is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 6,949 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 1000 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Located in the southeast of

Mount Hakone , with its highest peak Mount Kami (Hakone), Mount Kami (1,438 meters), is a complex volcano in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan that is truncated by two overlapping calderas, the largest of which is 10 × 11 km wide. The calderas were fo ...

, the consists of the small Manazuru Peninsula, which extends into

Sagami Bay lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the i ...

from the southeast to the northwest, sandwiched between Odawara City in the north and Yugawara Town in the south. The Manazuru Peninsula is a

lava plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateau Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions throug ...

with a steep coast and The town area is generally rugged with few flat areas. The urban area is at the base of the peninsula, with Manazuru Station to the northwest, Iwa Fishing Port and Iwo Beach to the east, and Manazuru Port to the southeast. There are many quarries in the mountains north of the city.

Mandarin orange A mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), often simply called mandarin, is a small, rounded citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. The mandarin is small and oblate, unlike the ...

s are cultivated in the hills along the northern coast. The northwestern part of the town is part of a mountainous area that extends to the outer ring of the Hakone volcano. The town is within the Manazuru Hantō Prefectural Natural Park.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture *

Odawara is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

Yugawara is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 23,267 and a population density of 570 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Yugaw ...

Climate

Manazuru has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Manazuru is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2144 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.2 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Manazuru peaked around the year 1970 and has declined since.

History

As with the rest of Ashigarashimo District, the area now comprising modern Manazuru was part of

Sagami Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu Province, Izu ...

under control of the

later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply , but were called "Later Hōjō" to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan who h ...

in the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, and part of

Odawara Domain file:Odawara 2006-02-21 c.jpg, 250px, Odawara Castle, Headquarters of the Odawara Domain was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period, located primarily in western Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture). It was centered on Odawa ...

during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. During this time, it was known for high quality stones for construction. After 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, Manazuru was established as a village in 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. On October 1, 1927, Manazuru village was elevated to town status. On September 30, 1956, neighboring Iwa village was merged into Manazuru. A proposal to merge Manazuru into neighboring

was overwhelmingly rejected by a citizen's

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in 2005.

Government

Manazuru 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

town council of 11 members. Manazuru, together with neighboring Yugawara, contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Kanagawa 16th district Kanagawa 16th district is an electoral district for the Japanese House of Representatives located in Kanagawa Prefecture. The district covers the cities of Atsugi is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated ...

of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Traditionally, the industry characterizing Manazuru was the mining of Komatsu stone ( ja) dating back to

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The economy of Manazuru is now based on tourism, and as a summer resort area, promoting itself as the "Japanese Riviera", claiming to loosely resembles the

Mediterranean coast The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eu ...

of France and Italy.http://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/field/lifelong/youth/takengakusyuu/chiikisedaiwokoetataikenngakusyuuhoukokuh27.html 小田原市平成27年度「あれこれ体験in片浦」開催内容の紹介 The town also functions as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for nearby Odawara. The hilly, stony peninsula is not suited for agriculture, but cultivation of

mikan ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as the satsuma mandarin or Japanese mandarin. During the Edo period of Japan, kishu mikans were more popular because there was a popular superstition that eating '' ...

and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

also contribute to the local economy.

Education

Manazuru has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

–

Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line () is one of the most important railway corridors in Japan, connecting the major cities of Tokyo and Kobe via Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The line, with termini at Tokyo Station, Tokyo and Kōbe St ...

Highway

Area attractions

* Iwa Beach ( ja) *

Dōsojin is a generic name for a type of Shinto ''kami'' popularly worshipped in Kantō and neighboring areas in Japan where, as tutelary deity, tutelary deities of borders and paths, they are believed to protect travellers, pilgrims, villages, and individ ...

( ja) * Ryumonji ( ja) * The monument of Stonemason's ancestors ( ja) * Manazuru Hantō Prefectural Natural Park * Kibune jinja Shrine ( ja) ** ''Kibune Festival'' which is designated as an important intangible folk cultural asset designated as a country and is considered one of Japan's three major festivals. Held two days from 27 to 28 July. * Nakagawa Kazumasa art Museum ( ja) *

Kuroda Nagamasa was a ''daimyō'' during the late Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods. He was the son of Kuroda Kanbei, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and adviser. Biography Nagamasa's childhood name was Shojumaru (松寿丸). In 1577 his fathe ...

memorial tower ( ja) * Shitodo-no-iwaya Hidden Cave ( ja) ** This historic site near Manazuru Port is associated with

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

. After losing a battle with the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

at Mt. Ishibasiyama in 1180, Minamoto no Yoritomo fled into the

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park covers . Rat ...

, stayed in this cave, then escaped to Awa (south of present-day Chiba). * Odaiba memorial tower * Manazuru Industrial vitalization Centre ( Satoumi Base)( ja) * Sakanaza * ''Setomichi'' - The back streets of Manazuru File:Iwa-bridge.jpg, Iwa-bridge File:Manazuru-dosojin.jpg, Dōsojin File:真鶴町龍門寺本堂.jpg, Ryumonji File:IshikuSenzo-no-Hi.jpg, The monument of Maiden's ancestors File:Cape Manazuru 01.jpg, Manazuru Hantō Prefectural Natural Park File:Kibune jinja manaduru kaidan.JPG, Kibune jinja Shrine File:Manazuru-Kibune-Festival.jpg, Kibune Festival
(Mikoshi) File:Manazuru-Hayashi.jpg, Kibune Festival
(Kobayabune) File:Manazuru-kobayabune.jpg, Kibune Festival
(Hayashibune) File:Nakagawa Kazumasa Art Museum.jpg, Nakagawa Kazumasa art Museum File:KurodaNagamasa-KuyouNoHi1.jpg,

memorial tower File:真鶴町しとどの窟.jpg, Shitodo-no-iwaya Hidden Cave File:品川台場礎石の碑.jpg, Odaiba memorial tower File:まなづる里海BASE 真鶴産業活性化センター.jpg, Manazuru Industrial vitalization Centre ( Satoumi Base) File:真鶴町魚座.jpg, Sakanaza File:Manazuru-Okage.jpg, Setomichi File:Manazuru-Sashimi boat1.jpg,

Sashimi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or Raw meat, meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means 'pierced body', i.e., "wikt:刺身, 刺身" = ''sashimi'', whe ...

boat

Sister cities

Azumino, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 97,761 in 39744 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km2. Its total area is . Etymology of Azumino Azumino is a combination of two word ...

, since September 15, 1995 *

Hinohara, Tokyo is a Villages of Japan, village located in West Tokyo, the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 2,101, and a population density of 20 persons per km2. The total area of the vi ...

, since March 28, 2014 *

Ama, Shimane is a town located on Nakanoshima, in Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2020, the town had an estimated population of 2,267 and a population density of 68 persons per km2. The total area was . History Ama was part of the ...

, since July 10, 2017

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Kanagawa Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan