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Shirakawa (白河市, Shirakawa-shi) is a city located in the southern portion of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
As of 2003, Shirakawa had an estimated population was 48,297 and a population density of 410.44 persons per km². The total area was 117.67 km².
However, on November 7, 2005, after merging neighboring villages into its territory, the population increased to approximately 66,000, with a population density of 210 persons per km², and its area increasing to 305.30 km².
History
Shirakawa was formerly known as the gateway to the old Mutsu Province of Japan. Up to the Edo period it had prospered under the control of the Shirakawa clan as a castle town. In the Heian period, monk and waka poet Nōin composed the following short poem about the region:
都をば霞とともに立ちしかど秋風ぞ吹く白河の関
Miyako wo ba kasumi to tomo ni tachishikado akikaze zo fuku Shirakawa no seki.
During the Meiji Period in 1889, the area was classified as the town of Shirakawa. On April 1, 1949, Shirakawa was made a city after merging with the neighboring village of Ōnuma.
Subsequent mergers occurred in 1954 and 1955 with the inclusion of the villages of Shirasaka, Odagawa, Goka and a portion of Omotegō into the territory of Shirakawa.
On November 7, 2005, the villages of Taishin, Higashi, and the remainder of Omotegō (all from Nishishirakawa District) were merged into Shirakawa.
Climate
Shirakawa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from May to October.
| Climate data for Shirakawa, Fukushima | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 4.4 (39.9) |
4.6 (40.3) |
8.2 (46.8) |
15.4 (59.7) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.9 (73.2) |
26.3 (79.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
23.3 (73.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
12.7 (54.9) |
7.4 (45.3) |
16.0 (60.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.2 (31.6) |
0.2 (32.4) |
3.3 (37.9) |
9.7 (49.5) |
14.9 (58.8) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.9 (71.4) |
23.3 (73.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
12.7 (54.9) |
7.4 (45.3) |
2.4 (36.3) |
11.1 (51.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.4 (24.1) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
4.2 (39.6) |
9.4 (48.9) |
14.4 (57.9) |
18.5 (65.3) |
19.8 (67.6) |
15.3 (59.5) |
8.2 (46.8) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
6.7 (44.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 29.0 (1.14) |
43.3 (1.70) |
67.7 (2.67) |
99.2 (3.91) |
112.6 (4.43) |
177.7 (7.00) |
162.9 (6.41) |
200.9 (7.91) |
191.1 (7.52) |
116.3 (4.58) |
63.5 (2.50) |
33.4 (1.31) |
1,297.6 (51.08) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 24 (9.4) |
30 (12) |
18 (7.1) |
3 (1.2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2 (0.8) |
15 (5.9) |
92 (36.4) |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 68 | 67 | 65 | 66 | 70 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 74 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 164.6 | 154.2 | 187.4 | 182.9 | 196.8 | 131.7 | 129.2 | 156.2 | 111.3 | 144.0 | 144.8 | 156.4 | 1,859.5 |
| Source: NOAA (1961-1990) [1] | |||||||||||||
City services
Shirakawa has four high schools, eight junior high schools, and fifteen elementary schools.
There are also nineteen post offices (including minor ones) within the boundaries of the city.[2]
Transportation
Rail
The city can be easily reached via Shirasaka, Shirakawa, and Kutano stations on the Tōhoku Main Line. Shin-Shirakawa Station, located in the neighbouring village of Nishigō, is also on the Tōhoku Shinkansen and provides fast access to Tokyo.
Road
Shirakawa can be accessed by the nearby Tohoku Expressway and National Routes 289 and 294.
Claims to fame
Residents point to the local variety of ramen as the town's main claim to fame. The main attractions of the town, aside from the restaurants, include Komine Castle (小峰城, Kominejō, literally "Small Peak Castle") and Nankō ("South Lake") Park.
Festivals held in Shirakawa include "Daruma Ichi", celebrating the traditional Daruma doll, wherein the city streets are packed with stalls selling Daruma, a variety of festival foods and charms, and "Chōchin Matsuri" (Lantern Festival), which is held each summer, with a special three-day celebration held once every three years.
Shirakawa is passed through in Oku no Hosomichi by Basho.
Shirakawa is the location of the village to which silk egg merchant Herve Joncour travels in the novel Silk by Alessandro Baricco, first published in 1997.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Shirakawa is twinned with:
References
- ^ "Shirakawa Climate Normals 1961-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
- ^ List of Post Offices in Shirakawa Template:Ja icon
External links
