История и современность города Химедзи

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Per Japanese census data, the population of Himeji in 2020 is 530,495 people.

Himeji has been the center of Harima Province since the Nara period, and was the location of the provincial capital and Harima Kokubun ji. After the Battle of Sekigahara, Ikeda Terumasa received a fief at Harima Province and established the Himeji Domain. He expanded Himeji Castle and its castle town. Due to its location dominating the San'yōdō highway connecting the Kinai region with western Japan, Himeji was a major stronghold of the Tokugawa shogunate through the Bakumatsu period. Following the Meiji restoration, Himeji was the capital of "Himeji Prefecture" (later Shikama Prefecture) from 1871, which was merged into Hyōgo Prefecture in 1876. The city of Himeji was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. After the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the Japanese government reportedly considered moving the nation's capital from Tokyo to Himeji. On April 1, 1996, Himeji attained Core city status, with increased local autonomy. On March 27, 2006, the town of Yasutomi (from Shisō District), the town of Kōdera (from Kanzaki District), and the towns of Ieshima and Yumesaki (both from Shikama District) were merged into Himeji.

During World War II, Himeji was a target for the United States' XXI Bomber Command as it was an important rail terminal and contained two large military zones. The first air raid occurred o June 22, 1945 at 0950, in which 60 B 29 Superfortress bombers centered on Andrea containing a Kawanishi Aircraft Company factory. The bombing killed 341 people and rendered 10,220 homeless. The second attack occurred on July 3, 1945 at 16:23, 107 aircraft dropped 767 tons of incendiary bombs on Himeji, destroying 63.3% of the built up areas of the city. However, the famous Himeji Castle, although blackened by smoke from the burning city, remained unscathed, even with one firebomb being dropped on it. This attack killed 173 people, severely wounded 160, and resulted in the destruction of 10,300 buildings, rendering 45,182 people homeless.

Himeji has a mayor council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 46 members. Himeji contributes eight members to the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Hyōgo 11th and Hyōgo 12th districts of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Himeji is located within the Hanshin Industrial Area and Harima Seaside Industrial Areas. The coastal region is heavily industrialized, with steel mills, chemical plants, semiconductor and automobile electronics predominating. In addition, Kansai Electric Power's Himeji No. 1 Power Station and Himeji No. 2 Power Station are located in the area. The northern two thirds of the city is mainly agricultural and commercial fishing off the southern seacoast also plays a role in the economy. Traditional crafts include the production of butsudan (Buddhist altars), leather crafts, glue, matchmaking and candles.

Himeji has 66 public elementary schools, 32 public middle schools and three public high schools operated by the city government and 13 public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. There are also four private combined middle/high schools. There are also four special education school for the handicapped, one operated by the city and three by the prefecture. A North Korean school, Seiban North Korean Elementary and Middle School ([[:ja:西播朝鮮初中級学校), can also be found in the city.

Himeji is twinned or has sister city relationships with six international cities and two Japanese cities, as well as a sister castle located in France. Himeji has a particularly strong relationship with Phoenix, Arizona, as teachers from America are able to teach English abroad for 1–2 years. Additionally, the Youth Ambassador Exchange Program allows for both Japanese and American high school students to experience the cultures and languages of their respective countries for 3 weeks.