is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

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 ...

. , the city 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 61,320 in 23,451 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 919 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Aisai is a member of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

’s

Alliance for Healthy Cities The Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) is a cooperative international alliance aimed at protecting and enhancing the health and health care of city dwellers. It is composed of groups of cities, urban districts and other organizations from countries ...

(AFHC).

Geography

Aisai is located in the coastal flatlands of far western

, bordering

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

on the west. It has a short border with

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...

to the southwest. The

Kiso River The is a river in the Chubu region of Japan roughly long, flowing through the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay a short distance away from the city of Nagoya.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005) ...

and the

Nagara River The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, ...

pass through the city.

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Aisai is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Aisai population statistics
/ref> the population of Aisai has been relatively steady over the past 30 years.

Surrounding municipalities

;

* Tsushima * Kanie *

Inazawa is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 135,580 in 54,999 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was . Geography Inazawa is located in the flatlands of far western Aic ...

Yatomi is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 44,589 in 18,185 households and a population density of 910 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The between of the border, and neighboring town ...

* Ama ;

Kuwana is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 141,045 in 60,301 households and a population density of 1000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kuwana is located in northern Mie Pr ...

;

Kaizu Kiso Sansen Park Center is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 34,960, and a population density of 310 persons per km2, in 12,167 households. The total area of the city was . Most of the city is located at sea ...

History

Early modern period

During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, the area of modern Aisai was controlled by the Yokoi clan, retainers of the

Owari Tokugawa The is a branch of the Tokugawa clan, and it is the seniormost house of the ''Gosanke'' ("three honourable houses of the Tokugawa").Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Late modern period

During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, the area was organized into several villages under Kasai District and Kaito District, Aichi Prefecture, which later became

Ama District, Aichi is a district located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2019, the district has an estimated population of 74,009 and a density of 1,846 persons per km2. The total area is 40.09 km2. Towns and villages * Kanie * Ōharu * Tob ...

in the Taishō period.

Contemporary history

The city of Aisai was created through the merger on April 1, 2005 of the towns of Saya and Saori and villages of Hachikai and Tatsuta.

Government

Aisai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city legislature of 18 members. The city contributes one member to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 8 of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Economy

Aisai is noted for its production of edible

lotus root ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often re ...

. Other main agricultural include ginger, strawberries, tomatoes, and the brewing of ''

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

''.

Education

Aisai has twelve public elementary schools and eight public junior high schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. There are also two private high schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railways

Conventional lines

;

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...

Kansai Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both comp ...

：- - ;

Meitetsu , referred to as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the ''Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of which off ...

Tsushima Line The is an Japanese railway line which connects Sukaguchi Station in Kiyosu, Aichi with Tsushima Station in Tsushima, Aichi. It is owned and operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu). Manaca is accepted at all statio ...

：- – - *

Bisai Line The is a 30.9 km Japanese railway line which connects Yatomi Station in Yatomi, Aichi with Tamanoi Station in Ichinomiya, Aichi. It is owned and operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad , referred to as , is a private railwa ...

：- – --(Tsushima)-- --(Inazawa)-- -

Roads

Expressways

Higashi-Meihan Expressway The is a four lane national expressway in the Tōkai region of Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. Naming Meihan is a kanji acronym of two characters. The first character represents Nagoya (名古屋) and the se ...

Japan National Route

* *

Local attractions

*Kokie castle *Morikawa lotus field

Notable people from Aisai

* Katō Takaaki , pre-war Prime Minister of Japan *

Shoichi Yokoi was a sergeant in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during the Second World War, and was one of the last three Japanese holdouts to be found after the end of hostilities in 1945. He was discovered in the jungles of Guam on 24 January 1972, almos ...

, Imperial Japanese Army holdout found in Guam *

Daiki Wakamatsu is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Wakamatsu was born in Aichi Prefecture on August 2, 1976. After graduating from high school, he joined Japan Football League (JFL) club Cosmo Oil (later ''Cosmo Oil Yokkaichi'') in 1995. He pl ...

, professional soccer player *

Ryoji Kuribayashi is a professional Japanese baseball pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career Kuribayashi was selected by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp with the team's first selection in the 2020 Nippon Professional Baseball ...

, professional baseball pitcher for Hiroshima Toyo Carp and 2021 Central League Rookie of the Year

Gallery

File:Saya district Aisai city Aerial photograph.1987.jpg, Saya district Aisai city Aerial photograph File:Kracie Tsushima Factory 20150318.JPG, Kracie Tsushima Factory File:MT-Saya Station-Building 2.JPG, MT-Saya Station-Building File:Nagaragawa Bridge and Tatsuta Bridge.jpg, Nagaragawa Bridge and Tatsuta Bridge

References

External links

Aisai City official website
* {{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture Aisai, Aichi