Tomioka, Gunma

Tomioka 富岡市
City
Tomioka city hall
Flag Seal
Location of Tomioka in Gunma Prefecture
Tomioka
Coordinates: 36°15′35.7″N 138°53′23.7″E / 36.259917°N 138.889917°ECoordinates: 36°15′35.7″N 138°53′23.7″E / 36.259917°N 138.889917°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Gunma Prefecture
Area
• Total	122.85 km^2 (47.43 sq mi)
Population (February 2015)
• Total	49,873
• Density	406/km^2 (1,050/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Maple
- Flower	Sakura
- Bird	Japanese bush-warbler
Phone number	0274-62-1511
Address	1460-1 Tomioka, Tomioka-shi, Gunma-ken 370-2392
Website	Official website

Tomioka (富岡市 Tomioka-shi) is a city located in southwestern Gunma Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of February 2015, the city had an estimated population of 49,873 and a population density of 406 persons per km². Its total area was 122.85 km². It is the location of the Tomioka Silk Mill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geography

Tomioka is located in the southwestern portion of Gunma Prefecture.

• Mountains: Mount Myōgi (1103m)
• Rivers: Kabura River
• Lakes: Oshio Dam

Surrounding municipalities

• Gunma Prefecture
  • Takasaki
  • Annaka
  • Shimonita
  • Kanra

History

During the Edo period, the area of present-day Tomioka was part of the tenryō territory in Kōzuke Province under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. It became Tomioka Town within Kitakanra District, Gunma Prefecture on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration. In 1950 Kitakanra District was renamed Kanra District. On April 1, 1954, Tomioka annexed the neighboring town of Ichinomiya, and the villages of Ono, Kuroiwa, Takase, and Nukabe, and was raised to city status on November 1, 1958. On April 1, 1960 the village of Nyuu was incorporated into Tomioka. On March 27, 2006 Tomioka absorbed the neighboring town of Myōgi.

Economy

• MannanLife, manufacturer of konnyaku jelly, is headquartered in Tomioka.

Education

Tomioka has three public high schools, six public middle schools and 11 public elementary schools.

Transportation

Railway

• Jōshin Dentetsu - Jōshin Line
  • Higashi-Tomioka - Jōshū-Tomioka - Nishi-Tomioka - Jōshū-Nanokaichi - Jōshū-Ichinomiya - Kanohara - Nanjai - Sendaira

Highway

• Joshin-etsu Expressway – Tomioka IC
• Japan National Route 254

Local attractions

Japan's first modern silk reeling factory at Tomioka, designed by the French engineer Paul Brunat in 1872, essentially Japan's first modern factory of the Meiji Period.

• Tomioka silk mill, or Tomioka Silk Factory (富岡製糸工場), built in 1872, was the first of its kind in Japan. The city-heritage brick building was designed by Paul Brunat, a French engineer. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 2014.
• Nukisaki Shrine is a moderately well-known Shinto shrine because of its design. The ichinomiya of former Kozuke Province, during the New Year, an estimated 100,000 people visit the shrine to pray for happiness in the year ahead. This is the largest gathering of its kind in Gunma.
• Gunma Safari Park was the fifth safari park built in Japan and the first built in eastern Japan. The park's approximate 1000 animals consist of around 100 species.
• Tomioka Museum of Natural History houses 35 exhibits on Gunma's natural history, including about 30 dinosaur skeletons.

Noted people from Tomioka

• Tsuruko Haraguchi - psychologist
• Masanobu Takayanagi - cinematographer
• Eijirō Tōno- actor

International relations

• Albany, Western Australia, Australia, friendship city

External links

Media related to Tomioka, Gunma at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (Japanese)