Hitachi (Ibaraki) 5.28

Hitachi is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of September 2015, the city had an estimated population of 183,148 and a population density of 811 persons per km². Its total area was 225.71 km². The name of Hitachi is well known throughout the world due to the Hitachi company founded in the town of Sukegawa in 1910 by Namihei Odaira.GeographyLocated in northern Ibaraki Prefecture, Hitachi is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east.Surrounding municipalities Ibaraki Prefecture Takahagi Hitachiōta Naka TōkaiHistoryHuman settlement in the Hitachi area dates to at least the Japanese Paleolithic period. In the early Nara period, the area was defined as part of Taga Province, which was then merged into Hitachi Province under the Ritsuryō system. By the Sengoku period, the area was under the control of the Satake clan. Following the creation of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the Satake to Dewa Province, and the area became part of the domain’s awarded to Ieyasu's son Tokugawa Yorifusa. The area remained part of Mito Domain until the Meiji restoration.