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 Chiba Prefecture,

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 of 37,206 in 17,004 households and a population density of 240 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Isumi is located on the east coast of southern Chiba Prefecture, on the Bōsō Peninsula. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, and enjoys a temperate maritime climate, with short, cool winters and hot, humid summers due to the effects of the Kuroshio Current offshore. The area is noted for its beach resorts, which are at the end of the Kujūkuri Beach area, and the landscape consists of rolling, sandy hills. The

Isumi River The is a river in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is in length and has a drainage area of . Under the Rivers Act of 1906 the Isumi is designated as a Class 2 River. Additionally, the government has designated the Isumi River a national-level . Geo ...

, a small river which runs through this portion of the peninsula, empties into the Pacific Ocean at Misaki. Parts of the city are within the

Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in the Kantō region of Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN. The park includes numerous widely separated portions of the coastal areas of southern Bōsō Peninsula, rang ...

. Mount Arakine is the highest point in the city, with an elevation of 157.8 meters. The city is approximately 45 kilometers from the prefectural capital of

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

and 70 to 80 kilometers from central Tokyo.

Surrounding municipalities

Chiba Prefecture * Ichinomiya * Katsuura *

Mutsuzawa is a town located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,928 in 2796 households and a population density of 190 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Located in the mountainous area that d ...

* Ōtaki *

Onjuku is a town located in Chiba, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7,523 in 3683 households and a population density of 300 persons per km². The total area o the town is . The name of the town is made of two '' kanji'' characters: ...

Climate

Isumi 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 to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Isumi is 15.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1834 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.0 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Isumi population statistics
/ref> the population of Isumi has declined in recent decades

History

Isumi is part of ancient Kazusa Province. The place name is very ancient, appearing even in the '' Nihon Shoki'', which mentions the area as the source of

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

and pearls for the Yamato court during the reign of the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

Emperor Ankan. During the Edo period, the area was mostly '' tenryō'' territory ruled by various '' hatamoto'' on behalf of the Tokugawa shogunate. The village of Kuniyoshi was established within Isumi District, Chiba with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on September 22, 1894. The town of Isumi was established on April 29, 1955 from the merger of Kuniyoshi Town with the neighboring villages of Nakagawa and Chimachi. The city of Isumi was created on December 5, 2005 when the former town of Isumi absorbed the neighboring towns of Misaki and Ōhara (all from Isumi District).

Government

Isumi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 18 members. Isumi contributes one member to the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Chiba 11th 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 dominated by commercial fishing. '' Ise-ebi'', a species of spiny

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

, is a notable product of Isumi, as are sardines and Japanese amberjack. The middle reaches of the

provide irrigation for extensive

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

s for rice production in Isumi. The area also produces tomatoes and

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

s. The economy is supplemented by the summer tourist traffic to the local beach resorts. The border between Ichinomiya and Isumi City starts at the southern end of the 60-km Kujūkuri Beach adjacent to Taito port. Taito beach and areas to the north are noted surfing areas. The surfing competition at the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

will be held at Shidashita Beach just north of Isumi.

Education

Isumi has ten public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Chiba Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Isumi is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes from Tokyo Station by limited express train via Ōhara Station on the

JR East 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 ...

Sotobō Line. Ōhara Station is also the connecting point for the JR East Sotobō Line and the Isumi Railway Company Isumi Line, which connects the Pacific Coast of east Chiba Prefecture to the interior areas of the Bōsō Peninsula.

Railway

– Sotobō Line * - - - - Isumi Tetsudo logo

– Isumi Railway Company - Isumi Line * - - - - -

Highways

Local attractions

* Cape Taitō Lighthouse, Cape Taitō, Misaki * Kiyomizu-dera (Isumi, Chiba) - one of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho Buddhist temples

Notable people from Isumi

* Akemi Masuda, marathon runner * Kasuganishiki Takahiro, sumo wrestler * Yoshiharu Tsuge, manga artist

Sister city relations

* - Duluth, Minnesota, USA, since October 3, 1990 (with former Ōhara Town) * - Woburn, Massachusetts, USA, since August 29, 1985 (with former Isumi Town) * - Waupun, Wisconsin, USA, since 1997

References

External links

Official Website
{{Chiba Cities in Chiba Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Isumi