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

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 ...

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 32,858 in 13,897 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 330 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Katagami is located in the coastal plains of northwestern Akita Prefecture, with the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

on the southwest and the remnant of Lake Hachirōgata to the northwest. It has the smallest area of any city in Akita Prefecture.

Neighboring municipalities

*Akita Prefecture ** Akita **

Oga Oga or OGA may refer to: Places * Oga, Akita, Tōhoku, Japan * Oga Peninsula, Japan * Oga, a ''frazione'' of Valdisotto, Italy People * Oga Atsushi, a Japanese sumo wrestler * My Oga at the top, Nigerian Pidgin English term for "boss" or "leader ...

** Ikawa ** Gojōme ** Ōgata

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Katakami has been relatively steady over the past 70 years.

Climate

Katagami 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 ...

''Cfa'') with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Katagami is 11.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1631 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.8 °C.Katagami climate data
/ref>

History

The area of present-day Katagami was part of ancient Dewa Province. 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 ...

, the area came under the control of the

Satake clan The was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. Its first power base was in Hitachi Province. The clan was subdued by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the late 12th century, but later entered Yoritomo's service as vassals ...

, who ruled the northern third of the province from Kubota Domain. After the start of the

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 area became part of Minamiakita District, Akita Prefecture in 1878 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The city of Katagami was established on March 22, 2005, from the merger of the three towns of Iitagawa, Shōwa and

Tennō The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the wi ...

(all from Minamiakita District).

Government

Katagami 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 18 members. The city contributes one member to the Akita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Akita District 2 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 economy of Katagami is based on agriculture and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

Education

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

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 ...

- Ōu Main Line * - JR logo (east)

Oga Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Oiwake Station (Akita), Oiwake Station in Akita, Akita, Akita, Akita Prefecture to Oga Station in Oga, Akita, Oga, Akita Prefecture. It is nicknamed th ...

* - - -

Highways

* Akita Expressway * *

Noted people from Katagami

Koji Futada is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Minamiakita District, Akita and graduate of Chuo University, he was elected to the assembly of Akit ...

, politician *

Koya Handa is a Japanese footballer currently playing as a forward for Verspah Oita in JFL, on loan from Blaublitz Akita. Career statistics Club . ;Notes Honours ; Blaublitz Akita * J3 League (1): 2020 2020 was heavily defined by the ...

, professional soccer player *

Kenichi Kaga is a Japanese footballer who plays as a defender for J2 League club Blaublitz Akita. Playing career Kaga was born in Futada, Tennō, Akita on 30 September 1983. After graduating from high school, he joined J1 League club Júbilo Iwata in 2 ...

, professional soccer player * Yuki Kikuchi, basketball player *

Ikuo Nakamura is a Japanese photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and type ...

, photographer *

Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Champions with Takashi Sugiura. ...

, mixed martial artist * Kenichi Takahashi (basketball), basketball player *

Kōsei Yoshida is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional B ...

, professional baseball player

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Akita Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan