280px, Lake Miyagase is a

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 ...

located in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

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 village 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 2,858 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 40 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

Kiyokawa is located in the foothills of northwestern Kanagawa Prefecture. Much of the village is in the

Tanzawa Mountains The are a mountain range in the Kantō region in Japan. The mountain range covers the northwestern part of Kanagawa Prefecture and touches the prefecture borders of Shizuoka Prefecture to the west and the Yamanashi Prefecture to the north. Mou ...

. The village area is shaped like an upward triangle, and is roughly divided into the Miyagase district (former Miyagase village) in the north and the Susugaya district (former Susugaya village) in the south. The main population center and village hall are in the Susugaya area. The

Miyagase Dam The is a dam on the Nakatsu River, a main tributary of the Sagami River in Aikō District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It straddles the border between the village of Kiyokawa, town of Aikawa and the former town of Tsukui (now part of the cit ...

, which boasts one of the largest water storage capacity in the

Kanto region Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

, is in the Miyagase area, and as a result of the creation of the reservoir, most of the inhabitants of the Miyagase area were forced to relocated to neighboring Atsugi.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture *

Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

Atsugi is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 223,960 and a population density of 2400 persons per km². The total area of the city is . While the name "Atsugi" is often associated with the United ...

Hadano is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,787 and a population density of 1600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hadano is located in the foothills of the ...

* Aikawa * Yamakita

Climate

Kiyokawa 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 Kiyokawa is 12.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1906 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Kiyokawa population statistics
/ref> the population of Kiyokawa has remained relatively constant over the past century.

History

Kiyokawa Village was established on September 30, 1956 through the merger of former Susugaya and Miyagase villages. The completion of the

in 1965 submerged much of former Miyagase Village, forcing the relocation of its inhabitants to other locations within Kiyokawa Village and neighboring Aikawa Town.

Government

Kiyokawa 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 ...

village council of 10 members. Kiyokawa, together with neighboring Aikawa, contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Kanagawa 16th 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

Kiyokawa has a rural economy centered on livestock, farming and forestry.

Education

Kiyokawa has two public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Kiyokawa has no connections with the Japanese national highway or railway systems. Access is by Kanagawa Prefectural Routes 60, 64, 70 or 514.

Noted people from Kiyokawa

Hitoshi Tamura Hitoshi Tamura (多村仁志, born March 28, 1977) is a retired Japanese professional baseball player who last played with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Following his release from the Yokohama DeNA Baystars in 20 ...

, professional baseball player

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Villages in Kanagawa Prefecture