270px, Katsuura Town Hall 270px, Hinamatsuri Festival 270px, Kakurin-ji 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 Katsuura 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 4,884 in 2159 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 70 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Katsuura is located in the eastern part of 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'' (), '' ...

. Most of the town is in the basin of the Katsuura River, which runs from west to north in the center of the town. It is surrounded by mountains, such as Mt. Nakatsumine on the border with Tokushima City in the north. The highest altitude is 972.1 meters at the summit of Mt. Rokuro, and the lowest altitude is 20 meters above sea level. Parts of the town are within the borders of the

Higashi Sankei Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2005, the park spans the borders of the municipalities of Kamiyama, Katsuura, Naka, Sanagōchi, and Tokushima. The park encompasses and the as well as the temple ...

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 ...

Komatsushima 270px, Komatsushima panorama 270px, Kandase River in Komatsushima 270px, Komatsushima Port 270px, Statue of Minamoto no Yoshitsune 270px, Aerial View of Komatsushima city center is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city ...

Anan Anan or ANAN may refer to: People * Anan (name) Places * Anan, Haute-Garonne, a commune in the Haute-Garonne ''département'', France * Anan, Nagano, a town in Nagano, Japan * Anan, Tokushima, a city in Tokushima, Japan Other uses * ''Anan'' ( ...

* Kamikatsu * Naka * Sanagōchi

Climate

Katsuura 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 Katsuura is 14.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2128 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.8 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Katsuura population statistics
/ref> the population of Katsuura has been declining for the past 70 years.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Katsuura was part of ancient Awa 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 was part of the holdings of

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima C ...

ruled by the

Hachisuka clan The are descendants of Emperor Seiwa (850-880) of Japan and are a branch of the Ashikaga clan through the Shiba clan (Seiwa Genji). History Ashikaga Ieuji (13th century), son of Ashikaga Yasuuji, was the first to adopt the name Shiba. The Shiba ...

from their seat at

Tokushima Castle was an Edo period Japanese castle located in the city of Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1957. Its Omotegoten Gardens are designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty. Hi ...

. The village of Tanano (棚野村) was established within Katsuura District, Tokushima with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on February 11, 1926 and changed its name to Yokose (横瀬町).On March 1, 1955 Yokose merged with the village of Ikuhina to form the town of Katsuura.

Government

Katsuura 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 10 members. Katsuura, together the city of Komatsushima and town of Kamikatsu, contributes three 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

The economy of Katsuura is agricultural, and the town is one of the prefecture's leading

mandarin orange The mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), also known as the mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-coloured ...

producing areas,

Education

Katsuura has two public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Tokushima Prefectural Department of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Katsuura does not have any passenger rail service. The closest station is Minami-Komatsushima Station on the

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 ...

Mugi Line The is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nic ...

Highways

Katsuura is not on any national highway or expressway.

Local attractions

Kakurin-ji The is a temple of the Tendai sect in Kakogawa, Hyōgo Prefecture, Hyōgo, Japan. It was established by Prince Shōtoku's instruction in 589. Kakurin-ji's Taishidō was completed in 1112, and Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism), Main Hall was finis ...

, 20th temple on the

Shikoku Pilgrimage The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...

References

External links

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