was a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in

Amakusa District is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Following the March 27, 2006 Amakusa merger the district consists of the single town of Reihoku. After the merger, the district has an estimated population of 9,105 and a density of 135.77 p ...

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 17,017 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 448.05 persons per km². The total area was 37.98 km². On March 31, 2004, Ōyano, along with the towns of Himedo,

Matsushima is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (''shima'') covered in pines (''matsu'') – hence the name – and it is considered to be one of the Three Views of Japan. Nearby cultural properties ...

and Ryūgatake (all from

), was merged to create the city of

Kami-Amakusa is a Cities of Japan, city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Kami-Amakusa was established on March 31, 2004, from the merger of the towns of Himedo, Kumamoto, Himedo, Matsushima, Kumamoto, Matsushima, Ōyano, Kumamoto, � ...

and no longer exists as an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. The main island comprising Oyano is still called Oyano Island, and is connected to mainland Kyushu by the first of the "Amakusa Five Bridges", Tenmonbashi. Oyano is connected to the rest of Kami-Amakusa City by the second through fifth bridges: Oyanobashi, Nakanobashi, Maejimabashi, and Matsushimabashi. Oyano Island is home to the Amakusa Shiro Memorial Hall, a museum that documents the history of the Amakusa-Shimabara Rebellion of 1637.

Notes

External links

Official website of Kami-Amakusa

Dissolved municipalities of Kumamoto Prefecture {{Kumamoto-geo-stub