270px, Kamiita Town Hall
270px, Yoshinogawa at Kamiita
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 or ...
located in
Itano 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 11,725 in 4951 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 RosenberPop ...
of 340 persons per km².
The total area of the town is .
Geography
Kamiita is located in northeastern 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'' (), '' ...
. It is sandwiched between the
Sanuki Mountains
The are a mountain range running along the southern border of Kagawa and the northern border of Tokushima prefectures on the island of Shikoku, Japan.
The highest peak is at 1059.9 m.Yoshino River
The Yoshino River (吉野川 ''Yoshino-gawa'') is a river on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . It is the second longest river in Shikoku (slightly shorter than the Shimanto), and is the only river whose watershe ...
to the south. The
Japan Median Tectonic Line
, also Median Tectonic Line (MTL), is Japan's longest fault system. The MTL begins near Ibaraki Prefecture, where it connects with the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line (ISTL) and the Fossa Magna. It runs parallel to Japan's volcanic arc, passin ...
runs from east to west in the center of the town, separating the mountainous area to the north and the plains to the south. The highest elevation of the town is Oyama, which is 691 meters above sea level. Numerous small rivers which originate in the Sanuki Mountains form multiple
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
s and have been inhabited by people from ancient times.
Neighbouring municipalities
Tokushima Prefecture
*
Yoshinogawa
*
Awa
*
Itano
*
Aizumi
*
Ishii
Ishii (, "stone well") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Akio Ishii (born 1955), Japanese baseball player
* Ami Ishii (born 1980), Japanese gravure idol
*Anna Ishii (born 1998), Japanese performer, model and actress ...
Kagawa Prefecture
*
Higashikagawa
Climate
Kamiita 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 Kamiita is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1637 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.5 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,
Kamiita population statistics
/ref> the population of Kamiita has been relatively steady for the past 70 years.
History
As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Kammita was part of ancient Awa Province. The area is one of the oldest inhabited areas of Shikoku, and stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric (particularly Stone Ag ...
s from the Japanese Paleolithic
The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...
period, Jomon pottery, '' dotaku'' from the Yayoi period
The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age.
Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon ...
, burial mound
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
s 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 ...
have been found. Itano District was one of the seven counties of Awa established by the Taika Reform
The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku (孝徳天皇 ''Kōtoku tennō'') in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku and the defeat of the Soga clan (蘇我氏 ''Soga no uji''), uniting Japan. ...
. 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 characterize ...
, 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 ...
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 ...
, and Kamiita became an agricultural area noted for its production of indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
. The villages of Oyama (大山村) and Matsushima (松島町) within Itano District, Tokushima
is a district located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan.
As of June 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 97,263 and a population density of . The total area is .
Matsushige is home to Tokushima Airport
is a joint civil-militar ...
and the village of Takashi (高志村) within Myōzai District, Tokushima were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. The three municipalities merged on March 31, 1955 to form the town of Kamiita.
Government
Kamiita 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 13 members. Kamiita, together with the other municipalities of Itano District, contributes four members to the Tokushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tokushima 2nd district of the lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a 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 come to wield more power or oth ...
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
Since 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 characterize ...
, the area has been known for production of indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
and sugar, which remain important heritage products to this day. The local economy is strongly agricultural, with rice and market crops as carrots, lettuce, spinach, and strawberries, and fruit trees such as persimmons and peaches predominating. It is also the largest dairy area in Tokushima Prefecture.
Education
Kamiita has four public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.
Transportation
Railway
Kamiita has not had passenger rail service since the abolition of the JNR
The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987.
Network Railways
As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...
Kajiyabara Line in 1972. Currently, the nearest passenger station is 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 i ...
Kōtoku Line
The is a railway line in northeastern Shikoku, Japan that connects the prefectural capitals Takamatsu ( Kagawa) and Tokushima (Tokushima). Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) owns and operates the line, whose name comes from the characters in ...
Highways
* Tokushima Expressway
The is a national Expressways of Japan, expressway in the Shikoku region of Japan. The expressway is numbered E11 between Naruto and Tokushima Junctions and E32 between Tokushima and Kawanoe-Higashi Junctions under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Re ...
Local attractions
* Anraku-ji , 6th 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 history ...
* Taisan-ji
References
External links
*
Kamiita official website
Towns in Tokushima Prefecture
Kamiita, Tokushima
{{Tokushima-geo-stub