280px, Zensui-ji in Konan 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 southern

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

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 54,607 in 24305 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 780 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Konan, as its name implies, is south of

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...

in the center of the southern portion of Shiga Prefecture The city does not actually border the lake. The Ansei Mountains are in the south of the city and the Iwane Mountains in the north, with the Yasu River running from east-to-west through the center.

Neighboring municipalities

Shiga Prefecture * Yasu * Rittō *

Kōka was a after ''Tenpō'' and before ''Kaei.'' This period spanned the years from December 1844 through February 1848. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * December 2, 1844 (): The new era name of ''Kōka'', meaning "Becoming Wide ...

Ryūō Ryūō (also Ryu-O, Ryu-oh, Ryuuou; in Japanese 龍王, 竜王, lit. "Dragon King") is an annual Japanese professional shogi tournament and the title of its winner. The current Ryūō title holder is Sōta Fujii. The Ryūō Tournament (''Ryūō-s ...

Climate

Konan 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 to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Konan is 14.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1430 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.6 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Konan increased rapidly in the 1970s but has plateaued in recent decades.

History

Konan is part of ancient

Ōmi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countrie ...

and contains

Ishibe-juku file:Dengaku-tyaya01s3200.jpg, 260px, Reconstructed building based on Hiroshige's print was the fifty-first of the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō, fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō (road), Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo peri ...

, the 51st post station on the route of the Tōkaidō highway connecting

Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, mov ...

with the eastern provinces 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 village of Ishibe was established within

Kōka District, Shiga was a district located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 147,928 and a density of 267.90 persons per km2. The total area was 552.18 km2. Towns and villages Before the dissolution in 2004, ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was elevated to town status on June 1, 1903. On October 1, 2004, Ishibe merged with the neighboring town of Kōsei (also from Kōka District) to form the city of Konan. I

Government

Konan 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 council of 18 members. Konan contributes two members to the Shiga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Shiga 4th district 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 Konan is centered on agriculture and light manufacturing. The Konan Industrial Park on the Meishin Expressway is the largest

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

in the prefecture.

Education

Konan has nine public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government. There are two public high schools operated by the Shiga Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

–

Kusatsu Line The is a railway line in western Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Tsuge on the Kansai Main Line with Kusatsu on the Biwako Line The is the nickname used by the operator of the West Japan Railway Compa ...

* - -

Highway

Meishin Expressway * *

Friendship city relations

* St. Johns, Michigan, USA (2004 – friendship cities)

Local attractions

* Zensui-ji, Buddhist temple with National Treasure main hall * Chōjū-ji, Buddhist temple with National Treasure main hall * Jōraku-ji, Buddhist temple with National Treasure main hall and three-story pagoda *site of

Notable people

* Tenzo Okumura, politician *

Kei Aran , (born October 9, 1970), is a Japanese actress and former top star ''otokoyaku'' (an actress who plays male roles) of the Japanese Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe. She joined the revue in 1991 and became the top star in 2007, five years after he ...

, actress *

Yuta Shimizu Yuta Shimizu (born 9 June 1999) is a Japanese tennis player. Shimizu has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 241 achieved on 19 June 2023. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 143 achieved on 12 June 2023. Shimizu rep ...

, tennis player

References

External links

*
Konan City official website
{{Authority control Cities in Shiga Prefecture Konan, Shiga