Asahikawa is a town in Hokkaido, Japan.
Overview[]
Asahikawa is known as a military town (軍都) and the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army's 7th Division.
History[]
Asahikawa was populated by mainland Japanese in the Meiji period (1868 – July 1912) as a tondenhei, or state-sponsored farmer-militia settlement.
Kamikawa District set up under Ishikari Province with the villages of Asahikawa, Nagayama and Kamui in 1890.
- 1900 Asahikawa Village becomes Asahikawa town
- 1914 Asahikawa Town becomes Asahikawa-ku
Asahikawa was elevated to city status in 1922.
Asahikawa thrived as a military city before World War II, when the IJA 7th Division was posted there. Today, the 2nd Division of the Northern Army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force is headquartered in Asahikawa.
- 1955 Kamui Village and Etanbetsu Village merge with Asahikawa
- 1961 Nagayama Town merged
- 1963 Higashi-Asahikawa Town merged
- 1967 Asahiyama Zoo opened
- 1968 Kagura Town merged
- 1971 Higashi-Takasu Town merged
- 1972 Japan's first permanent pedestrian mall Heiwadōri Shopping Park opened
- April 1, 2000 Asahikawa becomes a Core city