Hōfu
Hōfu (防府市, Hōfu-shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. As of September 30, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 117,387 and a population density of 622.44 people per km2. The total area is 188.59 km2.
Hōfu
防府市 | |
|---|---|
 Hofu city seen from Hōfu Tenman-gū shrine. | |
 Flag | |
Location of Hōfu in Yamaguchi Prefecture | |
 | |
  Hōfu Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates: 34°3′N 131°34′E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Chūgoku (San'yō) |
| Prefecture | Yamaguchi Prefecture |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Yutaka Ikeda |
| Area | |
| • Total | 188.59 km2 (72.82 sq mi) |
| Population (September 30, 2016) | |
| • Total | 117,387 |
| • Density | 622.44/km2 (1,612.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| City hall address | 7-1, Kotobukichō, Hōfu-shi, Yamaguchi-ken 747-8501 |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | www |
| Symbols | |
| Flower | Scarlet Sage |
| Tree | Sangoju (Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki) |
History
Hōfu (防府) means "the capital (国府) of Suō Province (周防国)". The eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture was formerly called Suō Province.
The city was founded on August 25, 1936.[1] The city's change over the past fifty years is shown in the animated film Mai Mai Miracle, with its story taking place in the year of 1955 (with flashbacks going 1,000 years further back).[2]
Mazda maintains a large automobile factory in Hōfu.[3]
Geography
Climate
Hōfu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is much higher in summer than in winter. The average annual temperature in Hōfu is 15.9 °C (60.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,653.7 mm (65.11 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.5 °C (81.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 5.0 °C (41.0 °F).[4] The highest temperature ever recorded in Hōfu was 37.7 °C (99.9 °F) on 11 August 2013; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −8.1 °C (17.4 °F) on 22 January 2004.[5]
| Climate data for Hōfu (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1977−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.8 (65.8) |
21.4 (70.5) |
23.9 (75.0) |
28.7 (83.7) |
31.8 (89.2) |
32.9 (91.2) |
37.4 (99.3) |
37.7 (99.9) |
34.5 (94.1) |
30.8 (87.4) |
25.9 (78.6) |
23.9 (75.0) |
37.7 (99.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 9.7 (49.5) |
10.7 (51.3) |
14.2 (57.6) |
19.4 (66.9) |
24.0 (75.2) |
26.7 (80.1) |
30.4 (86.7) |
31.8 (89.2) |
28.5 (83.3) |
23.5 (74.3) |
17.7 (63.9) |
12.1 (53.8) |
20.7 (69.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) |
5.9 (42.6) |
9.1 (48.4) |
14.0 (57.2) |
18.8 (65.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
26.3 (79.3) |
27.5 (81.5) |
23.9 (75.0) |
18.2 (64.8) |
12.5 (54.5) |
7.2 (45.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) |
1.3 (34.3) |
4.0 (39.2) |
8.7 (47.7) |
13.7 (56.7) |
18.8 (65.8) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.0 (75.2) |
20.0 (68.0) |
13.5 (56.3) |
7.6 (45.7) |
2.7 (36.9) |
11.5 (52.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −8.1 (17.4) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
3.6 (38.5) |
9.6 (49.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
17.1 (62.8) |
8.5 (47.3) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 55.6 (2.19) |
68.9 (2.71) |
119.3 (4.70) |
142.8 (5.62) |
184.1 (7.25) |
241.8 (9.52) |
315.7 (12.43) |
147.7 (5.81) |
159.6 (6.28) |
88.4 (3.48) |
75.1 (2.96) |
54.9 (2.16) |
1,653.7 (65.11) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 8.4 | 8.7 | 10.2 | 9.7 | 8.9 | 11.7 | 10.8 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 107.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 139.4 | 143.5 | 174.5 | 190.8 | 209.5 | 148.6 | 173.9 | 212.7 | 172.1 | 182.2 | 154.6 | 143.6 | 2,045.4 |
| Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[4][5] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Hōfu in 2020 is 113,979 people.[6] Hōfu has been conducting censuses since 1920.
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| Hōfu population statistics[6] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education
- Yamaguchi Junior College (private junior college)
Main sightseeing spots
Sports
- Hofu Keirin venue[7]
Sister Cities
Akitakata, Hiroshima, Japan since July 16, 1971[8]
Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, South Korea since October 29, 1991[9]
Monroe, Michigan, United States, since May 29, 1993[10]
Notable people
References
- "市の概要・市章(Japanese)".
- Stills from the film juxtaposed with modern photos Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese)
- "Offices Archived October 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Mazda. Retrieved on October 29, 2009.
- 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- Hōfu population statistics
- "Home". hofukeirin.jp.
- "防府市の姉妹都市（安芸高田市）(Japanese)".
- "防府市の姉妹都市（春川市・冬のソナタのロケ地）(Japanese)".
- "Monroe, MI". Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2010. Twin towning with Monroe, Michigan
External links
- Hōfu City official website (in Japanese) - Google translation embedded
- Hōfu City official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index) (in English)
- Oidemase Hōfu website (in Japanese)
Geographic data related to Hōfu at OpenStreetMap
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