, ( Miyako: ''Pїsara'') was 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

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

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 ...

on the island of Miyako. As of 2003, 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 33,861 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 521.58 persons per km². The total area was 64.92 km².

History

Hirara was founded on March 7, 1947. On October 1, 2005, Hirara, along with the towns of Gusukube, Irabu and Shimoji, and the village of

Ueno is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Na ...

(all from Miyako District), was merged to create the city of

Miyakojima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako Island is administered as part of the City of Miyakojima, which includes not only Miyako Island, but also five other populated islands. ...

. This merger was one of a large number of mergers that was conducted in 2005, which was nicknamed "the great

Heisei The is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, ...

mergers". The merger was conducted by the "Miyako District Municipal Merger Council", which was responsible for planning mergers in Miyako District. Before the merger, the district consisted of all of the

Miyako Islands The (also Miyako Jima group) are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, belonging to the Ryukyu Islands. They are situated between the Okinawa Island and Yaeyama Islands. In the early 1870s, the population of the islands was estim ...

, but now (after the merger) it only consists of Tarama Village.

Points of interest

Miyakojima City Tropical Plant Garden The is a botanical garden in Hirara, Miyako-jima, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Landscaping began in 1967 on a site that before the war was a forest of Ryūkyū pines. The garden now contains about 1,600 species of plant and 40,000 trees in an ar ...

References

External links

City of Miyakojima
Dissolved municipalities of Okinawa Prefecture {{Okinawa-geo-stub