As an Ichiro Fan, you know all about what # 51 does on the
baseball diamond. But do you know about where he comes from?
Ichiro was born in Kasugai,
Japan. Kasugai
is located in Aichi prefecture, and has a population of 280,000. Kasugai
is a satellite city of Nagoya, and
together are two of the hubs in the central part of Honshu,
the main island in Japan.
Aichi prefecture is located in
central Japan,
and faces the Pacific Ocean. This results in it having
striking natural features such as the Ise bay and the
Mikawa gulf. It is bordered by four other prefectures: Mie, Nagano,
Shizuoka, and Gifu.
Aichi prefecture ranks 28th in total land surface, and accounts for
1.4% of the country’s total land mass. The terrain is diverse. In the western
part, the Kiso River,
(second largest in the country), is located in the Noubi plain. To the east,
forming the Chita peninsula, the
hilly Owari region stretches all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
The Mikawa highlands are situated north of the vast Okazaki
plain and reach as far as the Yahagi River.
The Shitara highlands are in the Eastern part, and the Yana/Yumihari highlands are
on the upper side. The Toyohasi plain extends until it reaches the Toyokawa
River. Last but not least, the Toyohashi
plain bridges the Atsumi peninsula. Nagoya
and Kasugai can be extremely hot in
the summer. In the more mountainous regions, there is an increase in rain and
humidity.
Until April 1872, the prefecture
was called the Nagoya prefecture.
On November 27, the Nukata prefecture was merged into Aichi prefecture. The
prefecture took its name from a place called Ayuchi imagined by a poet called
Takechi Kuroto. Once the modern prefecture system was adopted, the name Aichi
was taken by the whole area.
Ichiro is by no means the only
famous person to come from Kasugai.
Tofu Ono, one of the great masters of calligraphy, is said to have come from Kasugai,
according to literary sources composed in the 14th Century. Since
then, the people of Kasugai have
been interested in calligraphy, fondly calling the legendary scribe “Tofu-san.”
Kasugai has become known as the
“Town of Calligraphy.”
Sports in the Kasugai
area are by no means limited to baseball only. Once a year, the Aichi
Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya
hosts a Hon-Basho, or sumo wrestling tournament. This tournament draws fans
from all over Japan
to Aichi prefecture over the course of the 15-day event.
Aichi is proud of its delicious food, beautiful
scenery, and many historical and cultural destinations. Because of his success
on the baseball field, Ichiro Suzuki is one more thing for Aichi prefecture to
be proud of.
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