Sōja

Sōja is a city in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, with an estimated population of 69,428 on 31 March 2023 and a total area of 211.90 square kilometres. The Takahashi River runs through it from northwest to south, and the urban centre sits in a small basin on the river floodplain below the southern edge of the Kibi plateau. The area belonged to the ancient province of Bitchū and was the centre of the ancient Kingdom of Kibi, whose relics include the Tsukuriyama Kofun, the tenth largest burial mound in Japan, and the mountain fortress of Ki Castle. In the Nara period the provincial capital and the Bitchū Kokubun-ji temple stood here, and the later temple town took its name from the Sōja shrine. The village of Sōja was created in 1889, became a town in 1896 and was raised to city status on 31 March 1954. Automobile parts dominate its industry.