period, a branch of the Minamoto clan, the "Kai-Genji" ruled over vast shōen estates, and developed a military force noted for its use of cavalry.
Feudal period
By the Muromachi period, a branch of the Kai-Genji, the Takeda clan came to dominate the area, and built a castle in what is now part of Kōfu.
During the Edo period, Kai Province was tenryō territory ruled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, and Kōfu Castle remained its administrative center. In 1705, in a signal honour, it was conferred on Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu a favourite of the fifth shōgun. He was a member of the Yanagisawa clan descendants of the "Kai-Genji", the branch of the Minamoto clan which had been enfeoffed with the province of Kai in the eleventh century. His son, Yoshiyasu was transferred to Yamato-Koriyama Castle in 1724 after which Kofu Castle was again held directly by the Shogunate.
Following the Meiji restoration, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the town of Kōfu was proclaimed on July 1, 1889.
The city experienced a major flood disaster in 1907 (明治40年の大水害) caused by heavy rain in a typhoon from the night of August 21, 1907 and by deforestation which was accelerated in Yamanashi Prefecture, due to the need for wood for fuel of the steam engines of the growing industrial policy of the Fujimura Prefectural Government.
A police officer inspected the stricken area from August 23 to October 10, 1907.
Patrol diaries of Masaki Tsukasa Kasaburo said "This heavy rainfall causes rivers to run down, landslides and levee failures, bridge piers destruction, etc., resulting in the destruction of homes and villages, village isolation, runoff, and traffic disruptions caused serious damage[5] 233 people died, 5757 houses were run out, 650 hectares of lands have been buried or run down, 3353 landslides, collapse and damage distance of about 140 kilometers of levees, runoff and burial of roads, the damage distance was about 500 kilometers, 393 telephone poles collapsed. It was the largest natural disaster in modern times in Yamanashi Prefecture.[6]
The city is a regional commercial and transportation center for central Yamanashi Prefecture. Local industries include food processing including wine production, textiles and crystalware.
Kōfu has 25 public elementary schools and 11 public junior high schools operated by the city government, as well as one national combined elementary/middle school. In addition, there are two private elementary schools and three private junior high schools. The city has eight public high schools operated by the Yamanashi Prefectural Board of Education, and five private high schools.
Shingen-ko Festival — the army corps in front of Kōfu Castle (2019)
The biggest festival in Kōfu is the Shingen-ko Festival (信玄公祭り, Shingen-ko Matsuri). It is held annually on the first or second weekend of April and celebrates the legacy of Takeda Shingen. The festival is three days long. Usually a famous Japanese celebrity plays the part of Takeda Shingen. There are several parades going to and from the Takeda Shrine and Kōfu Castle. This is the largest public history play in Japan. In 2012 the event was included in the Guinness World Records as the "largest gathering of samurai" in the world with 1061 participants.[11]
^Iwami Ryotaro "Water Damage and Flood Control" "Great Water Damage" "The History of Yamanashi Prefecture History Series 5 Modern 1" Yamanashi Prefecture, 2005
^"" Rice Kita "" Asuyal "-One Hundred Years of Great Floods in Meiji 40" Yamanashi Prefectural Museum, 2007
^Ijiri, Toshiyuki (1991). Paul Rusch. Cincinnati, Ohio: Forward Movement Publications. p. 167.
^中核市移行式を行いました。. Official site of Kofu (in Japanese). April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
^ abc"International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
^"Shingen-ko Festival". "Shingen-ko Festival" Executive Planning Committee. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
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