270px, Iwade city hall 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

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara 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 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 54,138 in 23906 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 1400 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Iwade is located on the northern border of Wakayama Prefecture with Osaka Prefecture. The

Kinokawa River The is a river in Nara and Wakayama Prefecture in Japan. It is called in Nara. It is 136 km long and has a watershed of 1,660 km². The river flows from Mount Ōdaigahara to the west. It pours into Kii Channel at Wakayama city. Geogr ...

flows along the southern border of Iwade.

Neighboring municipalities

Wakayama Prefecture *

Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 households and a population density of 1700 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

* Kinokawa Osaka Prefecture * Sennan * Hannan

Climate

Iwade 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 Iwade is 15.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1713 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Iwade population statistics
/ref> the population of Iwade has increased rapidly over the past 60 years.

History

The area of the modern city of Iwade was within ancient

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

. Negoroji temple was founded in the 12th century. After the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the area became part of

Naga District, Wakayama was a district located in Wakayama, Japan. There was only one town left within the district before the dissolution: * Iwade History *On November 11, 2005 - the towns of Kishigawa, Kokawa, Momoyama, Naga and Uchita were merged to create the ...

, and the village of Iwade was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Iwade was promoted to town status on August 1, 1908. On September 30, 1956 Yade annexed the neighboring villages of Yamazaki, Negoro and Kamiiwade. The five towns in Naga District other than Iwade merged on November 7, 2005 to become the city of Kinokawa. However, as the town had a population of more than 50,000 people as of the 2005 census Iwade fulfilled the requirements to gain city status by both the ordinance of Wakayama Prefecture and Local Autonomy Law, Local Government Law. At the request of residents, Iwade decided to gain city status alone, which was attained on April 1, 2006

Government

Iwade has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 14 members. Iwade contributes two members to the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Wakayama 2nd district of the House of Representatives of Japan, lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Iwade has a mixed economy of light manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture. Due to its proximity to the city of Wakayama, it is increasingly becoming a bedroom community.

Education

Iwade has six public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Wakayama Prefectural Department of Education.

Transportation

Railway

West Japan Railway Company, JR West – Wakayama Line * -

Highway

Keinawa Expressway *

Local attractions

* Negoroji temple * Wakayama Prefecture Botanical Park * Nishi Kokubun pagoda site

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Wakayama Prefecture Iwade, Wakayama