is an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

that belongs to Higashimuro District,

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

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 ...

, but is located on the border between Mie and

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

Prefectures. It lies along the Kitayama River and has become a popular spot for log rafting. As of 2016, the village has 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 432 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 9 persons per km². The total area is 48.21 km². Kitayama is the only remaining village in Wakayama Prefecture. Kitayama is known in Japan for growing a fruit called '' jabara'', which is considered a potent cure for hay fever.

History

Kitayama has a long history associated with

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

, cutting trees and sending the timber to be sold in nearby Shingū. When the transition from 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 ...

to the modern era of

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

occurred, the people of Kitayama desired to remain a part of Wakayama prefecture due to their close connections with Shingu City, and as a result this request was granted and for this reason the village is now an exclave. In 2005, there were plans for the village to merge with Shingu but this was canceled.

Transportation

Highway

Japan National Route 169 National Route 169 is a national highway of Japan connecting Nara, Nara and Shingū, Wakayama in Japan, with a total length of 184.6 km (114.71 mi). History National Route 169 was originally designated on 18 May 1953 as a second-class ...

References

External links

* * Enclaves and exclaves Villages in Wakayama Prefecture {{Wakayama-geo-stub

History

Transportation

Highway

See also

References

External links