Momota, Niihama

Momota (百田市) is a city in the Niihama Metropolitan Area, Yamatai. Momota is located in the south-western part of the Niihama Metropolitan Area, and is bordered to the north by Ishikawa, to the north-east by Wanshuku District, and to the east by Edajima. As of 2020, Momota has a population of 690,881 and a population density of 1,837.06 inhabitants per square kilometre.

The area where Momota is currently located was inhabited since prehistoric times, mostly home to various fruit orchards and small farming communities. In 1750, Momota was expanded into a farming area in order to support the growing city of Niihama to the north, with the area occupied by the towns of Akari, Ariyasu, Momota, Sasaki, Takagi, and Tamai. These towns were initially a part of Satsuma Province since demarcation of national provinces in the 8th century. The Fourth Canal was completed in 1835 to bring additional fresh water to the area. In 1932, the town of Akari was merged with the town of Momota and Momota City was established. After the 1955 Provincial Reorganisation Plan, Momota City and the surrounding towns became part of the newly-established Niihama Metropolitan Area, with Momota City also absorbing the town of Ariyasu. In 2009, the towns of Sasaki, Takagi, and Tamai were also merged into Momota City.

Etymology
The characters of Momota City's name, 百田, translate to "hundred fields". Local anecdotes claim that this alludes to the original agricultural purposes of the region, however historical records prove that Momota was the name of the largest landowning family in the region, which founded the original agrarian Momota Village some time in the late 15th century.

In modern days, Momota City is also known colloquially as "Ochabatake" (お茶畑), meaning "Tea Plantation", due to either the area's continued small-scale agricultural activities and heritage farms, or the major Nikkin beverage bottling plant located in Momota City (Nikkin is known for their bottled green tea).

History
Inhabited since prehistoric times, the area that is now Momota City includes several Hakurei period tombs within the modern city limits. Archaeological sites also indicate that there was an early Hakurei fishing settlement located at what is today Tamai Point in the south-west of the city. Evidence found at Tamai Point suggest that the Hakurei people, who migrated to the Naichi archipelago from modern Chanha via the Eso archipelago, assimilated rather than displaced the earlier Sanae hunter-gatherers.

In the late 15th century, the Momota family founded Momota Village at a location roughly 400m away from the modern-day Ebizori Station. By historical accounts, the Momota family owned the majority of the lands around the area the village was founded, and the patriarch Momota Mitsunari was also a minor local official. Existing within the old Satsuma Province, the village paid taxes and reported to Satsuma Castle.

During the period of the Yamataian Taikunate (1633-1717), when a feudal system of family clans was imposed on Yamatai by the Hinoan Taikun, Satsuma Province was placed under the control of the Nagasawa Clan, which continued to rule the area from Satsuma Castle. During this period, the increase in foreign trade due to the age of discovery resulted in the expansion of the ports around the Azumako Bay, today known as Niihama Bay, and the population in the area began to increase drastically. In 1693, Ariyasu Village was split from the town of Takagi. The Nagasawa Clan later rebelled against the Taikunate during the Yamataian Civil War (1715-1717), which saw the restoration of the Yamataian monarchy and the centralised bureaucracy with the foundation of the Second Empire of Yamatai. During the war, Akita Tanesada, a well-respected retainer of the Nagasawa Clan, was killed in battle and was buried in a tomb at the site of the modern Akita Park.

After the establishment of Niihama City in 1750, the provincial government began measures to expand Momota's agricultural output in order to support the growing port cities in the province. Momota remained under Satsuma Province after the modern delineation of the provinces under the 1782 National Provinces Decree. Local ordinances related to the National Provinces Decree also saw the first steps towards the consolidation of the villages in the area, with the region officially recognised as the "Momota Area" for the first time, and also declared as a satellite settlement of Niihama to the north in a guide written in 1785.

In 1835, the Fourth Canal was completed to bring additional fresh water and sanitation to the Momota Area, diverging from the 17th-century Furukawa Canal. As the industrial revolution developed, Momota mainly remained an agricultural and warehousing area, though some heavy industry also began to emerge in the northern areas. Like the rest of Satsuma Province, the area came under the control of the Eastern Hoshima Military District when the military district system was established in 1885 during the period of military rule. The Niihama Line was extended to the Momota Town on 1 February 1889 with the opening of the first train station in the area, Momota Station. On the same day, an unrelated fire burned down most of downtown Momota. The Niihama Line would be further extended to Tamai in 1896, while another extension would be made through Sasaki towards Edajima in 1914.

The growth of the settlements in the area intensified dramatically in the 20th century, and in 1932 the towns of Akari and Momota were merged to form Momota City. Along with the other cities in the vicinity of Niihama, Momota city was subjected to minor bombing raids by Chisei and Chanha towards the end of the Second Escar-Varunan War, with a particularly devastating raid in May 1944 resulting in several neighbourhoods being completely burnt down and severe damage to Momota Station. After the war, the city was largely rebuilt and expanded further.

Momota and the surrounding towns were placed under the newly-established Niihama Metropolitan Area in the 1955 Provincial Reorganisation Plan, with Momota City also absorbing the town of Ariyasu. Momota City thus became one of the 6 cities of the Niihama Metropolitan Area. In the 1960s, several electronics companies opened factories in Momota. Momota was further connected to Niihama with the opening of the southern extension of the Furukawa Line in 1964. On 16 August 1980, a major gas leak in an underground shopping centre near Momota Station resulted in an explosion, killing 15 people and seriously injuring 233 others. The loop of the Satsuma Bay Line was completed in 1985, connecting Momota with the other cities around Satsuma Bay. The Momota City Hall moved to its current building in 1986.

In 1997, the 1997 Hasukuni earthquake caused three buildings in downtown Momota to collapse, killing 23 people. Momota City reached its modern size when it absorbed the remaining towns of Sasaki, Takagi, and Tamai in 2009 as part of the Niihama Metropolitan Government's plan to streamline local government within the province.

Ariyasu Beach
Ariyasu Beach (有安浜) is a sandy beach that occupies much of the southern coast of Momota City, also stretching into adjacent Edajima City. The beach is about 34 kilometres long and stretches between Tamai Point and Edajima City's Tamachi Waterfront, and is the only sandy beach in Niihama Metropolis. It is a popular destination for the inhabitants of Niihama Metropolis, and is also protected as part of Ariyasu Beach Natural Park.

Momota Agricultural Heritage Area
The Momota Agricultural Heritage Area is located in south-east Momota mainly in the Sasaki Ward, reserved for small-scale agricultural activities dedicated to preserving local farming traditions and culture. The area's farms are primarily low-yield fruit farms and one tea plantation, with the bulk of income attained through tourist revenue rather than sales of produce.

Tamai Point
Tamai Point is a small peninsula at the mouth of Satsuma Bay and is part of the Tamai Ward. It is known for being the site of major archaeological discoveries that were found there in the late 20th century. A major tourist attraction is the Shiori Lighthouse and observation deck built on the cliffside, as well as various museums dedicated to the Sanae hunter-gatherers and Early Hakurei Culture.

Just north of Tamai Point and around Munemoto Station is the famous Tamai Food Street, where various restaurants and street food stalls are open throughout the day and night with local specialties as well as regional favourites, with a wide variety catering to all price categories.

Cuisine and festivals
Yamataian Amphian-style cakes, known as Keiki, are popular in Momota and there is a major keiki industry that uses fruits grown locally as ingredients. Keiki from Momota are well-regarded for their quality and are sold nationwide. They are often sought after as souvenirs or gifts.

There is also a strong appreciation for shrimp in Momota, with a noticeable emphasis on shrimp in local favourite foods. There is even an annual festival devoted to shrimp, the Ebizori Festival, which is dedicated to the peak shrimp spawning season in late spring. The festival always features people performing the "shrimp jump", a complex gymnastics move involving jumping, arching the back, and throwing the limbs rearwards in imitation of the shape of shrimp. In recent years, Momota residents often seek to set "shrimp jump" records, such as having the most amount of people doing the shrimp jump simultaneously or simply attaining the highest shrimp jump.

Rail

 * Furukawa Line
 * Kishi-Hamada Line (岸浜田線)
 * Niihama Line
 * Satsuma Bay Line