Saijō, Ehime
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Saijō 西条市 |
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| City | ||
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 Location of Saijō in Ehime Prefecture |
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 Saijō
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| Coordinates: 33°55′N 133°11′E / 33.917°N 133.183°ECoordinates: 33°55′N 133°11′E / 33.917°N 133.183°E | ||
| Country | Japan | |
| Region | Shikoku | |
| Prefecture | Ehime Prefecture | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Masaru Aono (since November 2012) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 509.07 km2 (196.55 sq mi) | |
| Population (December 31, 2013) | ||
| • Total | 113,786 | |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | |
| City hall address | 164 Akeyashiki, Saijō-shi, Ehime-ken 793-8601 |
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| Website | www |
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Saijō (西条市 Saijō-shi?) is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
As of December 31, 2013, the city has a population of 113,786. The total area is 509.07 km². The city was founded on April 29, 1941. On November 1, 2004, the city of Tōyo, and the towns of Komatsu and Tanbara (both from Shūsō District) were merged with Saijō.
Saijo sits at the base of Mount Ishizuchi, the tallest peak in western Japan. The consolidated city of Saijō encompasses a broad area, spreading out across the entire Dōzen Plain from the foothills of the Ishizuchi Mountain Range to the Seto Inland Sea (the former Saijō City, Tōyo City, Komatsu Town and Tanbara Town), and also contains smaller communities extending into the lower reaches of the mountains. The Dōzen Plain is crossed by several rivers, the largest being the Kamo River and the Nakayama River.
The main city of Saijō is known for natural spring water. Signs throughout the city and at the city's train station call Saijō the "Spring Water Capital of Japan." Numerous fountains, known locally as uchinuki, are scattered throughout the city where water is frequently bottled by locals and visitors alike. Most private dwelling houses also drill private wells to take advantage of the water. A famous freshwater spring known as Kōbōsui, named for Kūkai (also known as Kōbō-Daishi), gushes from the bottom of Saijō harbor and is visited by locals and Buddhist pilgrims alike to drink and worship.
The Saijō area was inhabited at least as early as the Jōmon period, as evidenced by earthenware dated to approximately 6000 BC discovered in the Ichikura highland region. A large number of artifacts dating to the middle and late Yayoi period have been unearthed on and around Mount Hachidō. The significant clustering of tombs in the later Kofun period in the highlands has led archaeologists to believe that the flat plain on which modern Saijō sits was either too cold or too close to the Seto Inland Sea for tomb construction.
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Wikipedia