260px, Lake Tōjō 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 ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

, Japan. , 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 39,628 in 17199 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 250 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Katō is located slightly south of central Hyogo Prefecture in the Harima region of the prefecture. The Kakogawa River and many of its tributaries flow through the city. Part of the city is within the borders of the

Kiyomizu-Tōjōko-Tachikui Prefectural Natural Park is a Prefectural Natural Park in central Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1957, the park spans the municipalities of Katō, Nishiwaki, Sanda, and Sasayama. Designation of the park helps protect the habitat of the Japanese giant salam ...

Neighbouring municipalities

* Nishiwaki *

Miki Miki may refer to: Places *Miki, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Kagawa, a town in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Azerbaijan, a village in Astara Rayon, Azerbaijan People *Miki (given name) *Miki (surname) *Miki Núñez (born ...

* Ono * Sanda * Kasai * Sasayama

Climate

Kasai 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. There is a relatively warm climate throughout the four seasons. There are few disasters caused by typhoons and snowfall, and the average annual temperature is slightly lower than the coastal area of the Seto Inland Sea, but the amount of precipitation is slightly higher.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Katō has remained relatively steady over the past 40 years.

History

The area of the modern city of Katō was within ancient Harima Province. 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 region was divided into a mosaic of small holdings by various feudal domains, with large portions held by Ono and

Himeji Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Himeji Castle, which is located in what is now the ...

Hamamatsu Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Tōtōmi Province. It was centered on what is now Hamamatsu Castle in what is now the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Hamamatsu was the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu for much of his ...

and

Tanakura Domain was a '' fudai'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in southern Mutsu Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Tanagura Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Tanagura in Fukushi ...

. The ''

jin'ya A was a type of administrative headquarters in the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period of Japanese history. ''Jin'ya'' served as the seat of the administration for a small domain, a province, or additional parcels of land. ''Jin'ya'' hou ...

'' of the minor

Mikusa Domain 250px, Niwa Ujinori, final ''daimyō'' of Mikusa Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in Harima Province in what is now the southwestern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around t ...

was located in Katō. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the villages of Takino and Yashiro were created within Katō District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Yashiro was elevated to town status on June 1, 1912 followed by Takino on April 1, 1925. The city of Katō, which now occupies the northern two-thirds of former Katō District was established on March 20, 2006 from the merger of Takino and Yashiro with the town of Tōjō.

Government

Katō 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. Katō contributes one member to the

Hyogo Prefectural Assembly The is the prefectural parliament of Hyogo Prefecture. The assembly's 87 members are elected every four years in 40 districts by single non-transferable vote. Nine of the electoral districts correspond with the wards of Kobe city and the rema ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo 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

Katō is a regional commercial center, with a mixed local economy of agriculture and light manufacturing.

Education

Katō has seven public elementary schools, two public middle schools and one public combined elementary/middle school operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped. The

Hyogo University of Teacher Education is a national university in Katō, Hyōgo, Japan, founded as "New Concept University" of Teacher Education for Undergraduate and Graduate in 1978. Graduate School satellite campus in Kobe was established in 2000. See also * Darryl Takizo Yagi ...

is located in Katō and also operates its own high school.

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, an ...

Kakogawa Line The is a railway line in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), which connects the cities of Kakogawa and Tamba. The line begins at Kakogawa Station on the JR Kobe Line (Sanyō Main Line) and ends at Ta ...

* - -

Highways

Chūgoku Expressway The (part of Asian Highway Network ) is an expressway in Japan, which extends from Suita, Osaka to Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. It connects Kansai and Chūgoku regions in western Honshu, Japan's main island. Other major cities along the expressway ...

* *

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Katō is twinned with: * Olympia,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Local attractions

Chōkō-ji Chōkō-ji (朝光寺 ''Chōkōji'') is a Buddhist temple, in Yashiro, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. History According to the official record of the temple, this temple was originally constructed on the Mount Gongen in the 7th century, by Hodo-Shon ...

, Buddhist temple with National Treasure Main Hall * Kiyomiu-dera (Katō), 25th temple on the

Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage The is a pilgrimage of thirty-three Buddhist temples throughout the Kansai region of Japan, similar to the Shikoku Pilgrimage. In addition to the official thirty-three temples, there are an additional three known as . The principal image in each ...

*LakeTōjō

Sports facilities

* Greenhill Stadium, a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

stadium in Katō, Hyōgo

Noted people from Kato

Keiji Shibazaki was a Rear Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He was the commander of the Japanese garrison on the island of Betio of the Tarawa atoll during World War II. Biography Shibazaki was born in Kasai, Hyogo prefecture. He was a graduate of the ...

, admiral in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

References

External links

Katō City official website
Cities in Hyōgo Prefecture Katō, Hyōgo {{Hyogo-geo-stub