Kashima, Saga

Not to be confused withKashima, Ibaraki.

Kashima(Lộc đảo thị,Kashima-shi)is acitylocated in the southern part ofSaga Prefectureon the island ofKyushu,Japan.As of 31 May 2024,the city had an estimatedpopulationof 27,360 in 10949 households, and apopulation densityof 240 persons per km².The total area of the city is 112.12 km²(43.29 sq mi).

Kashima Lộc đảo thị
City
Yūtoku Inari Shrine
Flag Emblem
Location of Kashima in Saga Prefecture
Kashima Location in Japan
Coordinates:33°06′14″N130°05′55″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kyushu
Prefecture	Saga
Government
• Mayor	Katsutoshi Matsuo
Area
• Total	112.12 km2(43.29 sq mi)
Population (May 31, 2024)
• Total	27,360
• Density	240/km2(630/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00(JST)
City hall address	2643 Ōaza Nōdomibun, Kashima-shi, Saga-ken 849-1391
Website	Official website
Symbols
Flower	Cherry blossom
Tree	Sweet osmanthus

Kashima City Hall

Geography

Kashima is located in the southern part of Saga Prefecture, about 60 kilometers southwest ofSaga City.The eastern part of the city faces theAriake Sea,and the southwestern part forms the prefectural border withNagasaki Prefecture.To the south lies the Tara mountain range, and at its foot, several rivers carve valleys. To the north is a coastal plain where the urban center is located.

• Mountains:Mount Kyōga (1076 m), Mount Jōdo (501 m), Mount Kotoji (501 m), Mount Gibi (198 m)
• Rivers:Shiota River, Kashima River, Hama River, Naka River

Adjoining municipalities

Nagasaki Prefecture

• Ōmura

Saga Prefecture

• Shiroishi
• Tara
• Ureshino

Climate

Kashima has ahumid subtropical climate(KöppenCfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kashima is 15.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1970 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kashima is as shown below.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1950	39,013	—
1960	38,504	−1.3%
1970	35,475	−7.9%
1980	35,006	−1.3%
1990	34,336	−1.9%
2000	33,215	−3.3%
2010	30,720	−7.5%
2020	27,892	−9.2%

History

The area of Kashima was part of ancientHizen Province.During theEdo periodit was mostly underKashima Domain,a sub-domain ofSaga Domainruled by a cadet branch of theNabeshima clan.Following theMeiji restoration,the villages of Minami-Kashima, Kita-Kashima, Hachihongi, Fureda, Nogomi and Nanaura were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Minami-Kashima was raised to town status on December 1, 1912 and Kita-Kashima Village was renamed Kashima Village. Hachihongi Village was elevated to town status on August 3, 1918. Kashima Town absorbed Hama Town, Kashima Village, Furueda Village and Nogomi Village to create Kashima City on April 1, 1954.

Government

Kashima has amayor-councilform of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameralcity council of 16 members. Kashima, collectively with the municipalities ofFujitsu District, Sagacontributes two members to the Saga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of theSaga 2nd districtof thelower houseof theDiet of Japan.

Economy

In the Edo Period, Kashima was famous for its production ofSaga Nishiki,a type of brocade. Modern Kashima has a mixed economy with light manufacturing (automotive parts, pharmaceutics), agriculture and aquaculture of edible seaweed.

Education

Kashima has seven public elementary schools and two junior high schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Saga Prefectural Board of Education.

High schools

• Saga Prefectural Kashima High School
• Saga Prefectural Kashima Vocational High School

Junior high schools

• Seibu Junior High School
• Tōbu Junior High School

Elementary schools

• Furueda Elementary School
• Hama Elementary School
• Kashima Elementary School
• Kita-Kashima Elementary School
• Meirin Elementary School
• Nanaura Elementary School
• Nogomi Elementary School

Transport

Railway

JR Kyushu-Nagasaki Main Line

JHHizen-Kashima-Hizen-Hama-Hizen-Nanaura-Hizen-Iida

Highways

• National Route 207
• National Route 444
• National Route 498

Sister cities

• Goheung County,Jeollanam-do,South Korea,friendship city since 1997

Local attractions

• Hizen Hamajuku sake brewing street ( phì trước bang túc rượu tàng thông り) is 15 minutes on foot fromHizen-Hama Station.
• Yūtoku Inari Shrine( hữu đức đạo hà thần xã ), one of the three biggest and most famousInarishrines in Japan. There is a bus fromHizen-Kashima Stationto Yūtoku Inari Shrine.

Festivals

TheKashima Gatalympicsis held every May in Hama-chō, a part of Kashima City. This event is a sports competition carried out on themudflatson the city'sAriake Seashoreline, and includes cycling, 25 metre running and sumo wrestling events.

Sport

The localfootball clubisSaga LIXIL F.C.,and competes in theKyushu Football League.Formerly known as Kyushu INAX SC, it changed its name when INAX's parent company LIXIL took over. It's also a pun on the team being from Kashima, as LIXIL also sponsors 8-timeJapanese championsKashima Antlers(from thecity in Ibaraki).

Notable people from Kashima

• Narimi Arimori,actress
• Yu Hirakawa,footballplayer
• YUKI, one half of the duoBENNIE K

External links

• Kashima City official website(in Japanese)
• The Kashima Gatalypic Official Website(in Japanese)