270px, Mitoyo City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Mitoyo city center 270px, Shiudeyama 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 ...

located in

Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

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 city had an estimated population of 59,876 in 23024 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 270 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Mitoyo is located in western Kagawa Prefecture. It faces the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...

to the north and borders

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

across the

Sanuki Mountains The are a mountain range running along the southern border of Kagawa and the northern border of Tokushima prefectures on the island of Shikoku, Japan. The highest peak is at 1059.9 m.Setonaikai National Park is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, known as the Setouchi ...

. The city includes Awashima Island and Shishijima in the Seto Inland Sea between Shikoku and

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

Neighbouring municipalities

Kagawa Prefecture * Zentsuji * Kan'onji *

Tadotsu 270px, Shorinji Kempo head dōjō is a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 22,124 in 10365 households and a population density of 270 persons per km². The total area of the ...

Kotohira is a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8,105 in 3618 households and a population density of 960 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is best known as t ...

* Mannō Tokushima Prefecture * Miyoshi * Higashimiyoshi

Climate

Mitoyo 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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with hot, humid summers, and cool winters. Some rain falls throughout the year, but the months from May to September have the heaviest rain. The average annual temperature in Mitoyo is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Mitoyo was on 6 August 2017; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 4 February 1999.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Mitoyo in 2020 is 61,857 people. Mitoyo has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

The area of Mitoyo was part of ancient

Sanuki Province was a province of Japan in the area of northeastern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sanuki''" in . Sanuki bordered on Awa to the south, and Iyo to the west. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system, ...

and has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A number of shell moundss from the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

have been identified, and the Minami Kusagi Shell Mound is the largest shell mound in Kagawa Prefecture and the Kotsutajima Shell Midden is the oldest in the Seto Inland Sea region. 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 city area was divided between the holdings of

Marugame Domain 270px, Kyōgoku Akiyuki 270px, Marugame Castle was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Marugame Castle, and was ruled throughout mu ...

and

Tadotsu Domain 270px, Shorinji Kempo head dōjō is a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 22,124 in 10365 households and a population density of 270 persons per km². The total area of the t ...

, and direct ''

tenryō 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 ...

'' holdings of 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 ...

. 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 area was dived into villages within Mino District, which merged with Toyota District to form

Mitoyo District, Kagawa was a district located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 93,984 and a density of 322.96 persons per km2. The total area was 291.01 km2. Mergers * Mitoyo District was created by the merge ...

in 1899. The city of Mitoyo was established on January 1, 2006, from the merger of all seven towns of Mitoyo District:

Mino Mino may refer to: Places in Japan * Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture * Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture * Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture * Mi ...

Nio are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajra ...

, Saita, Takase, Takuma,

Toyonaka is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on October 15, 1936. Geography Climate Toyonaka has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The averag ...

and Yamamoto.

Government

Mitoyo 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 22 members. Mitoyo contributes three members to the Kagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kagawa 3rd 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

The area of Mitoyo was noted for its salt industry in ancient times. In the modern era, efforts have been made to develop harbors and industries in the coastal area, creating a coastal industrial zone centered on Takuma Port. On the other hand, the Shonai Peninsula and offshore islands are focused on flower gardening and tourism. Agriculture remains the largest industry, notably fruits such as grapes, mandarin oranges, and peaches. The city is the largest tea producing area in Kagawa Prefecture. Other crops include lettuce, onions, loquats, and rice. Efforts are being made to integrate agriculture and tourism to promote regional development.

Education

Mitoyo has 19 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government, and one private middle school. The city has two public high schools operated by the Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education and one private high school.

Transportation

Railways

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has i ...

Yosan Line The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately p ...

* () - - - - - JR_logo_(shikoku)

Dosan Line is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa, and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kōchi. The line links the city of Kōchi with northern Shikoku a ...

Highways

Takamatsu Expressway The is an expressway in the Shikoku region of Japan. The expressway is numbered E11. Overview The expressway is an important route connecting the greater Osaka area with Takamatsu, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. Beyond Takamatsu, the rout ...

* * * *

Sister city relations

* -

Waupaca, Wisconsin Waupaca is a city in and the county seat of Waupaca County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 6,282 at the 2020 census. The city is located mostly within the Town of Waupaca, and it is politically independent of the town. A p ...

, United States, Sister city since 1994. * - Hapcheon County,

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World ...

, South Korea. Friendship city since July 13, 2007 * -

Sanyuan County Sanyuan () is a county in the central part of Shaanxi province, China. It is the easternmost county-level division of Xianyang City. Administrative divisions As 2016, this County is divided to 11 towns. ;Towns Climate Transportation *China ...

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

, Shaanxi , China, friendship city since January 13, 2009

Local attractions

* Daikō-ji, 69th temple on the

Shikoku Pilgrimage The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...

Motoyama-ji The is a Shingon Buddhist temple of the Kōyasan sect in Mitoyo, Kagawa, Japan. It was established by Emperor Heizei's instruction in 807. Hayagriva is a principal image now. The temple has undergone several reconstruction efforts since its ...

, 70th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage; its Man Hall is a

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

. * Iyadani-ji, 71st temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage *Tsushima Shrine, located in on an offshore island, is only accessible during its

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

one day a year in early August. * Shiudeyama Site, NationalHistoric Site

Noted people from Mitoyo

Erika Mabuchi is a Japanese actress. Filmography Films * '' Shall We Dance?'' (1996) * ''Itsuka dokusho suruhi'' (2005) * ''Call Boy'' (2018) * ''Inori'' (2021) * ''Akira and Akira'' (2022) Television * ''Hakusen Nagashi'' (1996), Fuyumi Tachibana * ''Haku ...

, actress

References

External links

*
Nio Dragon Festival in Mitoyo
HK(video) * Cities in Kagawa Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan {{Kagawa-geo-stub