Imari is located in the western part of Saga Prefecture. The city center is located around the mouth of the Imari River.
Mountains: Mt. Hachiman, Mt. Seira, Mt. Eboshi
Rivers: Matsuura River, Imari River, Hata River, Kurōtake River, Arita River
Adjoining municipalities
Saga Prefecture
*Arita
*Karatsu
*Takeo
Nagasaki Prefecture
*Sasebo
*Matsuura
History
During the Edo period this region flourished due to the export of ceramics and porcelain. High quality goods to be presented to Shōgun and the Imperial Court were produced in what is now called Ōkawachiyama. From the Meiji period to 1955 coal was also a major export.
April 1, 1889 - The modern municipal system was established. The current city region was occupied by one town, and 11 villages.
February 16, 1901 - Ōdake Village was renamed Hatatsu Village.
December 10, 1928 - Makishima Village was incorporated into Imari Town.
April 1, 1936 - Nishiyamashiro Village became Yamashiro Town.
December 8, 1943 - The villages of Ōkawachi and Ōtsubo were incorporated into Imari Town.
April 1, 1954 - The towns of Imari and Yamashiro, and the villages of Higashiyamashiro, Kurokawa, Hatatsu, Minamihata, Ōkawa, Matsuura, and Niri were merged to create Imari City.
The port of Imari is a medium size port which receives ocean ships of various types, including container ships, dry bulk ships, cruise ships...etc. . The port of Imari is also the location of the main shipyard of Nomura Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., an Osaka based shipbuilding and repair company
Imari is the largest Japanese pear producing center in western Japan. The cultivation of the Japanese pear from Imari, which originated in the Ōkawa area 100 years ago, has spread out to the Minamihata area and other areas of the city. Today, they are produced over about 350 hectares of land, and their quantity of production was about 4800 tons per year as of 2007. Ōkawa originally had little rice fields, but in 1906 this led the chairman of the Ōkawa Junior Chamber of Commerce, Takeji Fujita and 11 other people to spearhead the reclamation of forest lands and the cultivation of Japanese pears as a cash crop in Ōkawa. Since then the production and the crop acreage of Imari nashi have increased. According to the latest municipal statistics, the production is the fifth and the acreage is the third in the nation. The characteristics of Imari nashi are juiciness and crispness. Thanks to the adoption of light sensor systems for fruit sorting, only those which are of excellent quality can be selected and are shipped to Kantō, Kansai, and Kyūshū districts. Recently export to China has started and been promoted. The main brands of Imari nashi are Kosui, Hosui, and Niitaka. The most produced is Kosui, but Hosui is the most popular brand of the three.
Festivals
The Imari Ton-Ten-Ton Festival is held annually for three days from October 22 to 24, beginning at the Imari Shrine in Imari City. The festival is well known as one of the three great fighting festivals of Japan.
