Sakai#Local administration

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

Osaka Prefecture

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

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 {{cvt|16.5|C}}. The average annual rainfall is {{cvt|1232.9|mm}} with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around {{cvt|28.6|C}}, and lowest in January, at around {{cvt|5.6|C}}.

{{Weather box

|width=auto

|location = Sakai (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1977−present)

|collapsed = Y

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 19.1

|Feb record high C = 23.9

|Mar record high C = 27.5

|Apr record high C = 30.2

|May record high C = 33.0

|Jun record high C = 36.3

|Jul record high C = 37.9

|Aug record high C = 39.7

|Sep record high C = 36.8

|Oct record high C = 32.7

|Nov record high C = 27.5

|Dec record high C = 25.5

|year record high C = 39.7

|Jan high C = 9.6

|Feb high C = 10.5

|Mar high C = 14.3

|Apr high C = 20.0

|May high C = 24.9

|Jun high C = 28.1

|Jul high C = 32.0

|Aug high C = 33.9

|Sep high C = 29.6

|Oct high C = 23.6

|Nov high C = 17.8

|Dec high C = 12.3

|year high C = 21.4

|Jan mean C = 5.6

|Feb mean C = 6.0

|Mar mean C = 9.3

|Apr mean C = 14.6

|May mean C = 19.4

|Jun mean C = 23.1

|Jul mean C = 27.2

|Aug mean C = 28.6

|Sep mean C = 24.6

|Oct mean C = 18.6

|Nov mean C = 12.9

|Dec mean C = 7.9

|year mean C = 16.5

|Jan low C = 1.6

|Feb low C = 1.7

|Mar low C = 4.5

|Apr low C = 9.3

|May low C = 14.4

|Jun low C = 19.1

|Jul low C = 23.4

|Aug low C = 24.5

|Sep low C = 20.6

|Oct low C = 14.3

|Nov low C = 8.4

|Dec low C = 3.9

|year low C = 12.1

|Jan record low C = -5.0

|Feb record low C = -5.3

|Mar record low C = -3.3

|Apr record low C = -1.1

|May record low C = 4.1

|Jun record low C = 9.1

|Jul record low C = 15.5

|Aug record low C = 16.6

|Sep record low C = 9.7

|Oct record low C = 2.7

|Nov record low C = -0.9

|Dec record low C = -3.4

|year record low C = -5.3

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 48.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 57.8

|Mar precipitation mm = 97.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 92.2

|May precipitation mm = 126.7

|Jun precipitation mm = 164.1

|Jul precipitation mm = 154.2

|Aug precipitation mm = 87.3

|Sep precipitation mm = 139.0

|Oct precipitation mm = 139.3

|Nov precipitation mm = 74.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 51.9

|year precipitation mm = 1232.9

|unit precipitation days = 1.0mm

|Jan precipitation days = 6.4

|Feb precipitation days = 6.9

|Mar precipitation days = 9.5

|Apr precipitation days = 9.3

|May precipitation days = 9.6

|Jun precipitation days = 11.8

|Jul precipitation days = 10.3

|Aug precipitation days = 6.6

|Sep precipitation days = 10.0

|Oct precipitation days = 8.9

|Nov precipitation days = 6.8

|Dec precipitation days = 6.6

|year precipitation days = 102.6

|Jan sun = 138.3

|Feb sun = 138.7

|Mar sun = 173.5

|Apr sun = 194.6

|May sun = 206.9

|Jun sun = 160.6

|Jul sun = 190.6

|Aug sun = 228.6

|Sep sun = 160.4

|Oct sun = 163.0

|Nov sun = 147.5

|Dec sun = 138.7

|year sun = 2041.4

|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency

{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=62&block_no=1062

| title = 平年値（年・月ごとの値）

| accessdate = May 19, 2021

| publisher = JMA}}

{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=62&block_no=1062

| title = 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）

| accessdate = August 10, 2012

| publisher = JMC}}

}}

According to Japanese census data,[https://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-osaka.php Sakai population statistics] the population of Sakai increased rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, and has been relatively stable since.

{{Historical population

| 1960 | 383559

| 1970 | 616558

| 1980 | 839421

| 1990 | 844899

| 2000 | 829636

| 2010 | 842132

| 2020 | 826161

|align = none

| footnote =

}}

The area that would later become known as Sakai has been inhabited since approximately 8,000 BC.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sakai-tcb.or.jp/english/about_sakai/|title = Welcome to Sakai!}} 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. The name "Sakai" appears in Fujiwara Sadoyori's poetry by 1045. Most of the current city is located within ancient Izumi Province; however, the wards of Mihara, Higashi and a portion of Kita are located within ancient Kawachi Province.

Tradition holds that 10,000 homes burned to the ground in 1399.{{Cite web|url=http://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/english/visitors/whats/history.html|title=History}}

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

Medieval Sakai was an autonomous city run by merchant oligarchs. During the Muromachi and Sengoku periods from about 1450 to 1600, Sakai developed into one of richest cities in Japan as a port for foreign trade. It was a leading producer of textiles and ironwork.{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z09oAgAAQBAJ&dq=Gaspar+Vilela+sakai+consuls&pg=PA331 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History |date=2013-02-14 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-163769-8 |language=en}} In those days, it was said that the richest cities were Umi no Sakai, Riku no Imai (tr. "along the sea, Sakai; inlands, Imai"; the latter is now a part of Kashihara, Nara). The famous Zen Buddhist priest Ikkyū chose to live in Sakai because of its free atmosphere. The first reliable account of the city is dated to the 1480s and contains publicly issued legal notices, which suggests that the city had a governing council at that point. By the 1530s, the population was around 40,000 residents, almost all of which earned a living through commercial enterprises and some of whom were the wealthiest people in Japan. At this time, Sakai was administered by an oligarchy of powerful merchants. The government had ten divisions machi that were subordinate to the representative council of wealthy townsmen known as the egōshū.{{Cite book |last=Katsurō Hara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-lBAAAAIAAJ&dq=sakai+japan+autonomous+merchant&pg=PA241 |title=An Introduction to the History of Japan |date=1920 |publisher=G. P. Putnams' sons |language=en}}

Sen no Rikyū, known as the greatest master of the tea ceremony, was originally a merchant of Sakai. Because of the close relationship between the tea ceremony and Zen Buddhism and because of the prosperity of its citizens, Sakai was one of the main centers of the tea ceremony in Japan.

In the Sengoku period, Christian missionaries, including Francis Xavier in 1550, visited Sakai and documented its prosperity. Gaspar Vilela described the town as the safest place in the area when he visited in 1561.{{Cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/04/11/travel/sakai-keyhole-history-osaka/#.Vr2JV_krJjU|title = Sakai: A keyhole to the history of Osaka|date = April 11, 2015}}

He also mentioned that the city was "governed by consuls like Venice in Italy".{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/19/c_132733667.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924044633/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/19/c_132733667.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 24, 2013|title=Japan's oldest 'autonomous' city splits over Osaka Metropolis Plan – Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|website=news.xinhuanet.com|access-date=May 8, 2016}}

After the coming of Europeans, Sakai became a manufacturing base of matchlock firearms and a daimyō, Oda Nobunaga, was one of their important customers. During his ambitious attempt to unify Japan, Nobunaga attempted to take the autonomy privilege from Sakai. Sakai's citizens denied his order and pitched a desperate battle against his army. Most citizens fled and Sakai was burned and seized by Nobunaga.

After the assassination of Nobunaga in 1582, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, seized power and abolished the autonomous system of Sakai, forcing many merchants to move to his stronghold in Osaka.{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/19/c_132733667.htm |title=Japan's oldest "autonomous" city splits over Osaka Metropolis Plan - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn |website=news.xinhuanet.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924044633/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/19/c_132733667.htm |archive-date=2013-09-24}}

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

File:Toyotomi Hideyoshi c1598 Kodai-ji Temple.png|Toyotomi Hideyoshi

In 1615, Sakai was razed to the ground in the summer campaign of the Siege of Osaka between the Toyotomi clan and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Sakai was restored as an important trade center during the Edo period but was involved only in inland trade due to the sakoku policy of the Tokugawa shogunate, which isolated Japan from the outside world. It was also known for its sake brewing and its cutlery industries. After the isolation policy was abandoned during the Bakumatsu period, Sakai was the location of the Sakai Incident, involving a clash between French sailors and Japanese gendarmes resulting in multiple casualties. When the Western powers demanded the opening of Osaka a port for foreign trade, both Sakai and Hyōgo were named as candidates; however, Sakai's proximity and ease of access to Kyoto and the presence of many imperial tombs led to the selection of Hyōgo.

File:Sakai_Incident_Tosa_Domain_1868_Le_Monde_Illustré.png|Sakai incident (1868)

Following the Meiji restoration, Sakai was transformed into an industrial center as part of the Hanshin Industrial Region, with industries centering on textiles and brick making. From 1876 to 1881, Sakai was part of Nara Prefecture. The city of Sakai was proclaimed on April 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was one of the first 31 cities to be created in Japan. The 1934 Muroto typhoon killed over 300 people in Sakai. Another major disaster was in 1945, when the city was heavily bombed on six occasions during World War II with over 1800 civilian deaths.

Following the February 2005 annexation of the town of Mihara (from Minamikawachi District), Sakai became a designated city in April 2006[http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070217TDY03003.htm "Tokyo pollsters in the money"], Yomiuri Shimbun, February 17, 2007. Accessed March 13, 2007. giving it a greater measure of self-determination in governmental affairs.

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.

Sakai has seven wards (ku):

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

File:Sakaishi2020.jpg|Sakai City Skyline (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)

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.kurasushi.co.jp/eng/company.php|title=Company|publisher=Kura Sushi|accessdate=2022-06-11|quote=1-2-1 Fukasaka, Naka-ku, Sakai-shi, Osaka 599-8253, Japan}} - [https://www.kurasushi.co.jp/company/company/aboutus.php Address in Japanese]: "大阪府堺市中区深阪1-2-2"

File:Opu photo1.jpg]]

• 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

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, {{Nihongo|Sakai Korean Elementary School|堺朝鮮初級学校}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.chongryon.com/j/cr/link3.html |script-title=ja:ウリハッキョ一覧 |publisher=Chongryon |date=November 6, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051106010302/http://www.chongryon.com/j/cr/link3.html |accessdate=October 15, 2015|archive-date=November 6, 2005 }} ([http://web.archive.org/web/20051106010302/http://www.chongryon.com/j/cr/link3.html Archive]).

File:2016-9-25-hankai-1003.jpg]]

File:Semboku011.JPG & Semboku Rapid Railway]]

File:Mihara JCT1.jpg

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

20px JR West – Hanwa Line

• {{STN|Asaka|x|Osaka}} - {{STN|Sakaishi|x}} - {{STN|Mikunigaoka|x|Osaka}} - {{STN|Mozu|x}} - {{STN|Uenoshiba|x}} - {{STN|Tsukuno|x}} - {{STN|Ōtori|x}}

15px Nankai Electric Railway - 15px Nankai Main Line

• {{STN|Shichidō|x}} - {{STN|Sakai|x}} - {{STN|Minato|x}} - {{STN|Ishizugawa|x}} - {{STN|Suwanomori|x}} - {{STN|Hamaderakōen|x}}

15px Nankai Electric Railway - 15px Kōya Line

• {{STN|Asakayama|x}} - {{STN|Sakaihigashi|x}} - {{STN|Mikunigaoka|x|Osaka}} - {{STN|Mozuhachiman|x}} - {{STN|Nakamozu|x}} - {{STN|Shirasagi|x}} - {{STN|Hatsushiba|x}} - {{STN|Hagiharatenjin|x}} - {{STN|Kitanoda|x}}

15px Nankai Electric Railway - 15px Semboku Line

• {{STN|Nakamozu|x}} - {{STN|Fukai|x}} - {{STN|Izumigaoka|x}} - {{STN|Toga-Mikita|x}} - {{STN|Kōmyōike|x}}

18px Osaka Metro - 18px Midōsuji Line

• {{STN|Kitahanada|x}} - {{STN|Shinkanaoka|x}} - {{STN|Nakamozu|x}}

;Hankai Tramway

• Hankai Line: (Sumiyoshi)- {{STN|Yamatogawa|x}} - {{STN|Takasu-jinsha|x}} - {{STN|Ayanocho|x}} - {{STN|Shimmeicho|x}} - {{STN|Myokokuji-mae|x}} - {{STN|Hanataguchi|x}} - {{STN|Oshoji|x}} - {{STN|Shukuin|x}} - {{STN|Terajicho|x}} - {{STN|Goryomae|x}} - {{STN|Higashi-Minato|x}} - {{STN|Ishizu-Kita|x}} - {{STN|Ishizu|x|Osaka|Ishizu}} - {{STN|Funao|x|Osaka}} - {{STN|Hamaderakōen|x}}

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

• 25pxHanwa Expressway
• File:JP Expressway E90.svgSakai Senboku Road
• File:JP Expressway E91.svgMinami-Hanna Road
• 25pxHanshin Expressway
• 4 Bayshore Route
• 6 Yamatogawa Route
• 15 Sakai Route

• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|26}}
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|309}}
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|310}}

• {{flagicon|USA}} Berkeley, California, United States, since 1967
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China, since 1983
• {{flagicon|NZL}} Wellington, New Zealand, since 1994

• {{flagicon|JPN}} Tanegashima, Kagoshima, Japan, since 1986
• {{flagicon|JPN}} Higashiyoshino, Nara, Japan, since 1986
• {{flagicon|VIE}} Da Nang, Vietnam , since 2019

• 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

File:2022 Kōno-chō'ｓ Danjiri at Tsukuno Danjiri Festival in Tsukuno Area 001.jpg]]

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

• Osaka Metropolis plan

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.city.sakai.lg.jp/ Sakai City official website] {{in lang|ja}}
• {{Wikivoyage inline|Sakai_(Osaka)|Sakai}}
• {{osmrelation-inline|358759}}

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Category:Cities in Osaka Prefecture

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