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 o ...

located in

Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefectur ...

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 n ...

. , 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 usi ...

of 23,015 in 9309 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 560 persons per km². The total area of the town was .

Geography

Meiwa is located in eastern

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are among ...

in central Mie Prefecture between Matsusaka and

Ise Ise may refer to: Places *Ise, Mie, a city in Japan ** Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria * Ise, Norway, a village in Norway * Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan * River Ise, a tributary of ...

, facing

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels: ...

on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. Te land is generally flat and agricultural.

Neighboring municipalities

Mie Prefecture *

* Matsusaka * Taki * Tamaki

Climate

Meiwa 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 Meiwa is 15.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2015 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Meiwa population statistics
/ref> the population of Meiwa has been increasing over the past 60 years.

History

In pre-modern Japan, Meiwa was best known as the location of the ancient Saikū, the residence of the ''

Saiō A , was an unmarried female member of the Japanese Imperial Family, sent to Ise to serve at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century until the 14th century. The Saiō's residence, , was about 10 km north-west of the shrine. The remains of ...

,'' an unmarried Imperial princess who, in place of the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

, was dispatched to serve as the High Priestess of

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie, Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . ...

to perform three important

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

rituals. 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 character ...

the area developed into a thriving agricultural center and post-town, providing lodging to people making the pilgrimage to Ise Grand Shrine. Ōyodo Village was established on April 1, 1889 during the Meiji period establishment of the modern municipalities system. It was elevated to town status on February 1, 1924, and was renamed Sanwa on September 3, 1955. In 1958, the town of Sanwa and the neighboring village of Saimei merged to form the town of Meiwa.

Government

Meiwa 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 multi ...

city council of 14 members. Meiwa, collectively with the other municipalities of Taki District, contributes two members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Mie 4th 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 paral ...

Economy

Meiwa has a mixed economy based on agriculture,

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must oft ...

and light manufacturing, and serves as a commercial center for the surrounding region.

Education

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

Transportation

Railway

22px

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Ky ...

- Yamada Line :(''for , '' ) ( ''for '')

Bus

Sanco , also known as , is a public transportation company which operates local and long-distance buses in Mie prefecture, Japan. The company has other ventures, including a taxicab business and real estate Real estate is property consisting of ...

does not operate bus lines to Meiwa, however the town of Meiwa runs a small bus line that connects Myōjō Station and Saikū Station with the Meiwa City Hall and the huge Meiwa Jusco shopping center. Buses run hourly from the stations and only operate between 8:00am and 6:00pm.

Highway

Local attractions

* Saikū Historical Museum * Itsukinomiya Historical Experience - Built without the use of modern technology, this building is crafted to resemble the Saiō's ancient residence. Just outside this building is a small-scale reconstruction of the entire Saikū complex. * Ōyodo Swimming Beach - A small beach in northeastern Meiwa.

Festivals

* Saiō Festival - Held annually for two days on the first weekend in June near the Saikū ruins, with a procession of people clad in Heian period dress. * Ōyodo Gion Festival - Held annually on the last Saturday of July or the first Saturday of August, with fireworks over Ōyodo harbour.