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HIRATSUKA: HISTORY
Although it is not clear when people started living in Hiratsuka, the ruins show there was life almost 2,000 years ago.
It was probably around the 13th century that the population of Hiratsuka started growing, when the new government (Bakufu) was established in Kamakura, only 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Hiratsuka. Because of HiratsukaÕs location, it became a base for both land and water transportation, and started functioning as a stage for travelers.
These characteristics of Hiratsuka continued in the Edo era (17th - 19th centuries) until the modernization of Japan started in 1867 with the collapse of Edo Bakufu. Up to this period, the major industries were farming and fishing.
Once the industrialization began, it changed Hiratsuka rapidly. In 1887 the train station was built and the center of the economy moved to this area. In 1905 the gunpowder factory of the navy started operation, which would eventually lead to the tragic bombing of the city in the Second World War. Cotton-spinning also became the major industry when a factory opened in 1917.
During the period of WW2, most of the factories were producing munitions supplies. When Hiratsuka was bombed in 1945, 70% of the city burned to ashes. After the war, new factories were built where the gunpowder factory used to be. Today the northern part of the city is an industrial area that produces rubber, automobile, machinery and chemical products.
People in Hiratsuka began celebrating Tanabata in 1951, hoping that the city would recover from the devastation of WW2 as soon as possible. Now it is one of the largest festivals in Japan, and attracts millions of people from all over the country.
