SAGA, SAGA

is the capital of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyūshū, Japan.
Every fall Saga holds the "Saga International Balloon Fiesta" in the dry riverbed of the Kase River. A quarter of the visitors are from Saga. The number of all visitors was about 15 million in 2005. Balloonists from many countries enter this event.
On October 1, 2005, the city merged with the towns of Morodomi, Yamato and Fuji (all from Saga District) and the village of Mitsuse from Kanzaki District to form the new city of Saga. With this creation, the city became neighbors with the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture. It is expected to undergo another merger in October 2007. Although it is the capital of Saga Prefecture, it can be said to be within the Fukuoka metropolitan area.

Contents

Geography

Adjoining municipalities

History

Municipal timeline

Saga Castle

Education

Universities

Senior High Schools

Attractions

Famous People from Saga

Sister cities

External links

Geography

Saga City is located in the southeast portion of Saga Prefecture. After the 2005 merger the city became very long north to south. It now borders the Ariake Sea to the south and Fukuoka Prefecture to the southeast and north. The northern half of the city contains the Sefuri Mountains.

Adjoining municipalities

★ Saga Prefecture

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★ Higashiyoka

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★ Kanzaki

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★ Karatsu

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★ Kawasoe

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★ Kubota

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★ Ogi

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★ Taku

★ Fukuoka Prefecture

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★ Fukuoka

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★ Sawara-ku, Fukuoka

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★ Maebaru

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★ Ōkawa

History

Municipal timeline

★ April 1, 1889 - The modern municipal system is established and Saga City is founded. At the same time, the current city region is occupied by 21 villages from three districts.

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★ Kanzaki District: Hasuike and Mitsuse.

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★ Ogi District: Kitayama and Nanzan.

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★ Saga District: Higashikawasoe, Honjō, Hyōgo, Kamino, Kase, Kasuga, Kawakami, Kinryū, Kitakawasoe, Kose, Kuboizumi, Matsuume, Nabeshima, Nikita, Nishiyoka, Oseki and Takakise.

★ June 6, 1899 - Kose changes the kanji of its name.

★ October 1, 1922 - Kamino is incorporated into Saga City.

★ November 3, 1935 - Hasuike gains town status.

★ March 31, 1954 - Hyōgo, Kase, Kose, Nishiyoka and Takakise are all incorporated into Saga City.

★ October 1, 1954 - Honjō, Kinryū, Kitakawasoe, Kuboizumi and Nabeshima are all incorporated into Saga City.

★ March 1, 1955 - Higashikawasoe and Nikita merge to form the town of Morodomi.

★ October 1, 2005- The city merged with towns of Morodomi, Yamato and Fuji (all from Saga District) and the village of Mitsuse from Kanzaki District to form the new city of Saga.

Saga Castle

Standing out from many cultural assets is the plains castle within the city, Saga Castle. It is one of the rare castles in Japan surrounded by a wall rather than built on one. First built between 1591 to 1593, there was a fire in 1726. Renovated in 1728, there was yet another fire in 1835. Naomasa Nabeshima of the Nabeshima clan renovated it within two years and moved in. In 1874 it was a court building and a prefectural office. 1883 saw it become a junior school. The buildings were eventually replaced by modern school buildings. The castle is divided into two main buildings, Honmaru and Ni no Maru.

Education

Universities

:;National ★ Saga University

:;Private ★ Saga Junior College ★ Saga Women's Junior College

Senior High Schools

:;Prefectural ★ Chienkan High School ★ Koshikan Senior High School ★ Saga Commercial High School ★ Saga Higashi High School ★ Saga Kita High School ★ Saga Nishi High School ★ Saga Technical High School

:;Private ★ Hokuryo High School ★ Kōgakukan High School ★ Saga Gakuen High School ★ Saga Ryukoku ★ Saga Seiwa High School ★ Saga Girls' High School

Attractions

Kakurintei Tea House located in the grounds of Kono Koen is a very quaint and picturesque Japanese tea house overlooking a pond.
Saga Castle (Also called the Saga Castle Historical Museum) is the largest reconstruction of a wooden building in Japan, with a total floor space of 2500 square meters and the historical atmosphere of the Saga Castle main keep.

Famous People from Saga

★ Shigeo Shingo, a Japanese industrial engineer who distinguished himself as one of the world’s leading experts on manufacturing practices.

★ Hidenori Chiwata, a singer whose song カサブタ (Kasabuta / "Scab") was used as a theme song in the anime Zatch Bell!.

Sister cities

★ Warren County, New York and Glens Falls, New York

★ Busan

★ Lianyungang

★ Cussac-Fort-Médoc

External links

★ Official website in Japanese

★ About the Hagakure the Castle in English

★ Saga International Balloon Fiesta Web site (in English)