Kōfu
Geography. Kōfu is located in north-central Yamanashi Prefecture which is in Central Honshu. It extends from the northern border of the prefecture with Nagano Prefecture to the south until it almost reaches the prefecture's southern border. It is narrow along its east-west axis. The city bisects the Kōfu Basin and is 250 to 300 meters above sea level. Kōfu is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Three quarters of Kōfu's territory is a part of Mount Kinpu in the north. Much of the northern portion of the city is within the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National  Park. Mount Fuji is visible in the distance from Kōfu to the south. Demographics. Per Japanese census data, the population of Kōfu has remained relatively stable over the past 40 years. Climate. Kōfu has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa"), though it is less wet than either the south or Sea of Japan coast due to its location in a shielded mountain valley. The average annual temperature in Kōfu is 11.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1345 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.3 °C, and lowest  in January, at around -0.1 °C. Temperature ranges are noticeably greater than in coastal regions: in 2004 Kōfu reached a temperature of previously almost unknown in Japan, and it has fallen below as early as 26 October, which is about a month before the earliest freezing temperatures in such coastal cities as Kanazawa or Tokyo. History. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of human settlement in the Kōfu area dating to the Japanese Paleolithic period, with continuous settlement through the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods. During the Nara period, the provincial temple of Kai Province was established in what is now  Kōfu, indicating that the Nara period provincial capital was located nearby, as the name of the city implies. During the Heian period, a branch of the Minamoto clan, the “Kai-Genji” ruled over vast "shōen" estates, and developed a military force noted for its use of cavalry. By the Muromachi period, a branch of the Kai-Genji, the Takeda clan came to dominate the area, and built a castle in what is now part of Kōfu. Under the rule of Takeda Nobutora, Kōfu was rebuilt as a castle town starting in 1519, and remained the capital of the Takeda clan  under Takeda Shingen and his son Takeda Katsuyori. During the Edo period, Kai Province was "tenryō" territory ruled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, and Kōfu Castle remained its administrative center. Following the Meiji restoration, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the town of Kōfu was proclaimed on July 1, 1889. The city experienced a major flood disaster in 1907 (明治40年の大水害) caused by heavy rain in a typhoon from the night of August 21, 1907 and by deforestation which was accelerated in Yamanashi Prefecture, due to the need for wood for fuel of the steam engines of the growing  industrial policy of the Fujimura Prefectural Government. A police officer inspected the stricken area from August 23 to October 10, 1907. Patrol diaries of Masaki Tsukasa Kasaburo said "This heavy rainfall causes rivers to run down, landslides and levee failures, bridge piers destruction, etc., resulting in the destruction of homes and villages, village isolation, runoff and runoff, and traffic disruptions caused serious damage. 233 people died, 5757 houses were run out, 650 hectares of lands have been buried or run down, 3353 landslides, collapse and damage distance of about 140 kilometers of levees, runoff and burial of roads, the damage  distance was about 500 kilometers, 393 telephone poles collapsed. It was the largest natural disaster in modern times in Yamanashi Prefecture. During World War II, much of the city was destroyed by United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bombers during a major air raid during the night of 6 July 1945. Kōfu was designated as one of the special cities of Japan on April 1, 2000. On March 1, 2006, Kōfu, with a population of 193,795, absorbed the town of Nakamichi (from Higashiyatsushiro District), and the northern part of the village of Kamikuishiki (from Nishiyatsushiro District) increasing the population  to 201,184. On April 1, 2019, Kōfu's city status is elevated into a core city. Government. Kōfu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 32 members. The city supplies nine members to the Yamanashi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Yamanashi 1st district and the Yamanashi 2nd district for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. Economy. The city is a regional commercial and transportation center for central Yamanashi Prefecture. Local industries include food processing  including wine production, textiles and crystalware. Local attractions. Festivals. Shingen-ko Festival. The biggest festival in Kōfu is the . It is held annually on the first or second weekend of April and celebrates the legacy of Takeda Shingen. The festival is three days long. Usually a famous Japanese celebrity plays the part of Takeda Shingen. There are several parades going to and from the Takeda Shrine and Kōfu Castle. This is the largest public history play in Japan. In 2012 the event was included in the Guinness World Records as the "largest gathering of samurai" in the world with 1061  participants. List of mayors of Kofu. This is a list of Kofu majors starting from 1889.