is a

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

located in

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

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 ...

. As of September 2013, the district had an estimated population of 33,815 and an area of 222.98 km². All of the cities of Kuroishi and Hirakawa, and parts of the cities of

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

and

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

and the town of Itayanagi were formerly part of Minamitsugaru District. In terms of national politics, the district is represented in 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 ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

as a part of the

Aomori 3rd district Aomori 3rd district is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located on the island of Honshu, in Aomori Prefecture, and includes the cities of Hirosaki, Goshogawara, and Ajigasawa. As ...

Towns and villages

* Fujisaki * Inakadate * Ōwani

History

The area of Minamitsugaru District was formerly part of

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

. At the time of 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 ...

of 1868, the area consisted of one towns (Kuroishi) and 22 villages formerly under the control of

Kuroishi Domain was a '' tozama'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in northwestern Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory included 2000 ''koku'' in the area around present-day city of Kuroishi, 1000 ''koku'' in pre ...

and 117 villages under the control of

Hirosaki Domain Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honshū ...

. Aomori Prefecture was founded on December 13, 1871, and Minamitsugaru District was carved out of the former Tsugaru District on October 30, 1878. Aomori MinamiTsugaru-gun 1889

With the establishment of the municipality system on April 1, 1889, Minamitsugaru District, was organized into one town (Kuroishi) and 27 villages were established. *1923 – Ishikawa, Ōwani and Fujisaki were elevated to town status. *1929 - Kashiwagi was elevated to town status. *1937 - Onoe was elevated to town status. *1940 - Namioka was elevated to town status. *1943 - Daikoji was elevated to town status. *1951 - Kuradate was elevated to town status. *1954 - Kuroishi merged with four neighboring villages and was elevated to city status. Kuradate merged with Ōwani. *1955 – Hiraga Town was created by the merger of Kashiwagi, Daikoji and three villages. Hataoka villages was transferred to Kitatsugaru District. *1957 – The town of Ishikawa was absorbed into Kuroishi *On March 28, 2005 the village of

Tokiwa Tokiwa, usually written , , or , may refer to: Places *Tokiwa, Fukushima, a town in the north of Japan's main island *Tokiwa, Aomori, a village in the far north of Japan's main island Colleges and universities *Tokiwa Junior College, Mito, Ibaraki ...

merged into the town of Fujisaki. *On April 1, 2005 the town of Namioka merged into the city of

. *On January 1, 2006 the towns of Hiraka and Onoe and the village of Ikarigaseki merged to form the new city of Hirakawa.

References

{{authority control Districts in Aomori Prefecture