270px, Kawanehon Town Hall
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
Haibara District,
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...
,
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 6,731 in 2895 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 13.4 persons per km². The total area of the town was .
Geography
Kawanehon is located in north-central Shizuoka, along the upper reaches of the
Ōi River
The is a river in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Geography
The Ōi River flows from the Akaishi Mountains, the branch of the Japanese Southern Alps which form the border between Shizuoka, Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. These mountains, with p ...
, with approximately 90% of the town area covered in forest and mountains. It is bordered to the north by the
Japanese Alps
The is a series of mountain ranges in Japan which bisect the main island of Honshu. The peaks that tower over central Honshu have long been the object of veneration and pilgrimage. These mountains had long been exploited by local people for raw m ...
, with peaks ranging to 2400 meters. Forests range from
Siebold's Beech at lower elevations to
Siberian Dwarf Pine
''Pinus pumila'', commonly known as the Siberian dwarf pine, dwarf Siberian pine, dwarf stone pine, Japanese stone pine, or creeping pine, is a tree in the family Pinaceae native to northeastern Asia and the Japanese isles. It shares the commo ...
at higher altitudes, and wildlife include
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
and
kamoshika. The area enjoys a temperate
maritime climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.
Surrounding municipalities
Shizuoka Prefecture
*
Aoi-ku,
Shizuoka city
is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture's second-largest city in both population and area. It has been populated since prehistoric times. the city had an estimated population of 690,881 in 106,087 households, an ...
*
Tenryū-ku,
Hamamatsu
is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was .
Overview
...
*
Shimada
Nagano Prefecture
*
Iida
Climate
The town has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (
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''). The average annual temperature in Kawanehon is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .
[
]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,Kawanehon population statistics
/ref> the population of Kawanehon has declined by roughly two-thirds over the past 80 years.
History
Kawanehon is on the border between the former provinces of Suruga and Tōtōmi, and was mostly ''tenryō
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
'' territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
in 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 ...
. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system in the early 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 ...
in 1889, the area was reorganized into numerous villages within both Haibara and Shida Districts within Shizuoka Prefecture. Kawanehon was formed on September 20, 2005 by the merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
of the former towns of Nakakawane and Honkawane, both from Haibara District.
Economy
The economy of Kawanehon is dominated by forestry and the production of green tea
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...
, with tourism on the Ōigawa Railway
The is a railway company in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as . The company belongs to the Meitetsu Group. The first section of its lines opened in 1927.
Operation
The company operates preserved steam locomotives, ...
and to hot spring resorts also playing a role.
Education
*Kawanehon has four public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government. The town has one public high school operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education.
Transportation
Railway
*
- Ōigawa Railway
The is a railway company in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as . The company belongs to the Meitetsu Group. The first section of its lines opened in 1927.
Operation
The company operates preserved steam locomotives, ...
- Ōigawa Main Line
** - - - - - - -
*
- Ōigawa Railway
The is a railway company in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as . The company belongs to the Meitetsu Group. The first section of its lines opened in 1927.
Operation
The company operates preserved steam locomotives, ...
- Ikawa Line
** - - - - - - - - - - -
Highway
*
*
Local attractions
*The sound of the steam locomotives of Ōigawa Railway is listed as one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan by the Ministry of the Environment
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Towns in Shizuoka Prefecture
Kawanehon, Shizuoka