270px, Japan National Route 195 in Anan 270px, Kuwano River in Anan 270px, Aerial View of Anan 270px, near Byōdō-ji 270px, Kamodamisaki Lighthouse 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 ...

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

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 70,285 in 31313 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 250 persons per km².The total area of the city is .

Geography

Anan is located in the southeastern part of Tokushima Prefecture and is the easternmost municipality on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. The east faces the

Kii Channel The , also called the Kii Strait, is a strait separating the Japanese island of Shikoku from the Kii Peninsula on the main island of Honshū. This strait connects the Inland Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The name of the strait derives from Ki ...

and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and is the northern end of

Muroto-Anan Kaigan Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the coast of Kōchi Prefecture and Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on 1 June 1964 and has an area of . See also * List of national parks of Japan and in Japan are places of scenic beauty designated ...

. The city is at the mouth of the Naka River, which is the longest river in the prefecture, and the Kuwano River runs through the city. The city has two main urban centers: the Tokushima district, which is a former

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

, and the Tachibana district, which is a port city.

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture *

Komatsushima 270px, Komatsushima panorama 270px, Kandase River in Komatsushima 270px, Komatsushima Port 270px, Statue of Minamoto no Yoshitsune 270px, Aerial View of Komatsushima city center is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city ...

* Katsuura * Naka * Minami

Climate

Anan has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

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'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is high, but there is a pronounced difference between the wetter summers and drier winters. The average annual temperature in Anan 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 . The highest temperature ever recorded in Anan was on 11 August 2013; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 26 February 1981.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Anan in 2020 is 69,470 people. Anan has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Anan was part of ancient Awa Province. The Naka River valley was settled since at least the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

, and archaeologists have found many

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』� ...

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s and the traces of Japan's oldest

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and ...

mine. 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 was part of the holdings of

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima ...

ruled by the

Hachisuka clan The are descendants of Emperor Seiwa (850-880) of Japan and are a branch of the Ashikaga clan through the Shiba clan (Seiwa Genji). History Ashikaga Ieuji (13th century), son of Ashikaga Yasuuji, was the first to adopt the name Shiba. The Shiba ...

from their seat at

Tokushima Castle was an Edo period Japanese castle located in the city of Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1957. Its Omotegoten Gardens are designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty. Hi ...

. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, it was organized into 17 villages within

Naka District, Tokushima is a district located in Tokushima, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 7,549 and a population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a meas ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889, including the villages of Tomioka and Tachibanaura. Tomioka was raised town status in 1905 and Tachibanaura became Tachibana town in 1912. The two towns merged on May 1, 1958 to form the city of Anan. On March 20, 2006, the towns of Hanoura and Nakagawa (both from Naka District) were merged into Anan.

Government

Anan 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 council of 28 members. Anan contributes four members to the

Tokushima Prefectural Assembly is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Tokushima 1st district Tokushima 1st district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, and consists of the city of Tokushima and the village of Sanag� ...

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

Anan was traditionally known for its production of edible bamboo shoots and bamboo products. In modern times, it has been associated with

Nichia is a Japanese chemical engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Anan, Japan with global subsidiaries. It specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of phosphors, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes, batte ...

, a global

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

and electronic materials manufacturer which has its headquarters and several factories in the city.Corporate Information
"

Retrieved on September 10, 2015. Also in the city is the static inverter plant of

Kii Channel HVDC system The Kii Channel HVDC system in Japan is, as of 2012, the highest-capacity high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine power cable system in the world to use a single bipole, with a rated power of 1400MW. The cross channel system between England ...

. Agriculture and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

also play a role in the economy.

Education

Anan has 22 public elementary schools and ten public middle schools operated by the city government and one public middle school and four public high schools operated by the Tokushima Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The city also has the National Institute of Technology, Anan College.

Transportation

Railway

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has i ...

–

Mugi Line The is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nic ...

* - - - - - - - -

Highways

Tokushima Expressway The is a national Expressways of Japan, expressway in the Shikoku region of Japan. The expressway is numbered E11 between Naruto and Tokushima Junctions and E32 between Tokushima and Kawanoe-Higashi Junctions under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Re ...

Anan-Aki Expressway * *

Local attractions

* Tairyū-ji, 21st temple on the

Shikoku Pilgrimage The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...

Byōdō-ji Byōdō-ji (平等寺) is a Buddhist temple in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It was founded in 1003, and it is dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai. The temple is affiliated with the Shingon-shū Chizan-ha. It is also known as Inabadō or Inaba Y ...

, 22nd temple on the

* Wakasugiyama Site, Kofun period cinnabar mine trace. National Historic Site

References

External links

* *
Anan City official website
Cities in Tokushima Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Anan, Tokushima {{Tokushima-geo-stub