Population 93,921 (2015) | Region Kyushu Area 126.3 km² | |
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Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) Website www.city.omura.nagasaki.jp Weather 7°C, Wind E at 6 km/h, 81% Humidity Points of interest Omura Park, Kotohira Sky Park, Honkyō‑ji Temple, Hachimakiyama, Kubara Park | ||
Ōmura (大村市, Ōmura-shi) is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.
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Map of Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
As of April 1, 2015, the city has an estimated population of 93,921 and a population density of 710 persons per km². The total area is 126.33 km², and includes Nagasaki Airport.
History
Ōmura is a castle town, and was the capital of Ōmura Domain, ruled by the local Ōmura clan for over 900 years in pre-Meiji Japan. It was the site of considerable foreign trade and missionary activity during the late Muromachi period, and the Catholic saint Marina de Omura hails from this city. Due to its proximity to the trading settlement at Dejima in Nagasaki, was one of the first areas of Japan to re-open to foreign contact after the end of the national seclusion policy after the Meiji Restoration. In the opera Madama Butterfly, set in nearby Nagasaki, the place name Omara in the line "ed alla damigella Butterfly del quartiere d'Omara Nagasaki" probably refers to Ōmura. From 1868-1945, Ōmura was host to numerous military facilities as part of the Sasebo Naval District, most notably that of a major air base for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The former naval base was the location of the squalid Ōmura Migrant Detention Center, where mainly Korean refugees—termed "stowaways" (mikkōsha synonymous with "smuggler")—were held until deportation, frequently for several years. Since August 1996 the nearby Ōmura Immigration Reception Center in a modern building serves the same function.
The modern city was founded on February 11, 1942. It was largely destroyed by American bombing on October 25, 1944. Its postwar recovery was assisted by the construction of Nagasaki airport offshore in Ōmura Bay, and by other public works projects.
Economy
Ōmura has a mixed economy, with the manufacture of refractory bricks as a major industry. Dairy and poultry farming, as well as cultured pearls are also of importance. However, due to its proximity to the larger urban centers of Nagasaki and Sasebo, Ōmura also serves as bedroom community for both cities.
Oriental Air Bridge, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city. At one time J-Air had its headquarters at the airport.