Sasayama-cho is located in the mid-eastern part of Hyogo Prefecture and is 187.46 square kilometers in total area, making it the fifth-largest municipality in Hyogo. It is bordered on the east by Funai County, Kyoto Prefecture, on the south by Toyono County,Osaka Prefecture, and on the north and west by the towns of Tannan-cho and Nishiki-cho in Taki County, Hyogo Prefecture.

@ Area: 187.46 square kilometers
Location: 35‹4'N Lat.,135‹13'E long.
Elevation: 221.64 meters above sea level
Extent of Town: 20 km east to west, 14 km north to south.

Town History

The town of Tamba Sasayama is surrounded by mountains. Numerous historical texts and supporting evidence gathered from archaeological excavations indicate that the area around Sasayama has been inhabited continuously for several thousands of years, with a fairly large population already present by the pre-historical Jomon and Yayoi periods. During the early historical period of Japan, an influential group of individuals with direct ties to the power center of Japan at the time apparently lived in the area, a fact attested to by the presence of the second-largest kofun (key-shaped royal burial mound) in the prefecture.

From this early period until medieval times, a highly refined and developed culture that was centered around Buddhism flourished in Sasayama, evident through the large numbers of Buddhist statues and religious artifacts found at various shrines and temples; similarly, toward the end of the Nara period, Sasayama was reputedly one of the final sites considered for the relocation of the capitulate Nara.

Toward the end of the middle Ages, a nobleman by the name of Lord Hatano built his castle atop Mt.Yakami, from which he exerted a strong influence over all of the Tamba region until 1579, when his castle was overrun by Mitsuhide Akechi and he was killed. In 1609, Sasayama Castle was built on the orders of the Shogun Ieyas Tokugawa, and it is from the hill on which this castle was built that the name "Sasayama" is derived. As a castle town attached to this fortress, Sasayama became the political, economic, and cultural center of the entire Tamba province.

After the Meiji Restoration, 70th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army was garrisoned in Sasayama, essentially turning the town into a military base. It remained as such until the end of World War II, when it drew the Hyogo Agriculture College (now the Agriculture Department of Kobe University), transforming it yet again into an educational center.