Date, Hokkaidō

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The location of Date in Iburi Subprefecture.

This article is about the city in Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan. There is a city in Fukushima Prefecture with the same name, see Date, Fukushima.

Date (伊達市, Date-shi^?) is a city located in Iburi, Hokkaidō, Japan.

As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 37,286 and the density of 208.33 persons per km². The total area is 444.28 km².

The city was founded on April 1, 1972.

On March 1, 2006, the village of Ōtaki from Usu District merged into the city of Date.

It is accessed by an expressway and has an interchange, the Date Interchange in the north and route 37. The railway station is Date-Mombetsu.

Japan tries to avoid multiple cities with the same name in order to prevent administrative mistakes due to confusion. There are only two cases of cities in Japan with the same name: Fuchū in Hiroshima and Tokyo, and Date in Hokkaidō and Fukushima.

[edit] History of two Date Cities

In the Edo period, Date clan ruled the whole Miyagi and South of Iwate. Date clan was one of the most influential daimyos, samurai. In the Meiji period, many samurai lost their territories because of the Meiji Restoration, Date clan too. A party led in Watari-Date, a branch family of Date clan, settled in uncultivated Hokkaidō. This is the origin of Date City in Hokkaidō. On the other hand, the name of Date clan originated from the name of Date District in Fukushima. Date clan rose in Date District in 12th Century. Date City in Fukushima is the ancestral ground of Date clan. Date City in Hokkaidō is the ground of a descendant of Date clan. Two Date cities have indirect relation.

The home castle of Date clan was Yanagawa castle in Yanagawa in Date District before the Edo period. In the Edo period, the home castle was Sendai castle in Sendai, Miyagi.

[edit] Geography

Mount Usu (702) m and Choryu River

As a result of merging, Date can essentially be divided into two sections: The Otaki Forest area and the Date Historic City area. Otaki Forest is home to Sankaidaki Falls and The Shirakinu River Bed. The Historic City contains buildings that were built by the samurai, the most famous of which is the Usu-Zenkou temple.