Shimada is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city, which covers an area of, had an estimated population in April 2020 of 95,610, giving a population density of 300 persons per km2.
Geography
Shimada is located in the Shida Plains of west-central Shizuoka Prefecture. It is located on both banks of the Ōi River. The area enjoys a warm maritime climate with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.
Per Japanese census data, the population of Shimada has remained steady over the past 50 years.
Climate
The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters. The average annual temperature in Shimada is 15.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2142 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.2 °C.
History
Shimada began as an outlying fortification to Kakegawa Castle erected by Yamauchi Kazutoyo in the Sengoku period to control the crossing of the Ōi River. In the Edo period, Kanaya-juku and Shimada-juku developed as post towns on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. The area was mostly tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate with a daikansho based at a Jinya located within Shimada-juku. As the Tokugawa shogunate forbade the construction of any bridge or establishment of a ferry service on the Ōi River for defensive purposes, travellers were often detained at either Shimada or Kanaya for days, sometimes weeks, waiting for the river levels to fall to fordable levels. The first bridge across the river connected these two towns in 1879, after the Meiji Restoration. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system in the early Meiji period in 1889, Kanaya Town was created within Haibara District, and Shimada Town within Shida District. On April 16, 1889, the two towns were connected by rail, with the opening of Shimada Station on the Tōkaidō Main Line. Shimada was elevated to city status on January 1, 1948. On January 1, 1955, it annexed neighboring Rokugō Village, Ōtsu Village, Daichō Village and a portion of Ikumi Village. On June 1, 1961 it further expanded through annexation of Hatsukura Village. On May 1, 2005, the town of Kanaya was merged into Shimada. On April 1, 2008, the town of Kawane was also merged into Shimada. On March 15, 2012, the city became the second municipality, after Tokyo, outside Tōhoku to accept debris from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami for disposal in the town's incinerators. Other cities had been reluctant to accept debris from the disaster, in spite of being asked to help recovery efforts, because of fears that the debris were contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
Government
Shimada has a mayor-councilform of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 20 members. The city contributes two members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly.
Economy
The economy of Shimada is primarily agricultural, with green tea as the main crop. Light industries of Shimada include factories for the production of automobile components.
