260px, Katsuragi 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 Ito 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 ...

. , 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 16,170 in 7137 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 110 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town was named after the nearby Katsuragi Mountains.

Geography

Katsuragi is long and narrow from north to south, and is located in the northeastern part of Wakayama prefecture. The Kinokawa River flows from east to west in the former Katsuragi Town area, and the Kishi River flows from east to west in the Shinshiro area at the southernmost tip of the former Katsuragi Town. In addition, the Arita River runs through the former Hanazono village area. The terrain is sandwiched between the Kii Mountains and the Izumi Mountains, forming a basin.

Neighboring municipalities

Wakayama Prefecture * Hashimoto * Kinokawa *

Kudoyama 270px, Jison-in temple is a town located in Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 3,996 in 1770 households and a population density of 91 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geogra ...

* Kōya * Kimino * Aridagawa Osaka Prefecture *

Kawachinagano is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 101,649 in 47493 households and a population density of 930 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kawachinagano is located in the sout ...

* Izumi *

Kishiwada is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,853 in 88598 households and a population density of 2600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is well known for its Danjiri Matsu ...

Nara Prefecture * Nosegawa

Climate

Katsuragi 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 Katsuragi is 13.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1771 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.3 °C. The area is subject to

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s in summer.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Katsuragi population statistics
/ref> the population of Katsuragi has decreased steadily over the past 70 years.

History

The town of Katsuragi was founded by the merger of the town of Ito and Myōji and the village of Miyoshi (all from Ito District) on July 1, 1958. On October 1, 2005 the village of Hanazono, from Ito District, was merged into Katsuragi.

Government

Katsuragi 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 14 members. Katsuragi, collectively with the other municipalities of Ito District contributes one member to the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Wakayama 2nd 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

Katsuragi is one of the largest agricultural areas in Wakayama, and agriculture, horticulture and food processing dominate the local economy.

Education

Katsuragi has five public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government and two public high schools operated by the Wakayama Prefectural Department of Education.

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 ...

–

Wakayama Line The is a railway line that links Nara Prefecture to Wakayama Prefecture in Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Ōji Station on the Yamatoji Line to Wakayama Station on the Hanwa Line and Kisei Main Line, with t ...

* - - - -

Highway

Keinawa Expressway The is a 104.9-km-long (65.2 mile) north–south (physically northeast–southwest) National Highway with access control (一般国道自動車専用道路 ''Ippan-kokudō jidōsha-sen-yō-dōro'') in the Kinki region of Japan that connects K ...

* * * *

Local attractions

Niutsuhime Shrine The is a Shinto shrine in located the town of Katsuragi, Ito district, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is one of three shrines claiming the title of ''ichinomiya'' of Kii Province. Also known as "Amano Taisha" and "Amano Shisho Myojin", ...

, National Historic Site and World Heritage Site * Kōyasan chōishi-michi, National Historic Site and World Heritage Site

Notable people from Katsuragi

Hirofumi Hirano is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and a former member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He is a native of Katsuragi, Wakayama and he started working for Panasonic Corporatio ...

, politician *

Nenji Kobayashi is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 23rd Japan Academy Prize for ''Poppoya''. Kobayashi signed with Toei in 1961 and started his acting career with small roles. Filmography Film * '' Soshiki Bōryoku'' (1967 ...

, actor

References

External links

*
Katsuragi official website
Katsuragi, Wakayama Towns in Wakayama Prefecture {{Wakayama-geo-stub