(桐生市; -shi) is a
City located in
Gunma ,
Japan , near the cities of
Ōta and
Ashikaga in
Tochigi Prefecture . Incorporated on
March 1 ,
1921 , Kiryu is considered both a city and part of the
Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area , although it is still widely thought of as a rural area. Its population has been in steady decline since the early
1990s , due to both a national population stagnation as well as a steady migration of young people to metropolitan areas (principally
Tokyo ).
The characters of the city name translate as '
Paulownia Tree ' and '
Life .'
As of
2005 , the city has an estimated
Population of 132,443 and
Population Density of 819.74 persons per
Km&2 . On
June 13 2005 , Kiryu was consolidated with the villages of
Niisato and
Kurohone , increasing its total area from 137.47 to 274.57km
2, and raising its population by almost 20,000. With 50,150 households in 2005, Kiryu's population is divided fairly evenly along gender lines, with 64,157 males and 68,286 females.
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For over a millenium, Kiryu's principle industry was textile manufacturing, primarily
Silk , with records dating silk production as far back as
713 .
Pachinko manufacturing arrived in Kiryu after
World War II , during the period of industrial reconstruction, with the formation of two main companies—the Heiwa Corporation in 1949, and the Sophia Corporation in 1951. Kiryu's factories are responsible for manufacturing 60% of Japan's pachinko machines. However, the decreased demand for silk goods and the closure of several area manufacturing concerns have caused the local economy to suffer.
Kiryu is located at in the southeast part of Gunma, near the Tochigi border. It is about 100 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. The city is located not far from
Mount Akagi , a large but dormant volcano.
Situated at the foot of
Mount Azuma , the city boasts one of the most beautiful settings in the
Kanto Region . Two rivers, the Kiryu and the Watarase, run through the heart of the city and it is likewise surrounded by picturesque mountains to the north. Umeda, a district on the north side of the city, is well-known for its cedar trees, while red pines are also common in other areas.
Having been virtually untouched by bombs during World War II, the city boasts one of the greatest concentrations of pre-war architecture in all of Japan.
Located on the
Ryomo Line ,
Kiryu Station is in the city centre, connecting it westward to
Maebashi and
Takasaki , and eastward to
Oyama . With
Shin-Kiryu Station located at the southern end of the city, Kiryu is served by the
Tobu Kiryu Line that runs between
Akagi and Ota.
Nishi-Kiryu Station , a
Terminus Station on the
Jomo Line , also connects Kiryu to Maebashi.
Kiryu also has the southern terminus station for the
Watarase Keikoku Line , which runs north through the prefecture. It ends in
Ashio , Tochigi, infamous for the
Ashio Copper Mine , a site of severe environmental damage in the
1880s .
Kiryu is also the nickname of
Mechagodzilla in the Millennium series of the Godzilla franchise.
