Nakaminato

A district in the eastern part of Hitachinaka City, in the northeastern part of Ibaraki Prefecture. Formerly Nakaminato City. In 1954 (Showa 29), Nakaminato Town incorporated Hiraiso Town and parts of Maewatari Village to become a city. In 1994 (Heisei 6), it merged with Katsuta City to become Hitachinaka City. The Hitachinaka Seaside Railway Minato Line and National Route 245 pass through the area. There are many shell mounds and ancient tombs, and in ancient times it was under the control of Nakanokuni, then Hata District, Naka County, the Edo clan, and the Satake clan in the Middle Ages, and in the early modern period it belonged to the Mito Domain. It flourished as a transit port for shipping between Oshu and Edo, and sardine fishing was also thriving. As a key location for national defense, it was home to artillery batteries, a foreign ship guardhouse, a reverberatory furnace, and a local school and martial arts museum. It is also a scenic spot where Tokugawa Mitsukuni built Inhinkaku, and successive Mito feudal lords built Hikantei and Kantosho, and it is one of the Eight Views of Mito, "Minato no Kihan." It was also the site of fierce battles during the Genji-Kashi Rebellion, which began in 1864 (Genji 1). In the Meiji era, tobacco manufacturing flourished until the transition to the Monopoly Law. Nakaminato Fishing Port is located at the mouth of the Naka River, and is the largest fishing base in Ibaraki Prefecture, with a thriving seafood processing industry. The former Mito Shooting Range site in the north became Hitachinaka Port (now Hitachinaka Port District of the Important Port of Ibaraki Port), construction of which began in 1989 (Heisei 1), and Hitachi Seaside Park, designated as a national park in 1991. It belongs to Oarai Prefectural Natural Park, and Ajigaura is the largest swimming beach in northern Kanto.

[Akitoshi Sakurai]

"Nakaminato City Historical Materials" Complete 7 Volumes (1975-1982, Nakaminato City)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

茨城県北東部、ひたちなか市東部の地区。旧那珂湊市。1954年（昭和29）那珂湊町が平磯(ひらいそ)町、前渡(まえわたり)村の一部を編入して市制施行。1994年（平成6）勝田市と合併して、ひたちなか市となる。ひたちなか海浜鉄道湊線と国道245号が通じる。貝塚や古墳群が多く、古代は仲国(なかのくに)、次いで那珂郡幡田(はた)郷、中世は江戸氏、佐竹氏の支配、近世は水戸藩に属した。奥州と江戸を結ぶ海運の中継港として栄え、イワシ漁業も盛んであった。国防上の要地として砲台、異国船番所、反射炉、郷校文武館などが置かれた。また、徳川光圀(みつくに)が夤賓(いんひん)閣を、歴代の水戸藩主が比観(ひかん)亭、観濤(かんとう)所をつくり、水戸八景の一つ「水門帰帆(みなとのきはん)」とした景勝地でもある。1864年（元治1）に始まった元治甲子(げんじかっし)の乱の激戦地ともなった。明治時代はたばこ製造業が専売法移行まで盛大を極めた。那珂川河口に那珂湊漁港があり、茨城県第一の漁業基地で、水産加工業が盛ん。北部の水戸射爆場跡地は、1989年（平成1）着工の常陸那珂(ひたちなか)港（現在は重要港湾茨城港の常陸那珂港区）や、1991年指定の国営ひたち海浜公園となった。大洗(おおあらい)県立自然公園に属し、阿字ヶ浦(あじがうら)は北関東最大の海水浴場。

［櫻井明俊］

『『那珂湊市史料』全7巻（1975～1982・那珂湊市）』

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