Shirakawa, Fukushima

This article is about the town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. For other places with this name, see Shirakawa.

Shirakawa (白河市, Shirakawa-shi) is a city in Fukushima, Japan. It is located in the southern portion of the prefecture.

The 2003 estimated population was 48,297 and the density in that year was 410.44 persons per km². The total area was 117.67 km². However, on November 7, 2005, after merging neighbouring villages into its territory (see History section below), the population increased to approximately 66,000.

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.

(Template:Lang-en

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 neighbouring villages of Taishin, Higashi, and the remainder of Omotegō were incorporated into Shirakawa.

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.

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", a festival celebrating the traditional "Daruma" doll, wherein the cty 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.

Twinned cities

• Compiègne, Oise, France, since 1988

External links

• Shirakawa Wikitravel information Template:En icon
• Shirakawa website Template:Ja icon
• Shirakawa website Template:Ja icon