Ibara

Ibara is a city in west-central Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The Oda River, a tributary of the Takahashi River, flows from Hiroshima Prefecture and turns eastward in the center of the city, forming a basin between mountains and hills where most of the population lives, while the northern part has hamlets on a limestone karst plateau at 400 to 500 meters. The area belonged to ancient Bitchu Province, and in the Muromachi period Ise Moritoki, lord of Ibara-sho, is recorded as later changing his name to Hojo Soun. The city was established on March 30, 1953, from a merger of towns and villages, and in 2005 the towns of Yoshii and Bisei were merged into it. The economy is primarily light industry, including textiles, automobile parts, electronic parts and food container manufacturing, and the Ibara Railway Ibara Line serves the city.