270px, Yoshino River at Ishii 270px, Ishii Station 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 Myōzai District,

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 town 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 25,219 in 10820 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 870 persons per km².The total area of the town is .

Geography

Ishii is located in northeastern Tokushima Prefecture 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'' (), '' ...

. On the north side of the town, the

Yoshino River The Yoshino River (吉野川 ''Yoshino-gawa'') is a river on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . It is the second longest river in Shikoku (slightly shorter than the Shimanto), and is the only river whose watershe ...

flows from east to west, and near the center of the town, the Iio River, which is a tributary of the Yoshino River, meanders. The land is almost all flat except for the mountains along the city-town border on the south side of the town.

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture *

Tokushima 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 ...

Yoshinogawa 290px, Tokushima Prefectural Road Route 244 in Yoshinogawa 290px, Fujii-dera wisteria is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 39,150 in 17958 households and a population density of 270 persons ...

* Kamiyama * Itano * Kamiita * Aizumi

Climate

Ishii 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 ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ishii is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2128 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Itano population statistics
/ref> the population of Ishii has remained relatively stable for the past 60 years.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Ishii was part of ancient Awa Province. The village of Ishii was established within Myozai District, Tokushima with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on November 1, 1907. Ishii annexed the neighboring villages of Urasho, Takahara, Aihata and Takagawara on March 31, 1955.

Government

Ishii 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 ...

town council of 14 members. Itano, together with the other municipalities of Myozai District, contributes two 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 town 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

Ishii has primarily an agricultural economy; however, due to its geographic proximity to Tokushima, it is increasingly becoming a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

Nippon Ham (English name before 2014: Nippon Meat Packers, Inc.) is a food processing conglomerate headquartered in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. History Founded in 1949, the company is commonly known as Nippon Ham. As a multinational corporation, Nipp ...

and

Morinaga Milk Industry is a milk products and sweets company based in Tokyo, Japan, in operation since September 1, 1917. Their products include milk products, drinks, candy, confectioneries, and infant formula. Morinaga has distribution agreements with Mondelez Int ...

are major employers.

Education

Ishii has six public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Tokushima Prefectural Department of Education. The Tokushima Prefectural College of Agriculture is located in Ishii.

Transportation

Railway

JR Shikoku 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 it ...

Tokushima Line The is a railway line in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). The Tokushima Line connects Sako Station in Tokushima and Tsukuda Station in Miyoshi from west to east in central Tokushima Pre ...

* -

Highways

* *

Local attractions

Awa Kokubunni-ji ruins The is an archaeological site with the ruins of a Nara period Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple in the Ishii-Ninji neighborhood of the town of Ishii, Tokushima, Ishiii, Tokushima Prefecture Japan. Its ruins were designated as a Historic ...

, National Historic Site *

Dōgaku-ji is a Shingon#Branches of Shingon, Zentsū-ji Shingon Buddhist temples in Japan, temple in Ishii, Tokushima, Ishii, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. The Heian period seated wooden statue of Yakushi Nyorai has been designated an Important Cultural Pro ...

References

External links

* *
Ishii official website
Towns in Tokushima Prefecture Ishii, Tokushima {{Tokushima-geo-stub