Ukiha, Fukuoka

Ukiha (うきは市, Ukiha-shi) is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 January 2024^[update], the city had an estimated population of 27,723 in 11449 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km².^[2] The total area of the city is 117.46 km² (45.35 sq mi).

Ukiha うきは市
City
Ukiha city hall
Flag Seal
Location of Ukiha in Fukuoka Prefecture
Ukiha Location in Japan
Coordinates: 33°21′N 130°45′E
Country	Japan
Region	Kyushu
Prefecture	Fukuoka
Government
• Mayor	Hideki Gondo
Area
• Total	117.46 km2 (45.35 sq mi)
Population  (January 31, 2024)
• Total	27,723
• Density	240/km2 (610/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	316 Niiharu, Yoshii-cho, Ukiha-shi, Fukuoka-ken 839-1393
Website	Official website
Symbols
Bird	Common kingfisher[1]
Flower	Lycoris radiata[1]
Tree	Diospyros kaki[1]

Shirokabe street in the historic Chikugo Yoshii district

Tsuzura rice terraces

Geography

Ukiha is located in southern Fukuoka Prefecture, adjacent to Hita City in Oita Prefecture. It borders Asakura City across the Chikugo River, Tanushimaru-cho, Kurume City to the west, and Hoshino-mura, Yame City to the south.

Neighboring municipalities

Fukuoka Prefecture

• Asakura
• Kurume
• Yame

Ōita Prefecture

• Hita

Climate

Ukiha has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ukiha is 13.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1875 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.7 °C.^[3]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ikiha is as shown below

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1950	43,085	—
1960	40,428	−6.2%
1970	37,301	−7.7%
1980	36,762	−1.4%
1990	35,910	−2.3%
2000	34,045	−5.2%
2010	31,653	−7.0%
2020	27,981	−11.6%

History

The area of Ukiha was part of ancient Chikugo Province. During the Edo Period the area was under the control of Kurume Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the village of Ukiha was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Ukima merged with the village of Tsubago on April 1, 1929 to form the village of Miyuki, which was raised to town status on January 1, 1951. Three months later, Miyuki merged with the villages of Oishi, Himeji and Yamaharu to form the town of Ukiha. Ukiha absorbed the town of Yoshii and was raised to city status on March 20, 2005.

Government

Ukiha has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 14 members. Ukiha, collectively with the city of Kurume, contributes five members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 6th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Transportation

Railways

JR Kyushu - Kyūdai Main Line

■ Chikugo-Yoshii - Ukiha - Chikugo-Ōishi

Highways

• National Route 210

Sister cities

• Esashi, Hokkaido, since 31 October 2009, ^[4] due to its association with The Crab and the Monkey folktale^[4]

Notable sites

• Chikugo-Yoshii, designated under the Groups of Traditional Buildings

National Historic Sites

• Hinooka Kofun
• Kusumyō-Shigesada Kofun
• Tsukahanazuka Kofun
• Yakata Kofun Cluster

Notable people from Ukiha

• Kenji Darvish - drummer of Golden Bomber, Japanese rock band.
• Hideo Murata - rōkyoku and enka singer
• Shinichi Ikejiri - writer and physician
• Shinya Izumi - politician
• Yasunoshin Shinohara - inspector general and jujutsu master of Shinsengumi
• Shuntaro Torigoe - journalist
• Shunsuke Imamura - Olympic track cyclist and professional road cyclist

Related people

• Ellison Onizuka - His grandfather and mother were born in this city, and he visited there in 1983. There is "Ellison Onizuka Bridge" commemorate him.