was a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located in Nishiyatsushiro District,

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 787,592 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of 2006, the village had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 1,501 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 17 persons per km². The total area was 86.59 km². Kamikuishiki achieved nationwide fame in Japan as a major center of the notorious cult religion

Aum Shinrikyo , better known by their former name , is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religious movement and doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been respo ...

which built its religious center and several facilities there. This included a production center named Satyan 7, located in the Fujigamine district for nerve gases which were used in attacks on the Tokyo subway and in Matsumoto. It was in one of these buildings that the leader of the cult

Shoko Asahara , born , was a Japanese cult leader and terrorist who founded and led the doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and was also involved in several other crimes. As ...

was arrested on May 16, 1995. On March 1, 2006: * The northern part of Kamikuishiki (the localities of ''Furuseki'' and ''Kakehashi''), along with the town of

Nakamichi was a Japanese consumer electronics brand founded in Japan which gained a name from the 1970s onwards for audio cassette decks. Nakamichi is now a subsidiary of Chinese holding company Nimble Holdings. Nakamichi manufactured electronic devic ...

(from Higashiyatsushiro District), was merged into the expanded city of

Kōfu is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households, and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Toponymy Kōfu ...

. * The southern part of Kamikuishiki (the localities of ''Fujigane'', ''Motosu'' and ''Shoji'') was merged into the expanded town of

Fujikawaguchiko is a town located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 26,542 in 10,618 households, and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Fujikawaguchiko is located in so ...

(of

Minamitsuru District is a rural Districts of Japan, district located in southeastern Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2020, the district had an estimated population of 48,970 with a population density, density of 116,3 persons per km2. The total area ...

). Kamikuishiki was officially dissolved as an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. According to the last mayor Makoto Kobayashi, "financial reasons" made the decision inevitable. Economic decline made the villagers leave for larger areas where jobs are more readily available. Reduced tax collections and aging population also played their role.

Lake Shōji is one of the Fuji Five Lakes and located in the town of Fujikawaguchiko in southern Yamanashi Prefecture near Mount Fuji, Japan. Lake Shōji is the smallest of the Fuji Five Lakes in terms of surface area, and third deepest, with a maximum wa ...

and

Lake Motosu is the westernmost of the Fuji Five Lakes and located on the border of the towns of Fujikawaguchiko and Minobu in southern Yamanashi Prefecture near Mount Fuji, Japan. Lake Motosu is the third-largest of the Fuji Five Lakes in terms of surface ...

, two of the famous

Fuji Five Lakes is the name of the area located at the base of Mount Fuji in the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan. It has a population of about 100,000 and sits about above sea level. The five lakes created in the area by previous eruptions of Mount Fuji has give ...

, are in Kamikuishiki.

References

External links

Fujikawaguchiko official website

Kōfu official website
Dissolved municipalities of Yamanashi Prefecture Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Aum Shinrikyo {{Yamanashi-geo-stub