Yatabe

A district in the southwest of Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Formerly Yatabe Town. Yatabe Town, which was incorporated as a town in 1889 (Meiji 22), merged with four villages, Shimana, Katsuragi, Onogawa, and Mase (part) in 1955 (Showa 30), and further merged with two towns, Toyosato and Oho, in Tsukuba County, and Sakura Village, in Niihari County, to become a city, forming Tsukuba City. It has the southern part of the Tsukuba Plateau and the coastal lowlands of the Higashiyata River and Nishiyata River. It is very cold in winter. The Tsukuba Express runs through the area, and there are the Yatabe Interchange on the Joban Expressway, the Tsukuba Chuo Interchange on the Ken-O Expressway, and the Tsukuba Ushiku Interchange on the Ken-O Expressway, and the two roads intersect and connect at Tsukuba Junction. JR and Kanto Railway buses run between the area and Tokyo Station. Formerly known as Yatabe-go, Kawachi County, the area was ruled by the Oda and Tagaya clans, who were based in Yatabe Castle, and in the early modern period, the Hosokawa clan's Yatabe Domain was located here. Since the Meiji period, it has been the administrative center of Tsukuba County. Its main industries are agriculture and forestry, producing peanuts, watermelons, and shiitake mushrooms. Urbanization has progressed with the establishment of the Japan Automobile Research Institute and Tsukuba Science City. The pentagonal hall and wooden Japanese clock by Edo period inventor Iizuka Iga Shichi are designated as prefectural cultural properties. The site of the 1985 International Science and Technology Exposition has been used for industrial purposes.

[Akitoshi Sakurai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

茨城県つくば市南西部の地区。旧谷田部町。1889年（明治22）に町制施行した谷田部町が、1955年（昭和30）島名(しまな)、葛城(かつらぎ)、小野川(おのがわ)、真瀬(ませ)（一部）の4村と合併し、さらに1987年（昭和62）筑波郡豊里(とよさと)、大穂(おおほ)の2町、新治(にいはり)郡桜村と合併して市制施行、つくば市となった。筑波台地南部と東谷田(ひがしやた)川、西谷田川の沿岸低地をもつ。冬の寒さは厳しい。つくばエクスプレスが通じ、常磐自動車道(じょうばんじどうしゃどう)の谷田部インターチェンジ、圏央道のつくば中央、つくば牛久の各インターチェンジがあり、両道はつくばジャンクションで交差・接続する。東京駅との間にJRと関東鉄道のバスが通じる。古くは河内(かっち)郡八部(やたべ)郷といわれ、中世は谷田部城に拠(よ)る小田氏、多賀谷(たがや)氏が支配し、近世は細川氏の谷田部藩が置かれた。明治時代以降は筑波郡政の中心地となった。ラッカセイ、スイカ、シイタケなどの農林業が主。日本自動車研究所と筑波研究学園都市の成立により都市化が進行した。江戸時代の発明家飯塚伊賀七(いいづかいがしち)の五角堂と木製和時計は県指定文化財。1985年の国際科学技術博覧会の会場跡地は工業用地となった。

［櫻井明俊］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例