Shirakawa (白河市, Shirakawa-shi) is a city located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 April 2020[update], the city had an estimated population of 59,393 in 23,546 households [1] and a population density of 190 persons per km2. The total area of the city was 305.3 square kilometres (117.9 sq mi).
Geography
Shirakawa is located in south-central Fukushima prefecture facing the Nasu plateau, and extending to the lowland Shirakawa Basin.
Shirakawa has a humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Shirakawa is 11.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1377 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.3 °C.[2]
Climate data for Shirakawa (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1940−present)
The area of present-day Shirakawa was part of ancient Mutsu Province and was the location of a barrier gate on the Ōshū Kaidō connecting the capital at Kyoto with the northern provinces. In the Heian period, the Buddhist monk and waka poetNōin composed the following 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.
(English: I left the capital with the spring haze, but at the barrier of Shirakawa the autumn wind blows.)
The town of Shirakawa was formed on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. On April 1, 1949, Shirakawa was elevated to city status 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, increasing its population from 48,297 to approximately 66,000 and territory from 117.67 km2 (45.43 sq mi) to 305.30 km2 (117.88 sq mi).
Shirakawa has a mixed economy, and is a major commercial center for the surrounding region. Principal industries include electrical appliances, construction materials and clothing.[6] The D+M Group has a plant where Marantz and Denonhigh fidelity components are produced.
Education
Shirakawa has fifteen public elementary schools and eight junior high schools operated by the city government and four public high schools operated by the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education.
Post offices
Shirakawa has nineteen post offices within the boundaries of the city.[7]
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.
.svg){kind=logo}
