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 30.715, 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 43 persons per km² in 12.970 households. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kazuno is located in a valley in the mountains of far northeastern Akita Prefecture, with the Ōu Mountains and

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...

on the east. Much of the city is within the borders of the

Towada-Hachimantai National Park is a national park comprising two separate areas of Aomori, Iwate, and Akita Prefectures, Japan. The Towada-Hakkōda area encompasses Lake Towada, Mount Hakkōda, and most of the Oirase River valley. The Hachimantai area includes Mount Hachim ...

. Much of the city area is covered in forest. Due to its inland location, the city is noted for its heavy snowfall in winter. It is also known for the wild deer.

Neighboring municipalities

* Akita Prefecture ** Kitaakita ** Ōdate ** Semboku ** Kosaka * Iwate Prefecture ** Hachimantai * Aomori Prefecture **

Towada is a city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,697, and a population density of 84 persons per km2 in 27,677 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Towada is in the foothills of the Hakkōda M ...

** Takko ** Sannohe ** Shingō

Climate

Kazuno 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 ...

''Dfa'') with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters with heavy snowfalls. The average annual temperature in Kazuno is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

History

The area of present-day Kazuno was settled in prehistoric times, and contains major

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

archaeological sites and numerous burial mounds from the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

. The area was part of ancient

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

and was ruled by the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain 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 ...

. 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 briefly part of Rikuchū Province before being transferred to Akita Prefecture in 1871. It was organized as part of Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture in 1878 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The city of Kazuno was founded on April 1, 1972 by the merger of the towns of Hanawa, Towada, and Osarizawa and the village of Hachimantai.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kazuno has declined over the past 60 years.

Government

Kazuno 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 two members 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 Kazuno is based on agriculture, forestry and seasonal tourism.

Education

Kazuno has nine public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Akita Prefectural Board of Education. Akita 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 ...

Hanawa Line The is a railway line in Japan linking Kōma Station in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture and Ōdate Station in Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The line extends 106.9 km (66.4 mi) with a total of 27 stations. Also known as the , the Hanawa Line i ...

* - - - - - - -

Highway

* * * * * * *

Local attractions

* Chagama Falls – one of the

Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls is a list of waterfalls in Japan compiled by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990. Background According to the Japanese government, there are 517 named waterfalls in Japan. Many of these waterfalls are located in remote mountain l ...

Ōyu Stone Circles The is a late Jōmon period (approx. 2,000 – 1,500 BC) archaeological site in the city of Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The remains were designated a Special National Historic Site of Japan in 1956 by the J ...

- Jōmon period archaeological site, Special National Historic Site of Japan * former Osarizawa Mine * Hachimantai Onsen * Ōyu Onsen * Yuza Onsen *

Dainichido Bugaku ''Dainichido Bugaku'' ( ja, links=no, 大日堂舞楽, meaning: Vairocana Temple Dance and Entertainment) is a yearly set of nine sacred ritual dances and music, named for the imperial palace ensemble performances, "''bugaku''", and from the pala ...

- Ritual dance and music held on January 2,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...

* Alpas Sports Park

International relations

Kazuno is twinned with: * Sopron, Hungary (1995) *

Liangzhou Liangzhou District () is a district and the seat of the city of Wuwei, Gansu province of the People's Republic of China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the east. Geography Liangzhou District is located in east Hexi Corridor, north to the Qilian Mo ...

, China since November 6, 2000

Noted people from Kazuno

Junko Asari is a retired Japanese marathon runner. She won the gold medal at the 1993 World Championships in a time of 2:30:03 hours. In addition she won the Tokyo International Women's Marathon in 1995 and 1998 and the Osaka Ladies Marathon in 1993. Her ...

, Olympic marathon runner *

Kenichi Takahashi is a male long-distance runner from Japan. Born in Kazuno, Akita, he set his personal best (2:10:51) in the men's marathon event on February 18, 2001, winning the Tokyo International Marathon The Tokyo International Marathon was a marathon fo ...

, Olympic long-distance runner *

Takayuki Matsumiya Takayuki Matsumiya ( ja, 松宮隆行; born 21 February 1980 in Akita) is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in marathon races. He holds the Asian record and Japanese record over 25 km and 30 km. He has a twin brother, Yuk ...

, Olympic long-distance runner * Yasuhiko Okudera, professional soccer player * Yuta Kimura, professional baseball player *

Naitō Torajirō , commonly known as , was a Japanese historian and Sinologist. He was the founder of the Kyoto School of historiography, and along with Shiratori Kurakichi (the founder of the Tokyo School), was one of the leading Japanese historians of East As ...

, historian *

Tomoefuji Toshihide Tomoefuji Toshihide (born 27 January 1971 as Toshihide Kurosawa) is a former sumo wrestler from Akita Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was ''komusubi''. Career Born in Kazuno, he was scouted by ''yokozuna'' Chiyonofuji after winning several c ...

, sumo wrestler

Media

* Kazuno Kiritanpo FM

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Akita Prefecture