Takasago, Hyōgo

Takasago (Japanese高 砂 市, - shi) is a city on the main Japanese island of Honshu in the Hyōgo Prefecture on Japan's Seto Inland Sea.

Geography

The city is located about 40 kilometers away from Kobe and bordered to the north and east on the town Kakogawa and to the west by the city of Himeji.

History

Takasago grew out of a settlement that was founded in the delta of the river Kakogawa. It got its name as a reference to the alluvial sand in the estuary, because taka means high and sago means sand.

Before the Edo period Takasago was a fairly small settlement, but in 1600 Terumasa Ikeda became the ruler or daimyo to Himeji Castle. From then on, flourished as a port town on Takasago. Ikeda Terumasa ordered the construction of a canal to Kakogawa River. Special boats, Takasebune (高 瀬 船), called the rice transported from the upper reaches of the river to the port. With the improvement of roads, however Takasagos waned importance as a port.

The town received its city charter on July 1, 1954.

Economy

Takasago is today an industrial town and has paper mills, companies in the food processing, metal processing, ceramics factories and chemical plants.

Traffic

• Road National Road 2,250

• JR Sanyo Main Line

Sons and daughters of the town

• Yuri Kano ( long distance runner )
• Minobe Tatsukichi ( constitutional law )
• Kisaburo Tokai ( politician)
• Tenjiku Tokubei ( adventurer and writer )

Twinning

• Australia Latrobe City, Australia ( since 12 October 2000)

Adjacent Cities and Towns

• Kakogawa
• Himeji