is 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
Kuma District,
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 April 2017, the town has 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 15,796.
The total area is 159.49 km
2.
Asagiri was created by the merger of 5 smaller towns and villages on April 1, 2003. Those included the town of
Menda, and the villages of
Ōkaharu,
Ue,
Sue and
Fukada, all from
Kuma District.
Soybeans, strawberries, melons and tobacco are also produced here.
Asagiri is in the Kuma District region where
shōchū
is a Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as chestnut, sesame seeds, potatoes, or even carrots.
Ty ...
, a popular rice alcohol is produced and consumed.
The village of Sue (now part of Asagiri) was the topic of a 1939 text, ''Suye Mura, a Japanese Village'' by
John Embree
John Fee Embree (August 26, 1908 – December 22, 1950) was an American anthropologist and academic who specialized in the study of Japan. He was a professor at Yale University when he was struck and killed by a motorist.
Career
Born in New Ha ...
.
The word "asagiri" translates as "morning mist".
Geography
Mt. Shiragatake is a designated nature reserve.
* Mountains: Shiragatake
* Rivers: Kuma river
Adjacent municipalities
* Kumamoto prefecture:
**Nishiki town
**Taragi town
**Sagara village
*Miyazaki prefecture
**Ebino city
Area names
Names inside the parenthesis () are the old village names before the merger in 2003.
* East Ue – Uehigashi (Uemura, Ueko)
* North Ue – Uekita (Uemura, Ueotsu)
* South Ue – Ueminami (Uemura, Uehei)
* West Ue – Uenishi (Uemura, Uetei)
* Minagoe (Ue village, Minagoe)
* North Okaharu – Okaharukita (Okaharumura, Miyahara)
* South Okaharu – Okaharuminami (Okaharumura, Okamoto)
* Sue (Sue village)
* North Fukada – Fukadakita (Fukadamura)
* West Fukada (Fukadamura)
* East Fukada (Fukadamura)
* South Fukada (Fukadamura)
* East Menda (Mendamachi-ko)
* West Menda (Mendamachi-otsu)
Climate
Asagiri 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, humid summers and cool winters. There is significant precipitation throughout the year, especially during June and July. The average annual temperature in Asagiri is . The average annual rainfall is with June 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 Asagiri was on 17 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 25 January 2016.][
]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Asagiri in 2020 is 14,676 people.[ Asagiri has been conducting censuses since 1920.
]
History
Development
* April 1, 1889: The towns and villages became designated areas.
** Within Kuma district: Ue village, Minagoe village, Menda village, Okaharu village, Sue village, and Fukada village
* December 7, 1895: Minagoe village was incorporated into Ue village
* April 1, 1937: Menda village became Menda town (Menda machi)
* April 1, 2003: The Kuma district villages of Ue, Okaharu, Sue, Fukada and town of Menda merged to create Asagiri-town. The name was chosen because for the fog that blankets the valley from fall through spring.(Asa – morning, kiri/giri – fog)
Government
Mayor
*First mayor: Indou Takuichiro: April 27, 2003 – April 26, 2007
*Second mayor: Aikou Kazunori: April 27, 2007 – incumbent, second term
Economy
As of 2004, the total town production was 430 billion yen.
References
External links
*
*
Official website
updated: February 2019
Towns in Kumamoto Prefecture
{{Kumamoto-geo-stub