Kobayashi, Japan

History

The area of Kobayashi was part of ancient Hyūga Province and was called "Hinamori" (夷守) in the Nara period as it was the location of a military settlement on the frontier of the Yamato Kingdom against the Hayato people further south. Miyama Castle was completed around the time of the Genpei War at the end of the Heian period, and the area came to be called "Miyama". In the Sengoku period, after considerable turmoil, the area came under the control of the Itō clan. The Itō were defeated by the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province in 1572, who established a stronghold at Kobayashi Castle. The jōkamachi which developed around this castle became the core of modern Kobayashi. The Shimazu continued to rule the area as part of Satsuma Domain to the end of the Edo Period. In 1871, with the abolition of the han system, the area was incorporated into Kagoshima Prefecture, but was later transferred to Miyazaki Prefecture. The village of Kobayashi was established on May 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was raised to town status on December 25, 1912, and to city status on April 1, 1950.

On March 20, 2006, the village of Suki (from Nishimorokata District) was merged into Kobayashi, roughly doubling the city's size.

On March 23, 2010, the town of Nojiri (also from Nishimorokata District) was also merged into Kobayashi.

From the History section of Kobayashi, Miyazaki on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.