270px, Mibu Toy Museum 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

Tochigi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi). Tochigi ...

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 39,158 in 16,149 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 640 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Mibu is located in south-central

. The town is situated in the northern portion of the

Kanto plain 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 ' ...

and is mostly flat terrain with an elevation of 50 to 100 meters above sea level. The Kurokawa River flows through the town. The is about 90 kilometers north of

Tokyo metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, and is bordered by the prefectural capital of

Utsunomiya is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its ''gyoza'' ...

to the north. Approximately a third of the land area of the town is covered in rice paddy.

Surrounding municipalities

* Kanuma * Tochigi * Shimotsuke

Climate

Mibu has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mibu is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1385 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Mibu has remained relatively steadily over the past 30 years.

History

The remains of many

burial mounds A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a ...

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 is ...

can be found in Mibu. 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 area was controlled by

Mibu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tsuga District of Shimotsuke Province (modern-day Tochigi Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Mibu Castle in what is now part of the town of Mibu, Tochigi. Mibu w ...

under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. The ''

jōkamachi The term refers to a type of urban structures in Japan in which the city surrounds a feudal lord's castle. These cities did not necessarily form around castles after the Edo period; some are known as Jin'yamachi, cities that have evolved around J ...

'' which grew up around

Mibu Castle is a Japanese castle located in Mibu, southern Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Mibu Castle was home to a branch of the Torii clan, ''daimyō'' of Mibu Domain. History The Mibu clan was a branch of the , a '' kuge'' cl ...

was Mibu-shuku a post station on a branch the

Nikkō Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period and it was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with the temple-shrine complex of the Mangan-ji and Tōshōsha (now called the Rinnō-ji and Tōshōgū), which are located in the present-day ...

connecting

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

with the shrines at

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

. 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, Mibu town and the villages of Inaba and Minami-Inukai were created within Shimotsuga District on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Inaba merged with Mibu on November 3, 1954 followed by Minami-Inukai on July 28, 1955.

Government

Mibu 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 16 members. Mibu contributes one member to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Tochigi 4th district Tochigi (栃木) may refer to: * Tochigi Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Tochigi (city), a city in Tochigi prefecture, Japan * Tochigi Station, a railroad station in Tochigi city, Japan * Tochigi SC , commonly referred to as Tochigi SC are ...

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

The economy of Mibu is heavily dependent on agriculture; however, the town is increasingly becoming a

commuter town 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 neighboring Utsunomiya.

Education

Dokkyo Medical University is a private university in Mibu, Tochigi, Japan, established in 1973. Dokkyo University is located in the town of Mibu, in Tochigi Prefecture, about 1.5 hours north of Tokyo by train. History Dokkyo Medical University is a part of Dokkyo Group o ...

*Mibu has eight public

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s and two public

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

s operated by the town government. The town has one public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

operated by the Tochigi Prefectural Board of Education. ** (栃木県立壬生高等学校) **Mibu Municipal Mibu Junior High School (壬生町立壬生中学校) **Mibu Municipal Minami Inukai Junior High School ( 壬生町立南犬飼中学校)

Transportation

Railway

Tobu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

–

Tobu Utsunomiya Line is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

* - - -

Highway

* – Mibu Parking Area and Mibu Interchange * *

Local attractions

*Mibumachi Toy Museum *site of

Atagozuka Kofun is a mounded tomb located in the Kōdachi area of Yao, Osaka, in Japan. It is the largest scallop-shaped burial mound, or '' kofun''. It is a round burial mound 22.5 meters in diameter and 9 meters tall. It was constructed in the late sixth cen ...

, National Historic Site * Kurumazuka Kofun, National Historic Site * Ushizuka Kofun, National Historic Site *

Azuma Kofun The is a Kofun period burial mound located on the border of the town of Mibu, Shimotsuga District, and the city of Tochigi in Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. It received protection as a National Historic Site in 19 ...

, National Historic Site *

Chausuyama Kofun Chausuyama may refer to: *Chausuyama (Aichi) is a mountain located on the border between Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of ...

, National Historic Site * Mibu Ichirizuka, National Historic Site

Noted people from Mibu

Ennin , better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi (), was a priest of the Tendai school of Buddhism in Japan, and its third . Ennin was instrumental in expanding the Tendai Order's influence, and bringing back crucial training and re ...

, noted Buddhist prelate *

Yuko Oshima is a Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48, of which she was the captain of Team K. She was also a member of the AKB48 subunit Not Yet. In addition to the singles that involved the rock-paper-scissors tournaments, ...

, actress and singer * Tsutomu Sato, politician *

Kazuyoshi Saito is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Making his professional debut in 1993, Saito's popularity exploded in 2007 after 15 years in the music industry. He is also one-half of the rock duo Mannish Boys with Tatsuya Nakamura and a member of the superg ...

, singer-songwriter

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Tochigi Prefecture Mibu, Tochigi