is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its kofun, keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The kofun in Sakai include the largest grave in the world by area, Daisen Kofun. Once known for swords, Sakai is now famous for the quality of its cutlery. , the city had an estimated population of 819,965, making it the fourteenth most populous city in Japan (excluding Tokyo).

Geography

Sakai is located in southern Osaka Prefecture, on the edge of Osaka Bay and directly south of the city of Osaka.

Neighboring municipalities

Osaka Prefecture

  • Habikino
  • Izumi
  • Kawachinagano
  • Matsubara
  • Osaka
  • Ōsakasayama
  • Takaishi

Climate

Sakai has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sakai is . The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

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Demographics

According to Japanese census data, the population of Sakai increased rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, and has been relatively stable since.

History

Origins

The area that would later become known as Sakai has been inhabited since approximately 8,000 BC. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the 5th century. The largest of these, Daisen Kofun, is believed to be the grave of the Emperor Nintoku and is the largest grave in the world by area. During the Kofun period between 300 and 500 AD, the Mozu Tumulus Cluster was built from over one hundred burial mounds.

<gallery>

File:Daisenryo Kofun haisho-3.jpg|Daisen Kofun

File:Daisenryo Kofun zenkei-2.jpg|Mozu Tombs

File:Ōtori-taisha, Worship Hall 001.jpg|Ōtori taisha

File:Ōtori-taisha, Statue of Yamato Takeru 001.jpg|Yamato Takeru

</gallery>

Feudal period

Medieval Sakai was an autonomous city governed by merchant oligarchs. During the late Muromachi period and the Sengoku period, from about 1450 to 1600, Sakai developed into one of the richest cities in Japan as a center of foreign trade. It was also a leading producer of textiles and ironware. Its prosperity was often cited as a benchmark for other cities, as reflected in the saying, "Umi no Sakai, Riku no Imai" (tr. "along the sea, Sakai; inland, Imai"; the latter is now part of Kashihara, Nara). Throughout this period, Sakai maintained a close relationship with Hirano, another prosperous autonomous city. Like Sakai, Hirano was governed by leading townsmen, often described as a council (toshiyorishū). Sakai was also linked to Hirano culturally through practices such as haikai and renga.

The first reliable account of the city dates to the 1480s and includes publicly issued legal notices, suggesting that a form of urban governance already existed by that time. By the 1530s, the population had reached around 40,000, most of whom were engaged in commerce, including some of the wealthiest merchants in Japan. At this time, Sakai was administered by an oligarchy of powerful merchants. The administration was divided into ten machi (districts), which were subordinate to a representative council of wealthy townsmen known as the egōshū.

The Zen Buddhist priest Ikkyū is said to have chosen to reside in Sakai because of its relatively free atmosphere. Because of the association between the tea ceremony and Zen Buddhism, as well as the economic prosperity of its citizens, Sakai became one of the principal centers of the tea ceremony in Japan. Sen no Rikyū, widely regarded as the greatest master of the tea ceremony, was originally a merchant from Sakai.

During the Sengoku period, Christian missionaries visited Sakai and recorded its prosperity. Francis Xavier visited in 1550, and Gaspar Vilela, who visited in 1561, described the town as one of the safest places in the region and noted that it was "governed by consuls like Venice in Italy".

After the arrival of Europeans, Sakai became a center for the production of matchlock firearms, and the daimyō Oda Nobunaga became one of their major customers. During his campaign to unify Japan, Nobunaga sought to impose a heavy levy of 20,000 kan on Sakai, aiming to curtail its autonomy. While the temple town of Ishiyama (now Osaka Castle) submitted to such demands, Sakai is described in some accounts as having resisted. During this conflict, records indicate that Sakai's egōshū sent diplomatic correspondence to the toshiyorishū of Hirano, proposing a joint defense against Nobunaga's forces.

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="" heights="130px" perrow="3">

File:Old house of gunsmiths in Sakai.jpg|Old house of gunsmiths in Sakai

File:Gunsmith Storefront in Sakai Osaka by Akisato Rito 1796.jpg|Gunsmith storefront in Sakai, Osaka

</gallery>

Edo period

In 1615, Sakai was razed to the ground in the summer campaign of the Siege of Osaka between the Toyotomi clan and Tokugawa Ieyasu. giving it a greater measure of self-determination in governmental affairs.

Government

Sakai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 52 members. Sakai contributes eight members to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Osaka 15th district, Osaka 16th district and Osaka 17th districts of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Local administration

Sakai has seven wards (ku):

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="810px"

! colspan="8" | Wards of Sakai

|-

! rowspan="2" |

! colspan="2" | Place Name

!

!

!

!Map of Sakai

|-

! style="width: 190px;" |Rōmaji

! style="width: 190px;" |Kanji

!Population

!Land area in km<sup>2</sup>

!Pop. density per km<sup>2</sup>

!

|-

| style="text-align: center;" "width: 20px;" | 1

|Sakai-ku (administrative center)

|堺区

|148,353

|23.66

|6,270

| rowspan="16" |center|border|400px|A map of Sakai's Wards

|-

| style="text-align: center;" | 2

|Higashi-ku

|東区

|84,708

|10.49

|8,075

|-

| style="text-align: center;" | 3

|Kita-ku

|北区

|159,084

|15.60

|10,198

|-

| style="text-align: center;" | 4

|Naka-ku

|中区

|120,216

|17.88

|6,723

|-

| style="text-align: center;" | 5

|Nishi-ku

|西区

|134,389

|28.62

|4,696

|-

| style="text-align: center;" | 6

|Mihara-ku

|美原区

|37,223

|13.20

|2,820

|-

| style="text-align: center;" | 7

|Minami-ku

|南区

|135,992

|40.39

|3,367

|}

Cityscape

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="110" perrow="3" caption="Gallery">

File:Sakaihigashi2020.jpg|Sakai City Downtown (2020)

File:Old Sakai Port202002.jpg|Old Sakai Port (2020)

File:大仙公園日本庭園 (48814715927).jpg|Daisen Park (2019)

File:Sakaihigashi Station20161016.jpg|Sakaihigashi Station (2016)

File:SakaiCityHall 2024 10.jpg|Sakai City Hall (2024)

</gallery>

Economy

Sakai was traditionally dependent on heavy industry and its port. However, after a period of high economic growth after World War II, along with the development and expansion of the Osaka metropolitan area, Sakai also has increasingly become a satellite city (commuter town) for Osaka metropolis, as represented by the development of Senboku New Town. Shimano, a major manufacturer of cycling and fishing products, is based in Sakai.

Kura Sushi, the conveyor belt sushi chain, has its headquarters in Sakai.

Education

thumb|200px|[[Osaka Prefecture University]]

Universities

  • Hagoromo International University
  • Kansai University Sakai Campus
  • Osaka Butsuryo University
  • Osaka Junior College of Social Health and Welfare
  • Osaka Prefecture University
  • Poole Gakuin University
  • Sakai Women's Junior College
  • Taisei Gakuin University
  • Tezukayama Gakuin University

Primary and secondary schools

Sakai has 98 public elementary schools and 43 public middle schools operated by the city government. The city also has one private elementary school, three private combined middle/high schools and one private combined elementary/middle/high school. The city has 23 public high schools operated by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education, and four private high schools. The city operates two and the prefecture operates four special education schools for the disabled.

The city previously had a North Korean school, .

Transportation

thumb|200px|[[Hankai Tramway]]

thumb|200px|[[Senboku New Town & Semboku Rapid Railway]]

thumb|200px|Mihara JCT

Airways

Airport

Sakai does not have an airport. The nearest major airport is Kansai International Airport.

Railways

20px JR West – Hanwa Line

  • - - - - - -

15px Nankai Electric Railway - 15px Nankai Main Line

  • - - - - -

15px Nankai Electric Railway - 15px Kōya Line

  • - - - - - - - -

15px Nankai Electric Railway - 15px Semboku Line

  • - - - -

Subway

18px Osaka Metro - 18px Midōsuji Line

  • - -

Tramway

;Hankai Tramway

  • Hankai Line: (Sumiyoshi)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bus

  • Nankai Bus Company, Limited
  • Nankai wing Bus kanaoka Company, Limited
  • Kintetsu Bus
  • Osaka City Bus

Highways

Expressways

  • 25pxHanwa Expressway
  • 25px|link=|alt=E90Sakai Senboku Road
  • 25px|link=|alt=E91Minami-Hanna Road
  • 25pxHanshin Expressway
  • 4 Bayshore Route
  • 6 Yamatogawa Route
  • 15 Sakai Route

Japan National Route

International relations

Sister cities

  • Berkeley, California, United States, since 1967
  • Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China, since 1983
  • Wellington, New Zealand, since 1994

Friendship cities

  • Tanegashima, Kagoshima, Japan, since 1986
  • Higashiyoshino, Nara, Japan, since 1986
  • Da Nang, Vietnam , since 2019

Notable people from Sakai

  • Kataoka Ainosuke VI, Kabuki actor, actor, television presenter and entertainer.
  • Yuki Morisaki, chef and entertainer
  • Reon Kadena, glamour model and actress
  • Emperor Nintoku, the 16th Emperor of Japan
  • Gyōki, Japanese Buddhist priest of the Nara period
  • Ikkyū, Zen Buddhist monk and poet.
  • Sen no Rikyū, Japanese tea master
  • Tsuda Sōgyū, Japanese tea master
  • Imai Sōkyū, Japanese tea master and merchant
  • Ōuchi Yoshihiro, Muromachi period samurai clan head and military leader
  • Kenzō Tange, Japanese award-winning architect
  • Takeno Jōō
  • Oreskaband, all-female ska band
  • Kana-Boon, Japanese rock band
  • Nobuaki Kakuda, karateka and kickboxer
  • Hiroki Suzuki, Japanese actor and singer
  • Kentaro Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda, the members of the music group Kobukuro
  • Akiko Yosano, poet and novelist
  • Ryumon Yasuda, painter and sculptor
  • Hideo Nomo worked in Shin-nittetsu Sakai and played on its club team before he was scouted by the Kintetsu Buffaloes
  • Yudetamago, manga artist duo (attended Hatsushiba High School in Higashi-ku)
  • Akio Mori, a well known K-1 kickboxer known as Musashi (kickboxer)
  • Akira Nagata, actor and singer/vocalist, member of J-pop group Run&Gun
  • CIMA, Japanese professional wrestler
  • Fuka Koshiba, Japanese actress
  • Peter, Japanese singer, dancer and actor
  • Ayumi Beppu, Japanese actress
  • Yuta Fujiwara, Japanese racing driver

Local attractions

thumb|200px|[[Tsukuno Danjiri Matsuri]]

  • Mozu Kofun Cluster
  • Kurohimeyama Kofun
  • Yotsu-ike Site
  • Dotō
  • Sakai City Museum
  • Sakai Matsuri
  • Tsukuno Danjiri Matsuri

See also

  • Osaka Metropolis plan

References

  • Sakai City official website