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
Nishiusuki District,
Miyazaki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kuma ...
,
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 October 1, 2019, 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 3,656
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 13.2 persons per km². The total area is 277.67 km².
Located next to the religio-historically significant town of
Takachiho
is a town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2019, the town has an estimated population of 11,959 and a density of 50.3 persons per km². The total area is 237.54 km².
Geography
Takachiho is in the north ...
, Hinokage is known primarily for its three large bridges, traditional
Kagura
is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice.
One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perfor ...
dances, and the work of
Kazuo Hiroshima
Kazuo (カズオ, かずお) is a masculine Japanese given name.
Possible spellings
It has several written forms, and the meaning depends on the characters used (usually kanji, but sometimes hiragana). Common forms include:
* 一雄: first son, ...
, a traditional weaver of bamboo baskets. Like many districts in rural Japan, the area has been struggling with an
aging population
Population ageing is an increasing median age in a population because of declining fertility rates and rising life expectancy. Most countries have rising life expectancy and an ageing population, trends that emerged first in developed countries b ...
and an exodus of young people to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
and other major cities. The town's population peaked in the 1950s at 16,199 people, (Cort & Nakamura, 1994) but has steadily declined since the closure of the Mitate mine in March, 1970. (記念編纂部会, 1997) Between 2000 and 2005 four area elementary and middle schools were closed, and more closures are planned in the future.
The region was heavily damaged in the September, 2005
Typhoon Nabi
Typhoon Nabi (), known in the Philippines as Typhoon Jolina, was a powerful typhoon that struck southwestern Japan in September 2005. The 14th named storm of the 2005 Pacific typhoon season, Nabi formed on August 29 to the east of the Northe ...
, and local rail service has been suspended indefinitely.
References
*Cort, Louise Allison and Kenji Nakamura (1994). ''A Basketmaker in Rural Japan''. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. .
*記念誌編纂部会 (1997). ''大空に翔ける: 日之影町立日之影中学校創立５０周年記念誌'' 日之影町:創立５０周年記念事業実行委員会.
External links
*
Hinokage official website
Towns in Miyazaki Prefecture
{{Miyazaki-geo-stub