Takarazuka, Hyōgo

Takarazuka is a city in the northern part of the Hanshin area of Hyōgo Prefecture, enclosed by the Rokko Range to the west and the Nagao mountain range to the north, with the Muko River flowing through its centre. Known as the inner parlour of Kansai, it is famous for the Takarazuka Revue, which began in 1914 as the Takarazuka Girls' Opera, for its hot springs and for a tourism fireworks display held since 1913. It is also a sought-after residential area alongside Ashiya and Nishinomiya. Kohama became the town of Takarazuka in 1951 and merged with Yoshimoto village to form the city on 1 April 1954. The Great Hanshin earthquake of 17 January 1995 caused more than 100 casualties here, and Takarazuka became a special city in 2003. In 2024 it had an estimated 221,846 residents on 101.80 square kilometres.