Kishiwada, Ōsaka Prefecture, Kansai Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Kishiwada is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded in 1922, the city is well known for its Danjiri Matsuri.

Geography Kishiwada is located south-western part of Osaka Prefecture, and forms a long and narrow area (7.6 km east–west, 17.3 km north–south) from Osaka Bay to the Izumi Mountains.

Neighboring municipalities Osaka Prefecture • Izumi • Kaizuka • Tadaoka; Wakayama Prefecture • Kinokawa • Katsuragi.

History The area of the modern city of Kishiwada was within ancient Izumi Province. The city has been settled since ancient times, and has numerous kofun burial mounds including the Mayuyama Kofun. During the Nanboku-chō period, Kusunoki Masahige assigned his general Wada Haruji to govern an area called "Kishi" in Izumi Province in 1337. The Kishiwada "shōen", or landed estate, appears in documents from around 1400. The settlement developed into a castle town during the Sengoku period, as it occupied a very strategic location, approximately half way in-between the cities of Osaka and Wakayama and just south of the port of Sakai. It is located on the Kishu Kaido, the main route connecting the capital area of Japan with Kii Province, and its coastal location was important for transportation from the eastern Shikoku to Settsu Province and Kyoto. Kishiwada Castle, was rebuilt by Koide Hidemasa at its present site in 1597. Under the Tokugawa shogunate it was the centre of Kishiwada Domain, which was ruled by the Okabe clan from 1640 to the Meiji Restoration. In 1703, the city began its Danjiri festival.

The town of Kishiwada was official founded on within Hine District with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On April 1, 1896, the area became part of Sennan District, Osaka. It was promoted to city status on November 1, 1922 as the 87th city to be founded in Japan and the 3rd in Osaka. On April 1, 2002, Kishiwada became a Special city with increased local autonomy.

Government Kishiwada has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 24 members. Kishiwada contributes two members to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Osaka 18th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy Since the Edo period, cotton has been cultivated throughout the city, and cotton cloth and cotton yarn have been spun. The textile industry has been the centre of the industry since modern times, but many factories have disappeared due to competition by overseas products. In 1966, the city began reclaiming its coastal areas to build industrial parks and to attract heavy industry. Kishiwada became famous for its glass lens production, peaking around the year 1980 with about 70 lens factories.

Education Kishiwada has 24 public elementary schools, 12 public middle schools and two high schools operated by the city government and three public high school operated by the Osaka Prefectural Department of Education. There is also one private high school. The prefecture also operated one special education school for the handicapped.

Transport: Rail JR West – Hanwa Line • Kumeda - Shimomatsu - Higashi-Kishiwada

Nankai Electric Railway - Nankai Main Line • Haruki - Izumi-Ōmiya - Kishiwada - Takojizō.

Transport: Road • Hanwa Expressway • Bayshore Route • National Route 26 • National Route 170.

Local attractions • Kishiwada Castle • Mayuyama Kofun • Dai-itoku-ji • Kishiwada Danjiri Museum • Kishiki Jinja • Senko-ji • Kumeda-dera, Kumeda pond and Kumeda Kofun • Ogami-jinya and Ogami Falls • Tonboike Park • Kishiwada Velodrome

Events • January: Long Distance Relay Race, Kumeda-ji Senbon Duki (Rice cake making) • February: Senshu Marathon • April: Kishiwada-jo Spring Festival • July: Kishiwada Port Festival and Fireworks • September: Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Kishiwada and Haruki. • October: Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Mountain districts. • November: Chuo-koen Sports Carnival, Nigiwai Festival, Chuo-koen Agricultural Festival, Ushitaki-yama Red Maple Festival.