Funabashi

Funabashi is located in northwestern Chiba Prefecture approximately 20 kilometers in either direction from the prefectural capital at Chiba and downtown Tokyo.The central area forms a flat diluvial upland of the Shimōsa Plateau. The city sits at an elevation of 20 to 30 meters above sea level, and is relatively flat. The highest point is 32.3 meters in Narashino 3-chome, and the lowest point is 0.2 meters in Minatomachi 1-chome. Funabashi is crossed by the Tone River, and the small Ebi River is located entirely within city limits. Funabashi formerly had wide, shallow beaches, but much of the coast has been industrialized and transformed by reclaimed land. The city extends for 13.86 kilometers east-west and 14.95 kilometers north-south.

Funabashi has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Funabashi is 15.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1403 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.9 °C.[2]

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Funabashi has been increasing rapidly over the past century.

The name "Funabashi" is mentioned in the Kamakura period chronicle Azuma Kagami. However, the name itself is even more ancient, dating from before the Nara period and the Yamatotakeru mythology. Archaeologists have found stone tools from the Japanese Paleolithic period and shell middens from the Jōmon period in the area, indicating continuous inhabitation for thousands of years. A number of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in the area claim to have been founded in the Nara period or Heian period. During the Muromachi periods, the area was controlled by the Chiba clan. During the Sengoku period, the Chiba clan fought the Satomi clan to the south, and the Late Hōjō clan to the west. After the defeat of the Chiba clan, the area came within the control of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the area prospered as a post town on the river crossing of the Tone River, and was largely retained as tenryō under the direct control of the Shogunate and administered through a number of hatamoto. The area was also a favored hunting grounds for the Shōgun. During the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, Funabashi was the location of a minor skirmish between Tokugawa loyalists under Enomoto Takeaki and the pro-Imperial forces of Okayama Domain and Satsuma Domain, during which most of the town burned down.

After the abolition of the han system, the area eventually became part of Chiba Prefecture. Funabashi Town was one of several towns and villages created on April 1, 1889 under Inba District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The area developed rapidly due to its proximity to Tokyo and the presence of numerous military facilities in the area. On April 1, 1937, Funabashi was elevated to city status through merger with neighboring Katsushika Town and Yasakae, Hoden and Tsukada Villages. The new city was host to numerous military installations in World War II, and was bombed in the air raids on Japan in 1945.

The city developed rapidly in the postwar period, with the development of industries, public housing developments and port facilities. With the annexation of neighboring Ninomiya Town in 1953, the population exceeded 100,000. The population exceeded 300,000 in 1969 and 500,000 in 1982. Funabashi was designated a core city on April 1, 2005 with increased local autonomy from the central government. The population exceeded 600,000 in 2006.

Funabashi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 50 members. Funabashi contributes seven members to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Chiba 4th district and the Chiba 13th districtof the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Funabashi is a regional commercial center and, due to its numerous train connections, a bedroom community for nearby Chiba and Tokyo. Approximately 34.5% of the working population commutes to Tokyo, per the 2015 census.

• Nihon University branch campus
• Funabashi has 54 public elementary schools and 27 public middle schools operated by the city government, and 11 public high schools operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private elementary school, one private middle school and four private high schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

• – Hayward, California, United States, from November 7, 1986
• – Odense, Denmark[4] from April 6, 1989
• – Xi'an, Shaanxi, China[4] from November 2, 1994

• Funassyi, unofficial city mascot
• Hiroki Aiba, dancer and singer
• Kazuyuki Fujita, professional wrestler
• Sayaka Ichii, musician
• Atsushi Itō, actor
• Yuko Kavaguti, figure skater
• Mai Kuraki, singer
• Fumie Kurotori, swimmer
• Mai Minokoshi, professional tennis player
• Manabu Namiki, video game designer
• Yoshihiro Natsuka, professional soccer player
• Katsuhiko Nishijima, Anime director
• Michiko Nishiwaki, actress, stunt woman
• Yoshihiko Noda, politician, former Prime Minister of Japan
• Hanako Oku, musician
• Shunzo Ono, professional soccer player
• Tamao Satō, actress
• Takashi Sekizuka, professional soccer player
• Mariko Shiga, musician
• Keiko Terada, singer (Show-Ya)
• Akeno Watanabe, voice actress
• Azusa Yamamoto, gravure idol
• Tomohisa Yamashita, musician
• Risa Yoshiki, model, actress, singer
• Arisa Hoshiki, Former professional wrestler, singer under the alter ego Udon Sato

• In 2018, asteroid 25892 Funabashi was named for the city

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Funabashi, Chiba.

• Funabashi travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official Website (in Japanese)