was a city

Cities of Japan

||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 located in Katori District

Katori District, Chiba

is a district located in Chiba, Japan.Since there is no population data since 2003, the post-Katori-Narita creation district had an estimated population of 40,260...

, Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Sawara has been settled since prehistoric times, and has numerous remains of Jōmon period

Jomon period

The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...

 shell middens and Kofun period

Kofun period

The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...

 burial mounds

Kofun

Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Japan, constructed between the early 3rd century and early 7th century. They gave their name to the Kofun period . Many of the Kofun have a distinctive keyhole-shaped mound , unique to ancient Japan...

. By the Nara period

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

, it had developed as a port, and as a monzenmachi associated with Katori Shrine

Katori Shrine

The is a Shintō shrine in the city of Katori in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Shimōsa Province, and is the head shrine of the approximately 400 Katori shrines around the country ....

, and in the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 was a regional commerce center for numerous shōen

Shoen

A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term zhuangyuan.Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private, tax-free, often autonomous estates or manors whose rise undermined the political and economic power of the...

in the area. During the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, it was partly under the control of the Omigawa Domain

Omigawa Domain

was a minor Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Shimōsa Province , Japan. It was centered on what is now part of the city of Katori. It was ruled for most of its history by the Uchida clan....

, a feudal domain of the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

. Modern Sawara Town was created in 1898 and raised to city status on March 15, 1951 through merger with neighboring town of Katori and the villages of Kasai and Higashi-Oto. It expanded further on February 11, 1955 through annexation of the neighboring villages of Mizuho, Shinshima, Tsunomiya and Okura.
IN March 1996, Sawara established sister city relations with Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

On March 27, 2006 Sawara was merged

Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

Municipal mergers and dissolutions carried out in Japan can take place within one municipality or between multiple municipalities and are required to be based upon consensus.- Merger policy:...

 with the towns of Omigawa

Omigawa, Chiba

was a town located in Katori District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.Omigawa has been settled since prehistoric times, with numerous shell middens and burial mounds from the Japanese Paleolithic through Kofun period. During the Edo period, it was the center of Omigawa Domain, a feudal domain of the...

, Yamada

Yamada, Chiba

was a town located in Katori District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.Yamada Town was established on August 1, 1954 through the merger of town of Fuma with the villages of Yatsu and Yamakura...

 and Kurimoyo

Kurimoto, Chiba

was a town located in Katori District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.Kurimoto Village was established on April 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on April 10, 1924....

, all from Katori District

Katori District, Chiba

is a district located in Chiba, Japan.Since there is no population data since 2003, the post-Katori-Narita creation district had an estimated population of 40,260...

, to form the new city of Katori

Katori, Chiba

is a city located in northern Chiba, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 82,633 and a population density of 315 persons per km². The total area was 262.31 km²...

, and thus no longer exists as an independent municipality.

In February 2006 (the last data available before its merger into Katori), the city had an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 47,244 and a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 394 persons per km². Its total area was 119.88 km².

Points of interest

• Sawara Municipal Aquatic Botanical Garden
  Sawara Municipal Aquatic Botanical Garden
  The is a botanical garden located at the eastern side of the Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park in Katori, Chiba, Japan. It is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. every day in May and June. July through April it is closed every Monday and from Dec.24 through Jan.4. Admission is charged.The garden opened in 1969...
  
  
• Sawara's town center, which is an old Japanese merchant town, with historical canal.
• Waterfall bridge - a waterfall falls from this bridge at specific times during the day