Kawagoe, Saitama

Kawagoe(川越市,Kawagoe-shi)is acityinSaitama Prefecture,Japan. As of 1 February 2021, the city had an estimatedpopulationof 353,214 in 162,210 households and apopulation densityof 3200 persons per km.The total area of the city is 109.13 square kilometres (42.14 sq mi). The city is known locally as "Little Edo"(小江戸,Koedo)after the old name forTokyo, due to its many historic buildings.
Kawagoe is part of ancientMusashi Provinceand the area was heavily contested between theLater Hōjō clanand the two branches of theUesugi clan, as they vied for control of theKantō region. In the 1450s, Kawagoe was held by the Yamanouchi branch of the Uesugi Clan. Decades later,Hōjō UjitsunaseizedKawagoe Castlein 1537, and the city served as an important base of operations when the Later Hōjō clan sought to gain control of the Kantō. For roughly two decades after that, the Uesugi launched a number of attempts to regain the region. This culminated in the 1545Battle of Kawagoe, as the heavily outnumbered Hōjō garrison of Kawagoe defeated an attempted siege of Kawagoe Castle. This victory would lead to the end of Uesugi power in the region, and the near-total destruction of the clan. The Hōjō having secured themselves in the region, Kawagoe served for another forty-five years as a satellite castle town defending Edo, and the clan's centralcastleatOdawara. Kawagoe's location on theArakawa Riverand near theEdo Riverwere important elements of its tactical significance in defending the Kantō region from potential attacks from the north.
During theEdo period, Kawagoe Castle was the headquarters of theKawagoe Domainunder theTokugawa shogunate, which had the largestkokudakaof any holding in the Kantō region outside of the control of the Tokugawa clan. The city prospered as a commercial and transshipment center and was nicknamed the "kitchen of Edo". After theMeiji restoration, it briefly became capital of Kawagoe Prefecture (1871) then Iruma Prefecture (1871–1873), before becoming part of Saitama Prefecture.
The town of Kawagoe was created withinIruma District, Saitamawith the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. A large part of the town was destroyed in a fire on May 13, 1893 and was rebuilt with many structures using construction techniques of traditionalkurawarehouses. On December 1, 1922 Kawagoe merged with neighboring Senba Village, and was elevated to city status, with a population of 30,359.
The village of Tanomozawa was annexed in 1939. The city escapedWorld War IIwith only minor damage. The city expanded in 1955 by annexing the villages of Yoshino, Furuya, Minamifuruya, Takashina, Fukuhara, Daito, Kasumigaseki, Naguwashi and Yamada. In December 1999, the old core of Kawagoe was designated aHistoric Preservation District. On April 1, 2003, Kawagoe was designated acore citywith increased local autonomy.
Located in theMusashino Terraceof central Saitama Prefecture, both theArakawaand theIrumaRivers flow through the city, which is approximately 30 kilometers from downtown Tokyo. The city area is approximately 16.3 km east–west and approximately 13.8 km north–south. The altitude is 18.5 meters above sea level in Motomachi, the highest at the southern end of the city is 50.7 meters, the lowest in the eastern part is 6.9 meters.
Saitama Prefecture
Kawagoe has ahumid subtropical climate(KöppenCfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.  The average annual temperature in Kawagoe is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1448 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.5 °C.
Per Japanese census data,the population of Kawagoe has increased steadily over the past century.
Kawagoe has amayor-councilform of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameralcity council of 36 members. Kawagoe contributes four members to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part ofSaitama 7th districtof thelower houseof theDiet of Japan.
Kawagoe has 32 public elementary schools and 22 public middle schools operated by the city government, and one private elementary school and four private combined middle/high schools. The city has seven public high schools operated by the Saitama Board of Education, one by the Kawagoe city government and three private high schools. The prefecture also operates three special education schools for the handicapped.
JR East–Kawagoe Line
Tōbu Railway-Tōbu Tōjō Line
Seibu Railway-Seibu Shinjuku Line
The city of Kawagoe operates a bicycle sharing scheme in the city centre, with eight pickup/parking locations.
Kawagoe istwinnedwith the following six municipalities in Japan and worldwide.
Kawagoe is famous for itssweet potatoes, and the local "Candy Street" sells such treats as sweet potato chips, sweet potato ice cream, sweet potato coffee, and even sweet potato beer, brewed at the local Coedo Brewery. Some of its streets preserve the old castle town of theEdo period(17th to 19th centuries).
Kawagoe Festivalis held every year on the third Saturday and Sunday of October. In 2016, it was designated as an "Intangible cultural heritage".