Uwajima, Ehime
Template:Infobox City Japan Uwajima (宇和島市, Uwajima-shi) is a city located in Ehime, Japan. In 1595, what is now Uwajima was known as Itajima village. Takatora Tohdo became lord of the Uwa region, and ordered the restoration of Marugushi Castle. The city was founded by the mergers of the city of Uwajima and parts of former Kitauwa District.
After Hidemune Date, the eldest son of Masamune Date, a prominent lord in northern Japan, took over Uwa in 1614, the clan strongly promoted Uwajima Castle as a center of industry, education, and culture.
In 1817 Uwa became Uwajima Prefecture. The following year it was renamed Kamiyama Prefecture. In 1873, Kamiyama Prefecture was combined with Ishizuchi Prefecture. After Ehime Prefecture was established, the capital was moved to Matsuyama, which is in the northernmost area of Ehime.
Municipal timeline
Before the city days
After becoming a city
- 1921: The city of Uwajima was founded after annexing the village of Yahata
- 1934: The city was extended by combining Kushima Village in 1934 and renovating the bay area for factory usage
- 1945: The center of the city was largely destroyed by bombing. However, post-war reconstruction was remarkable, and the city recovered admirably.
- 1955: Miura and Takamitsu villages merged
- 1974: Uwaumi village merged
After the second founding
- August 1, 2005: The city merged with the municipalities of Tsushima, Yoshida, and Mima to form the new city of Uwajima.
Attractions
Uwajima is home to an unusual fertility shrine called Taga Shrine, which features a large, realistic phallus carved from a log approximately 9 feet in length, 1 foot in diameter. Next to the shrine is an extremely graphic and bizarre sex "museum," filled with artifacts and paintings from around the world.
The city is renowned for its bullfighting, but they differ from the more widely-known Spanish bullfights in that there is no matador. Two bulls are brought together in a ring, and fight until one bull's knees touch the ground or flees from the ring, marking it the loser. Except for special occasions, the bullfights are held on January 2nd, the second Sunday of April, July 24th, and August 14th. File:DVC10096.JPG This is a mask of Ushioni (牛鬼, Ushioni), the Cow Demon, one of the many used throughout history during the bullfighting festival.
Tsushima
Tsushima is approximately 200 km², and is therefore a significant portion of Uwajima's current land area, despite not being highly populated (fewer than 15,000 people). It's made up of a number of small villages that shared a municipal government as Tsushima until they were amalgamated into Uwajima.
Tsushima is known for the Iwamatsu River and the festival they have each year where people eat tiny, live fish.
They are also known for pearl farming and fish farming as well as being part of the prefecture's mikan industry.
Nanryakuen Park is a beautiful place to go for a walk. There is also a children's amusement area called Playland across the street.
External links
- Uwajima official website in Japanese
- Wikitravel: Uwajima
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