Takehara, Hiroshima

Takehara 竹原市
City
Takehara city hall
Symbol
Location of Takehara in Hiroshima Prefecture
Takehara Location in Japan
Coordinates:
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku (San'yō)
Prefecture	Hiroshima Prefecture
Area
• Total	118.3 km2 (45.7 sq mi)
Population (October 2009)
• Total	29,093
• Density	246/km2 (640/sq mi)
Symbols
• Tree	Bamboo
• Flower	Ume
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Hall Address	5-1-35 Takehara Chuo, Takehara-shi, Hiroshima-ken 725-8666
Website	www.city.takehara.lg.jp

Takehara (竹原市, Takehara-shi) is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on November 3, 1958.

As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 29,093 and a population density of 246 persons per km². The total area is 118.30 km².

Ōkunoshima, the island where a poison gas plant of the Imperial Japanese Army was located, belongs to Takehara.

Occupying a strategic location on the Seto Inland Sea, it became renowned as a port city in the Muromachi period and then flourished as a centre of the salt industry in the latter days of the Edo period. More recently, it has styled itself as 'The Little Kyoto of Aki' and the Special Historical District of old warehouses was selected as one of Japan's '100 Most Scenic Towns'.

Tourism

Museums

• Takehara Museum
• Kaguyahime Museum
• Imai Museum
• History of Takehara Museum
• Ozasaya Sake Museum

Mountains and islands

• Mount Asahi (Otake)
• Mount Kurotaki
• Ōkunoshima island

Little Kyoto of Aki Province

• Takehara Historical Heritage
• Jizo-do
• Chosei-ji
• Saihō-ji Temple
• Shoren-ji
• Ebisu-do

Hot springs

• Yusaka Onsen-kyo
• Bamboo Joy Highland

Festivals

• Miyakoto Matsuri (April)
• Nika Renge Matsuri (April)
• Take Matsuri (May)
• Tadanoumi Gion Matsuri (July)
• Takehara Tanabata Matsuri (July)
• Tadanoumi Tenjin Yoichi (July)
• Takehara Sumiyoshi Matsuri (August)
• Takehara Summer Festival Fireworks (August)
• Fukuda Shishimai (October)
• Machinami Takeakari (October)
• Takehara Ekiden (October)
• Rabbit Cross Country (November)
• Futamado-myojin-sai (February)

Sister cities

Takehara has a sister city relationship with Damyang in South Korea.

Notable people

• Shōgo Hamada, singer-songwriter
• Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister from 1960 - 1964
• Naganori Ito, Chief development engineer of Nissan Skyline
• Masataka Taketsuru, founder of Japan's whisky industry

In popular culture

Takehara is the setting for the slice-of-life anime series Tamayura.

• Massan - NHK Asadora (morning drama) television series inspired by the life of Taketsuru and his wife Rita

External links

• Takehara City official website (Japanese)