The name "Funabashi" is mentioned in the
Kamakura period chronicle
Azuma Kagami. However, the name itself is even more ancient, dating from before the
Nara period and the
Yamatotakeru mythology. Archaeologists have found stone tools from the
Japanese Paleolithic period and
shell middens from the
Jōmon period in the area, indicating continuous inhabitation for thousands of years. A number of
Shinto shrines and
Buddhist temples in the area claim to have been founded in the
Nara period or
Heian period. During the
Muromachi periods, the area was controlled by the
Chiba clan. During the
Sengoku period, the Chiba clan fought the
Satomi clan to the south, and the
Late Hōjō clan to the west. After the defeat of the Chiba clan, the area came within the control of
Tokugawa Ieyasu. Under the
Tokugawa shogunate, the area prospered as a
post town on the river crossing of the
Tone River, and was largely retained as
tenryō under the direct control of the Shogunate and administered through a number of . The area was also a favored hunting grounds for the Shōgun. During the
Boshin War of the
Meiji Restoration, Funabashi was the location of a minor skirmish between Tokugawa loyalists under
Enomoto Takeaki and the pro-Imperial forces of
Okayama Domain and
Satsuma Domain, during which most of the town burned down. After the
abolition of the han system, the area eventually became part of Chiba Prefecture. Funabashi Town was one of several towns and villages created on April 1, 1889, under
Inba District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The area developed rapidly due to its proximity to Tokyo and the presence of numerous military facilities in the area. On April 1, 1937, Funabashi was elevated to city status through merger with neighboring Katsushika Town and Yasakae, Hoden and Tsukada Villages. The new city was host to numerous military installations in World War II, and was bombed in the
air raids on Japan in 1945. The city developed rapidly in the postwar period, with the development of industries, public housing developments and port facilities. With the annexation of neighboring Ninomiya Town in 1953, the population exceeded 100,000. The population exceeded 300,000 in 1969 and 500,000 in 1982. Funabashi was designated a
core city on April 1, 2005, with increased local autonomy from the central government. The population exceeded 600,000 in 2006. ==Government==