Chiba ( 千葉市 , Chiba-shi , pronounced [tɕiꜜba] ) is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture , Japan. It sits about 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay . The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In June 2019, its population was 979,768, with a population density of 3,605 people per km. The city has an area of 271.77 square kilometres (104.93 sq mi).
43-525: Chiba City is one of the Kantō region 's primary seaports, and is home to Chiba Port , which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in Japan. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses along the coast. There are several major urban centres in the city, including Makuhari , a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which
86-444: A Designated City of Japan on April 1, 1992. Per Japanese census data, Chiba's population has expanded significantly over the past 70 years. As of February 2016, the city had an estimated population of 972,861 and a population density of 3,580 persons per km. The total area of the city is 271.76 km (104.93 sq mi). There were 19,135 registered foreign residents in the city as of March 31, 2007, constituting about 2% of
129-574: A humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) with hot summers and cool to mild winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter. One of the many points of interest is the Experimental Station for Landscape Plants . Chiba plays host to the annual International Chiba Ekiden and the Chiba International Cross Country takes place just outside
172-780: A branch of the Taira clan , which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late Heian period . The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan , which held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the Azuchi–Momoyama period . The name "Chiba" was chosen for Chiba Prefecture at the time of its creation in 1873 by the Assembly of Prefectural Governors ( 地方官会議 , Chihō Kankai Kaigi ) , an early Meiji-period body of prefectural governors that met to decide
215-548: A process that continued until 1944. Large-scale land reclamation added to the area of the city throughout the 20th century. The city was a major center of military production leading up to the Pacific War, and the aerial bombing of Chiba in 1945. The city was almost completely destroyed by the end of the war. Post-war industrialization led to the city becoming a major part of the Keiyō Industrial Zone . Chiba became
258-669: A single industrial complex with a concentration of light and heavy industry along Tokyo Bay . Other major cities in the area include Kawasaki (in Kanagawa Prefecture); Saitama (in Saitama Prefecture); and Chiba (in Chiba Prefecture). Smaller cities, farther away from the coast, house substantial light and automotive industries. The average population density reached 1,192 persons per square kilometer in 1991. The Kantō region largely corresponds to
301-526: A time when Japan was still reeling from the economic recession in reaction to the high-flying years during World War I . Operation Coronet , part of Operation Downfall , the proposed Allied invasion of Japan during World War II , was scheduled to land on the Kantō Plain . The name Kanto literally means "East of the Barrier". The name Kanto is nowadays generally considered to mean the region east (東) of
344-518: Is a geographical region of Honshu , the largest island of Japan . In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures : Gunma , Tochigi , Ibaraki , Saitama , Tokyo , Chiba , and Kanagawa . Slightly more than 45 percent of the land area within its boundaries is the Kantō Plain . The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form land borders with other regions of Japan . As
387-453: Is out of the Kantō region in the orthodox definition). Keirin 's South Kantō ( 南関東 , Minami-Kantō ) consists of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka prefectures. This division is not often but sometimes used. This division is sometimes used in economics and geography. The border can be modified if the topography is taken for prefectural boundaries. The Japanese national government defines
430-610: Is responsible for the Prefectural police departments of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano and Shizuoka. Tokyo is not part of Kantō or any NPA region, its police has a dedicated liaison office with the national agency of its own. The surface geology of the Kantō Plain is the Quaternary alluvium and diluvium. The low mountain vegetation at an altitude of about 500 to 900 m in and around
473-573: Is still farmed. Rice is the principal crop, although the zone around Tokyo and Yokohama has been landscaped to grow garden produce for the metropolitan market. In between January 1918 and April 1920, Japan was afflicted by Spanish flu pandemic, which claimed more than 400,000 Japanese lives. A watershed moment of Japan's modern history took place in the late Taishō period: the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 . The quake, which claimed more than 100,000 lives and ravaged Greater Tokyo area, occurred at
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#1732773135302516-984: Is the Boso hills. The area around Kasumigaura in Ibaraki Prefecture is the Joso plateau and Hitachi plateau. Gunma Prefecture and the Chichibu region of Saitama Prefecture are basins. Rivers such as the Arakawa and Edo rivers pour into Tokyo Bay, and the Kinugawa and Tone rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean in Inubōsaki. Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Boso Peninsula and the Miura Peninsula, facing
559-521: Is the lowest among the highest peaks in each prefecture. The region experiences a humid subtropical climate with a summer to fall precipitation maximum ( Cfa/Cwa ). The heartland of feudal power during the Kamakura period . Kamakura is the political capital and it served as the seat of the Kamakura shogunate from 1185 to 1333, established by Minamoto no Yoritomo. It was the first military government in Japan's history. Kamakura flourished until
602-843: Is the summit of Mt. Nikko-Shirane (Mt. Oku-Shirane) on the border between Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture and Katashina Village, Gunma Prefecture. It is the eighth highest point in Japan's prefectures. It is also the highest point north of Kanto (Kanto, Tohoku, Hokkaido). The highest points of the prefectures are Mt. Sanpo (2,483 m) in Saitama, Mt. Kumotori (2,017 m) in Tokyo, Mt. Hiru (1,673 m) in Kanagawa, Mt. Yamizo (1,022 m) in Ibaraki, and Mt. Atago (408 m) in Chiba. Atagoyama in Chiba Prefecture
645-714: The Chiba Prefectural Board of Education and two public high schools operated by the Chiba City Board of Education, including Inage Senior High School . There are also nine private high schools, including the Makuhari Junior and Senior High School . Chiba has 114 public and one private elementary school and 59 public and one private middle school. Chiba City is twinned with: Kant%C5%8D region The Kantō region ( 関東地方 , Kantō-chihō , IPA: [ka(ꜜ)ntoː tɕiꜜhoː] )
688-529: The Chiba Zoological Park , popular on account of the standing red panda Futa . The name of Chiba in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The first, 千 , means " thousand " and the second, 葉 means "leaves". The name first appears as an ancient kuni no miyatsuko , or regional command office, as Chiha no Kuni no Miyatsuko ( 千葉国造 ) . The name was adopted by
731-591: The Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction . The Japanese House of Representatives ' divides it into the North Kantō ( 北関東 , Kita-Kantō ) electorate which consists of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, and Saitama prefectures, Tokyo electorate, and the South Kantō ( 南関東 , Minami-Kantō ) electorate which consists of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Yamanashi prefectures (note that Yamanashi
774-643: The Hakone Barrier (箱根関). An antonym of Kanto, "West of the Barrier" means the Kansai region , which lies western Honshu and was the center of feudal Japan. After the Great Kanto earthquake (1923), many people in Kanto started creating art with different varieties of colors. They made art of earthquake and small towns to symbolize the small towns destroyed in the quake. The most often used subdivision of
817-578: The Hotta clan stabilized the governance of their territory. Chiba prospered in this period as a shukuba ( 宿場 ) post-town of the Tokugawa shogunate . After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Chiba Prefecture was established in 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture. The border between Kisarazu and Inba was the location of Chiba Town and was thus chosen as the location of
860-475: The National Capital Region ( 首都圏 , Shuto-ken ) as the Kantō region plus Yamanashi Prefecture. Japan's national public broadcaster NHK uses Kantō-kō-shin-etsu ( 関東甲信越 ) involving Yamanashi, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures for regional programming and administration. The Kantō region is the most highly developed, urbanized, and industrialized part of Japan. Tokyo and Yokohama form
903-647: The Sakura ( 佐倉氏 ) clans governed the area now occupied by the city. A part of the area was also governed directly by the Tokugawa Bakufu . The Oyumi clan governed their territory stably. On the other hand, according to the Sakura clan, from the beginning of the Edo period , changed governors frequently, including Takeda Nobuyoshi , Matsudaira Tadateru , Ogasawara Yoshitsugu ( 小笠原吉次 ) , and Doi Toshikatsu . Finally
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#1732773135302946-680: The Chiba clan. The clan's power extended in the region until the Muromachi period . The Chiba clan's power and influence declined because of wars around the Kantō region during the Nanboku-chō and Muromachi periods . In the 16th century, the Hara clan , which were vassals of Chiba clan, took control of the region from the Chiba clan and built Inohana Castle . In the Sengoku period , the Hara clan
989-499: The Kantō region contains Tokyo , the capital and largest city of Japan, the region is considered the center of Japan's politics and economy. According to the official census on October 1, 2010, by the Statistics Bureau of Japan , the population was 42,607,376, amounting to approximately one third of the total population of Japan. The Kantō regional governors' association ( 関東地方知事会 , Kantō chihō chijikai ) assembles
1032-587: The Tokyo Metropolitan Area with the exception that it does not contain Yamanashi prefecture. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area has the largest city economy in the world and is one of the major global center of trade and commerce along with New York City, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Paris, Seoul, and London. Source The agglomeration of Tokyo is the world's largest economy, with the largest gross metropolitan product at purchasing power parity (PPP) in
1075-466: The center of modern development. Within the Greater Tokyo Area and especially the Tokyo- Yokohama metropolitan area, Kanto houses not only Japan's seat of government but also the nation's largest group of universities and cultural institutions, the greatest population and a large industrial zone. Although most of the Kanto plain is used for residential, commercial or industrial construction, it
1118-904: The city. Chiba Velodrome is located within the city. It also hosts the Bridgestone Open golf tournament. Chiba is home to several professional sports teams, most notably: There is no commercial airport within city limits. Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) are the closest major airports. The Chiba Urban Monorail runs through Chiba City. The major intercity railway stations are Chiba Station , ( Sobu Line , Sotobō Line , Uchibo Line , Sōbu Main Line , Narita Line , transfer for Chiba Urban Monorail ), Keisei Chiba Station ( Keisei Chiba Line ), and Soga Station , ( Keiyō Line , Sotobō Line , Uchibo Line ) all in Chūō-ku. Chiba has 20 public high schools operated by
1161-562: The deciduous broad-leaved forest from an altitude of about 1100 m higher than the lower limit of the deciduous broad-leaved forest. Mountains are spread out such as the Taishaku Mountains, Mt. Takahara, Mt. Nasu, Mt. Yamizo, and Mt. The Kantō Plain, which is the largest plain in Japan. Just north of the Enna Hills is Japan's largest alluvial fan Nasuno at the foot of Mt. The Kujukuri Plain. The southern part of Chiba Prefecture
1204-575: The fall of the Kamakura Shogunate , and its political functions returned to Kyoto in 1392. In 1591, Tokugawa Ieyasu gave up control of his five provinces ( Mikawa , Tōtōmi , Suruga , Shinano , and Kai ) and moved all his soldiers and vassals to his new eight provinces in the Kantō region . The proclamation of this decision happened on the same day Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the de facto ruler of Japan at that time, entered Odawara castle following
1247-478: The newly subdued population of the area, while also to guard the eastern domains from the influence or threat from the Satomi clan which was not yet submit to the rule of Toyotomi at that time. The governors of Kantō region under Ieyasu rule: Meanwhile, Ieyasu himself establish his personal new seat of power on Edo town, which at that time was an underdeveloped town in Kantō. In the Edo period , Kanto became
1290-827: The plain is an evergreen broad-leaved forest zone. The distribution height range of laurel forests is 900 m in Hakone, about 800 m in Tanzawa and Takao, about 700 m in Okutama, Oku Musashi and Oku Chichibu, about 600 m in Nishijoshu, Akagiyama, Ashio Mountains and Tsukuba Mountains and about 500 m in Kitage and Nasu Mountains . Over the evergreen broad-leaved forest are deciduous broad-leaved forests such as beech, birch, and Quercus crispula . In addition, coniferous forests such as Abies veitchii and Betula ermanii spread above
1333-496: The prefectural government office and the city hall are located. Chiba is famous for the Chiba Urban Monorail , the longest suspended monorail in the world. Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori Shell Midden, the largest shell mound in the world at 134,000 m (160,000 sq yd), Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in Japan which forms part of the longest artificial beach in Japan, and
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1376-545: The prefectural government. With the opening of the Sobu Main Line , Chiba developed rapidly, becoming the political, economic, and cultural capital of Chiba Prefecture. The town of Chiba was established within Chiba District with the creation of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Chiba City formed on January 1, 1921. Numerous small villages and towns were merged into the previous town of Chiba ( 千葉町 ) ,
1419-482: The prefectural governors of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Shizuoka. The Kantō Regional Development Bureau ( 関東地方整備局 , Kantō chihō seibi-kyoku ) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in the national government is responsible for eight prefectures generally (Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi) and parts of
1462-541: The region is dividing it to "North Kantō" ( 北関東 , Kita-Kantō ) , consisting of Ibaraki, Tochigi, and Gunma prefectures, and "South Kantō" ( 南関東 , Minami-Kantō ) , consisting of Saitama (sometimes classified North), Chiba, Tokyo Metropolis (sometimes singulated), and Kanagawa prefectures. South Kantō is often regarded as synonymous with the Greater Tokyo Area . As part of Japan's attempts to predict earthquakes , an area roughly corresponding to South Kantō has been designated an 'Area of Intensified Observation' by
1505-467: The same position in Chiba District two years later. Here he proclaimed himself Chiba Tsuneshige ( 千葉常重 ) , became a kokushi governor of the province, and used the area around present-day Chiba City as a power base to rule over Shimōsa Province, Kazusa Province , as well as establish himself as a military force in the Kantō region . Tsuneshige's son, Chiba Tsunetane ( 千葉常胤 ) (1118–1201)
1548-403: The structure of local and regional administration in Japan. The first records related to the city of Chiba record the emigration of Taira Tsuneshige (1083?–1088), a powerful bushi warlord of the late Heian period, to Shimōsa Province , which historically occupied the north of Chiba Prefecture. Tsuneshige was appointed as gunji administrator of Sōma District , but was transferred to
1591-499: The surrender of the Hōjō clan after the Siege of Odawara (1590) . The moment Ieyasu appointed to rule Kantō, he immediately assign his premier vassals such as Ii Naomasa , Honda Tadakatsu , Sakakibara Yasumasa , and Sakai Ietsugu, son of Sakai Tadatsugu, each to control large area of the former Hōjō clan territories in Kantō. Historian such as Kawamura saw this step was meant to bring order
1634-706: The total population. It is the 13th most populous city in Japan as of 2022. Chiba was governed by Keiichi Tsuruoka , an independent (elected with support of LDP and Kōmeitō ), until May 1, 2009. He was arrested in April 2009 during a corruption investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. He was succeeded by Toshihito Kumagai of the DPJ , who won election in June 2009. The city assembly has 54 elected members. Chiba has six wards ( ku ): Chiba has
1677-508: The waterways in two others (Nagano and Shizuoka). The Kantō Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry ( 関東経済産業局 , Kantō keizai-sangyō-kyoku ) is responsible for eleven prefectures: Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano and Shizuoka. In the police organization of Japan, the National Police Agency 's supervisory office for Kantō ( 関東管区警察局 , Kantō kanku keisatsu-kyoku )
1720-519: The west side of Chiba Prefecture, a part of Tokyo and the east side of Kanagawa Prefecture, and borders the Pacific Ocean from Uraga Suido. The coastal area is an industrial area. The south side of Kanagawa Prefecture faces Sagami Bay and Sagami Nada. The southern coast of Ibaraki Prefecture faces Kashima Nada. The Sagami Trough, which was the epicenter of the two Kanto earthquakes, passes through Sagami Bay. Efforts are being made to take safety measures against earthquakes in various places. The highest point
1763-492: The world according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers . Sources:, Conversion rates - Exchange rates - OECD Data The population of Kantō region is very similar to that of the Greater Tokyo Area except that it does not contain Yamanashi Prefecture and contains the rural populations throughout the region. Per Japanese census data, and the Kantō region's data, population has continuously grown but
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1806-622: Was forcibly removed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義明, not to be confused with 足利義昭 ). Then, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was also removed by the Sakai (酒井 not to be confused with the Sakai clan in Mikawa ) clan, which was one of the servants of the Satomi (里見) clan. Finally both the Chiba and Sakai clans were annihilated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi . In the Edo period , the Oyumi ( 生実氏 ) , Morikawa ( 森川氏 ) clan, and
1849-416: Was instrumental in aiding Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) with the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate . Tsuneshige built a spacious residence and numerous temples in present-day Chiba City, and in the same period he transferred his power base from Ōji Castle to a mansion in present-day Chiba City. The area of present-day Chiba City became jōkamachi ( 城下町 ) , or castle town , and prospered under
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