Kurashiki (倉敷市, Kurashiki-shi) is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per km². The total area is 355.63 km².[1]
Kurashiki
倉敷市 | |
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Core city | |
Bikan district of Kurashiki | |
![]() Flag ![]() Chapter | |
![]() Location of Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture | |
![]() ![]() Kurashiki Location in Japan | |
Coordinates: 34°35′N 133°46′E | |
Country | Japan |
Region | Chūgoku (San'yō) |
Prefecture | Okayama Prefecture |
Government | |
• Mayor | Kaori Itō |
Area | |
• Total | 355.63 km2 (137.31 sq mi) |
Population (March 31, 2017) | |
• Total | 483,576 |
• Density | 1,400/km2 (3,500/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
City hall address | 640 Nishinakashinden, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama-ken 710-8565 |
Climate | Cfa |
Website | www |
Symbols | |
Bird | Kingfisher |
Flower | Wysteria |
Tree | Camphor |
The modern city of Kurashiki was founded on April 1, 1928. Previously, it was the site of clashes between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the Heian period. It gradually developed as a river port. During the Edo period, it became an area directly controlled by the shogunate. Distinctive white-walled, black-tiled warehouses were built to store goods. During the Meiji Restoration (Japan's Industrial Revolution period), factories were built, including the Ohara Spinning Mill, which still stands as the nostalgic tourist attraction Ivy Square.[2]
On August 1, 2005, the town of Mabi (from Kibi District), and the town of Funao (from Asakuchi District) were merged with Kurashiki.
Kurashiki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Kurashiki is 15.8 °C (60.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,042.2 mm (41.03 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.9 °C (82.2 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.6 °C (40.3 °F).[3] The highest temperature ever recorded in Kurashiki was 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) on 8 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −8.0 °C (17.6 °F) on 27 February 1981.[4]
Climate data for Kurashiki (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1979−present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 16.1 (61.0) |
22.5 (72.5) |
23.5 (74.3) |
30.5 (86.9) |
32.6 (90.7) |
35.2 (95.4) |
36.8 (98.2) |
37.1 (98.8) |
36.0 (96.8) |
32.4 (90.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
19.9 (67.8) |
37.1 (98.8) |
Average high °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) |
10.0 (50.0) |
13.6 (56.5) |
19.3 (66.7) |
24.4 (75.9) |
27.3 (81.1) |
30.9 (87.6) |
32.2 (90.0) |
28.4 (83.1) |
23.1 (73.6) |
17.1 (62.8) |
11.5 (52.7) |
20.6 (69.1) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.6 (40.3) |
5.2 (41.4) |
8.5 (47.3) |
13.9 (57.0) |
19.1 (66.4) |
22.9 (73.2) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.9 (82.2) |
23.9 (75.0) |
18.0 (64.4) |
12.0 (53.6) |
6.7 (44.1) |
15.8 (60.4) |
Average low °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
0.6 (33.1) |
3.5 (38.3) |
8.6 (47.5) |
14.0 (57.2) |
19.1 (66.4) |
23.6 (74.5) |
24.4 (75.9) |
20.1 (68.2) |
13.5 (56.3) |
7.3 (45.1) |
2.4 (36.3) |
11.5 (52.6) |
Record low °C (°F) | −5.4 (22.3) |
−8.0 (17.6) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
3.1 (37.6) |
9.8 (49.6) |
16.0 (60.8) |
17.1 (62.8) |
8.9 (48.0) |
2.7 (36.9) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−8.0 (17.6) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 34.4 (1.35) |
42.4 (1.67) |
78.2 (3.08) |
82.5 (3.25) |
101.9 (4.01) |
149.8 (5.90) |
154.1 (6.07) |
81.3 (3.20) |
133.0 (5.24) |
93.6 (3.69) |
51.2 (2.02) |
40.4 (1.59) |
1,042.2 (41.03) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 4.8 | 6.1 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 8.8 | 10.6 | 9.9 | 6.8 | 8.8 | 7.1 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 91.5 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 152.5 | 144.5 | 175.7 | 189.8 | 199.2 | 143.1 | 173.0 | 206.5 | 155.2 | 166.7 | 149.7 | 145.8 | 2,001.3 |
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[4][3] |
Per Japanese census data, the population of Kurashiki in 2020 is 474,592 people.[5] Kurashiki has been conducting censuses since 1960.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1960 | 286,902 | — |
1965 | 308,908 | +7.7% |
1970 | 374,385 | +21.2% |
1975 | 417,750 | +11.6% |
1980 | 432,171 | +3.5% |
1985 | 443,721 | +2.7% |
1990 | 445,059 | +0.3% |
1995 | 453,618 | +1.9% |
2000 | 460,869 | +1.6% |
2005 | 469,377 | +1.8% |
2010 | 475,421 | +1.3% |
2015 | 477,118 | +0.4% |
2020 | 474,592 | −0.5% |
Kurashiki population statistics[5] |
Kurashiki is the home of Japan's first museum for Western art, the Ohara Museum of Art. Established in 1930 by Magosaburō Ōhara, it contains paintings by El Greco, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, and Renoir. The collection also presents fine examples of Asian and contemporary art. The main building is designed in the style of Neoclassicism.
The old merchant quarter is called the Bikan historical area. It contains many fine examples of 17th century wooden warehouses (kura, 倉) painted white with traditional black tiles, along a canal framed with weeping willows and filled with koi. The area has no electric poles in order to make it more closely resemble the look of the Meiji period. One of the city's former town halls was located in the Kurashiki Kan, a European style building constructed in 1917.
In 1997 a theme park called Tivoli (after the park of the same name in Copenhagen) opened near Kurashiki Station. After ten years of operation it was closed in 2008, with a massive debt.
The Great Seto Bridge connects the city to Sakaide in Kagawa Prefecture across the Inland Sea.
Kenzo Tange, winner of the 1987 Pritzker Prize for architecture, designed the former Kurashiki City Hall in 1960.
The city is home to several private universities and one public university.
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2015) |
The city has a North Korean school, Okayama Korean Elementary and Junior High School (岡山朝鮮初中級学校).[6]
Kurashiki has a variety of sports clubs, including former Japan Football League side Mitsubishi Mizushima.
Kurashiki was also the place where current J. League sides Vissel Kobe and Fagiano Okayama had their origins before moving.
Kurashiki maintains the following sister and friendship cities:[7]
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