Date, Fukushima
Geography. Date occupies the eastern half of the Fukushima Basin in northern Fukushima prefecture, with Miyagi Prefecture on its northern border. The area was once noted for sericulture but transitioned to fruit cultivation during the Taishō period. It is currently organized into the five former towns of Date, Hobara, Yanagawa, Ryozen, and Tsukidate, each of which retain numerous unique traditions and events. Hobara is the central area, where the municipal government is based. Neighboring municipalities. Fukushima Prefecture Miyagi Prefecture Climate. Date has a humid climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfa"). The average annual temperature in Date is . The average  annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Demographics. Per Japanese census data, the population of Date has declined over the past 70 years. History. A whole body skeleton of Paleoparadoxia was excavated in Yanagawa on August 21, 1984. The skeleton is named the “Yanagawa Specimen”. The first humans to live within the bounds of present-day Date City are thought to have arrived during the Paleolithic Period. The area was part of ancient Mutsu Province. Towards the end of the Heian Period , Shinobu-gun (present day Fukushima City) and Date-gun (encompassing not only present day Date, but also Koori Town to the North and Kawamata Town to the South) were awarded to Date Tomomune. Tomomune founded the Date clan in present-day Hobara. The 17th lord of the Date Clan, Date Masamune lost control of the area and went on to found the Sendai Clan and the City of Sendai. The clan continued to rule over the Sendai Domain during the Edo period. However, under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate, most of the area of Date was initially part of Yonezawa  Domain, followed by Fukushima Domain and Yanagawa Domain before becoming "tenryō" territory under direct control of the shogunate. It was not part of the Date Clan's territories. After the Meiji Restoration, the area was organized as part of Nakadōri region of Iwaki Province. As of 1889, at the time of the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the area consisted of 21 towns and villages. Between the years 1955 and 1960, these were consolidated into the five towns of Date (formerly the villages of Nagaoka and Fushiguro), Hobara (formerly the town of Hobara and the villages of Ooda, Kamihobara , Hashirazawa, and Tominari), Ryōzen (formerly the villages of Ryozen, Kakeda, Oguni, and Ishido), Tsukidate (formerly the villages of Ote and Otegawa), and Yanagawa (formerly the town of Yanagawa and the villages of Awano, Sekimoto, Shirane, Ooeda, Isazawa, Tomino, and Yamafunyuu), which merged to create the modern city of Date on January 1, 2006. Date is about north-west of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the nuclear accident that followed the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Although outside the nuclear accident exclusion zone, the levels of radiation in the city caused residents, and especially children, to remain indoors . In 2016 an anime was produced in promotion of the city. Masamune Datenicle (政宗ダテニクル) features a young Date Masamune who meets a dragon deity that gives him the ability to call upon former leaders of the Date Clan. Government. Date has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 22 members. Date, together with the three municipalities of Date District, collectively contribute three members to the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Fukushima 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Economy. The economy of Date is primarily agricultural, with an emphasis on rice and horticulture. The area is noted for its peaches and dried persimmons. Taiyo Yuden operates a CD and DVD production plant in the Yanagawa Industrial Zone in Date, Fukushima. Peaches. Date City's location in central Fukushima (Nakadōri), in the middle of Fukushima Basin, helps in the cultivation of peaches. The most common varieties grown in the area are Akatsuki, Kawanakajima, and Yuuzora. Dried Persimmons. As sericulture lost its place in the area during the Taisho period, the former village of Isazawa in Yanagawa replaced it with  the production of dried persimmons, among other industries. Dried persimmons had been produced in the area since the Edo Period. However, the addition of sulfur fumigation as was used in the production of raisins in the United States, allowed for a much sweeter product. Whereas traditional dried persimmons, "hoshigaki", have a tough skin and are almost black in color, those created with the additional step of sulfur fumigation, called "anpogaki" or "tsurushigaki", are soft and bright orange. Although the production of anpogaki was halted for three years after the 2011 disaster, Date City's persimmon orchards have since been decontaminated  and testing machines have been installed, ensuring the safety of the final product. Education. Date City has fifteen public elementary schools, six public junior high schools, two public high schools, and one private high school: Transportation. Railway. East Japan Railway Company (JR East) - Tōhoku Main Line AbukumaExpress – Abukuma Express Line