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

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita 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 25,076, 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 29 persons per km² in 10,531 households. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Hachimantai is located in the

Ōu Mountains The are a mountain range in the Tōhoku region of Honshū, Japan. The range is the longest range in Japan and stretches south from the Natsudomari Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture to the Nasu volcanoes at the northern boundary of the Kantō ...

of far northwest Iwate Prefecture, bordered by

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

to the north and

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

to the west. The headwaters of the Yoneshiro River are in Hachimanai. Part of

Mount Hachimantai is the highest peak of a group of stratovolcanos distributed around the Hachimantai plateau in the Ōu Mountains in northern Honshū, Japan. This volcanic plateau is part of the Nasu Volcanic Zone and straddles the border between the Iwate Prefec ...

and

Mount Iwate is a stratovolcano complex in the Ōu Mountains of western Iwate Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū, Japan. With an elevation of , it is the highest in Iwate Prefecture. It is included as one of the 100 famous mountai ...

are within its borders. Parts of the city are within the borders of the

Towada-Hachimantai National Park is a national park comprising two separate areas of Aomori, Iwate, and Akita Prefectures, Japan. The Towada-Hakkōda area encompasses Lake Towada, Mount Hakkōda, and most of the Oirase River valley. The Hachimantai area includes Mount Hachim ...

, the highest mountain in Iwate Prefecture, is on the border of Hachimantai with Shizukuishi and Takizawa.

Neighboring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture *

Takko is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 5,353, and a population density of 22 persons per km2, in 2,142 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Takko occupies the far southeast corn ...

Akita Prefecture *

Kazuno is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 30.715, and a population density of 43 persons per km² in 12.970 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Kazuno is located in a valley in t ...

* Semboku Iwate Prefecture *

Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...

* Ninohe * Takizawa * Ichinohe * Iwate *

Shizukuishi is a town located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 16,263 in 6354 households, and a population density of 27 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Shizukuishi is located in the Ōu M ...

Climate

Hachimantai has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

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 ...

''Dfa''), the same as much of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

to the north, characterized by warm to hot summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hachimantai is 9.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1387 mm with September as the wettest month and February as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.4 °C. ;Notes:

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hachimantai peaked at around the year 1960 and has declined steadily over the past 60 years.

History

The area of present-day Hachimantai was part of ancient

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

. The area was dominated by the

Nanbu clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji of Kai P ...

from the early

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

. 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 ...

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, the area was under

Morioka Domain 300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, ...

, and was divided between Ninohe District in the north and Iwate District in the south. In the early

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 village of Arasawa was created within Ninohe District on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Arasawa merged with neighboring Tayama Village on September 30, 1956, to form the town of Ashiro. Ashiro was transferred to Iwate District on April 1, 2002. Likewise, on April 1, 1889, the villages of Tairadate, Obun, Dendo and Terada were established within Kita-Iwate District. Kita-Iwate was merged with Minami-Iwate in 1896. The four villages merged on September 30, 1956, for form the town of Nishine. The city of Hachimantai was established on September 1, 2005, from the merger of the towns of Ashiro and Nishine, and the village of

Matsuo Matsuo may refer to: Places * Matsuo, Chiba * Matsuo, Iwate *Mount Matsuo *Matsuo Station (disambiguation) * Siege of Matsuo *Matsuo mine , was an iron and sulphur mine located in the village of Matsuo, Iwate Prefecture in the Tohoku region of n ...

Government

Hachimantai 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 22 members. Hachimantai, together with the towns of Iwate and Kuzumaki contribute two seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Iwate 2nd district 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

The local economy is based on agriculture, forestry and seasonal tourism.

Education

Hachimantai has ten public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East) -

Hanawa Line The is a railway line in Japan linking Kōma Station in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture and Ōdate Station in Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The line extends 106.9 km (66.4 mi) with a total of 27 stations. Also known as the , the Hanawa Lin ...

* - - - - - - - - - - -

Highway

* – Nishine IC, Iwatesan SA, Matsuo-Hachimantai IC, Maemoriyama PA, Ajiro JCT, Ajiro IC, Tayama PA * – Ajiro JCT * – Nishine roadside station

Sister cities

Miyako, Iwate is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 51,150, and a population density of 41 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Miyako is located in central Iwate Prefecture, bordered by ...

– from October 1, 1986 *

Nago, Okinawa ''Nagu'', Kunigami: ''Naguu'' is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 61,659 and a population density of 288 persons per km2. Its tota ...

– from January 28, 1988 * Altenmarkt,

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, friendship city from November 13, 1994, with former Matsuo Village

Local attractions

*Yakehashiri Lava Flow *

Appi Kogen Ski Resort The is one of the largest ski resorts in Japan, operated by Iwate Hotel & Resort, adjacent to the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. The resort is most famous for its ski slopes, but it also has a guest ranch, golf courses, tennis courts, ...

Fudō Falls is a waterfall in the city of Hachimantai, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, on a branch of the Api River. It is one of "Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls is a list of waterfalls in Japan compiled by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990. ...

, One of Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls *

Matsuo mine , was an iron and sulphur mine located in the village of Matsuo, Iwate Prefecture in the Tohoku region of northern Japan. The area is now part of the city of Hachimantai. The mine opened in 1914 and closed in 1979 leaving a ghost town behind. ...

, an abandoned mine *Matsukawa Gorge * Matsukawa Geothermal Power Plant, the first commercial geothermal plant in Japan *Nanbu Fuji Golf Course * Hachimantai hot spring resorts

Notable people from Hachimantai

Hideji Oda is a Japanese manga artist associated with the Nouvelle manga movement. His book ''A Patch of Dreams'' has been translated into English by Fanfare/Ponent Mon. His manga Miyori no Mori has been adapted into an anime is Traditional animat ...

, manga artist * Hanahikari Setsuo, sumo wrestler * Ryoyu Kobayashi, ski jumper *

Junshirō Kobayashi is a Japanese ski jumper. He is the older brother of Yūka Kobayashi, Ryōyū Kobayashi and Tatsunao Kobayashi who are also ski jumpers. Career He represented Japan at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 in Falun, where he finished 13 ...

, ski jumper

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Iwate Prefecture