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

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

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 33,178 in 15,888 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 970 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Located in central Saitama Prefecture, Moroyama is approximately 50 kilometers from downtown Tokyo. The town straddles the Hachioji Tectonic Line where the Chichibu Mountains and 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 ' ...

meet, with gentle mountains in the west with an elevation of about 300–400 meters above sea level. From the central part to the eastern part, the town consists of flat land with an elevation of about 60 meters above sea level. Approximately 40 percent of the town area is forest and mountains, with a portion within the borders of the Kuroyama Prefectural Nature Park.

Surrounding municipalities

* Sakado * Hidaka *

Hannō is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 79,123 in 35,440 households and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hannō is located on the southern ...

* Ogose * Hatoyama

Climate

Moroyama 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 Moroyama is 13.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1746 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.6 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Moroyama population statistics
/ref> the population of Moroyama peaked around the year 2000 and has declined since.

History

The area around Moroyama has been inhabited since at least 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 ...

, and numerous archaeological sites are within the town limits. The area of the town is within the borders of ancient

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

. Moro village was created within

Iruma District, Saitama is a district located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In the 2005 census reports, the district has an estimated population of 89,552. The total area is 89.77 km2. The district consists of three towns: * Miyoshi * Moroyama * Ogose District ti ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Moro merged with neighboring Yamane village to form the town of Moroyama on April 1, 1939. Also in 1939, the author Saneatsu Mushanokoji founded

Atarashiki-mura , is a Japanese utopian community founded by the author, artist and philosopher Saneatsu Mushanokōji, which has been approved as a foundation by the local government after its establishment. History The village was founded in 1918 in Hyūga, ...

, an

agricultural commune An agricultural commune is a commune based on agricultural labor. It is usually differentiated from other forms of collective agriculture by near-complete collective ownership of capital assets and collective consumption of the products of agricult ...

, which he intended for form the nucleus of a utopian settlement. Moroyama annexed neighboring Kawakado village on April 1, 1955. Road paving and housing developments in the early 1960s brought urbanization, population growth and change to areas previously devoted to

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

fields. This new urban environment led to changes in the industrial structure including decreases in the agricultural population and an increase in the manufacturing and service industries.

Government

Moroyama 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 14 members. Moroyama, together with the towns of Hatoyama and Ogose, contributes one member to the Saitama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Saitama 9th 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

Moroyama remains largely an agricultural town, although it has increasing become 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 ...

Education

Saitama Medical University is a private university at Moroyama, Saitama, Japan. The predecessor of the school, the Moro Hospital, was founded in 1892, and it was chartered as a university in 1972. Alumni * Takashi Mitsubayashi was a Japanese politician of the Libera ...

* Nihon Institute of Medical Science *Moroyama has four public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Saitama Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, there is also one private middle school. The prefectural also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is 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 ...

–

Hachikō Line The Hachikō Line is a 92.0 km (57.2 mi) regional railway line owned and operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is located within Tokyo, Saitama, and Gunma Prefectures in Japan. It connects Hachiōji Station in Hachiō ...

Tōbu 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 long ...

Tōbu Ogose Line The is a 10.9 km mostly single-track branchline in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. It runs from Sakado Station on the Tobu Tojo Line to Ogose Station, connecting with the JR East Hachikō L ...

* - -

Highway

Moroyama is not served by any expressways or national highways

Local attractions

* Kamakita Lake *

* Izumoiwai Jinja

Noted people from Moroyama

* Yuta Muto, professional baseball player *

Daiya Seto is a Japanese professional swimmer who specializes in individual medley, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle events. He won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021 world short course cham ...

, World gold medalist swimmer

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Saitama Prefecture Moroyama, Saitama