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 Kani District,

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

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 18,363 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 330 persons per km², in 7,348 households. The total area of the town was .

Geography

Mitake is located at the edge of the

Nōbi Plain The is a large plain in Japan that stretches from the Mino area of southwest Gifu Prefecture to the Owari area of northwest Aichi Prefecture, covering an area of approximately .

in south-central Gifu Prefecture. The Kiso River runs through the town. The town has a climate characterized by characterized by hot and humid summers, and mild winters (

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''). The average annual temperature in Mitake is 14.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1986 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.0 °C.

Neighbouring municipalities

*Gifu Prefecture **

Kani KANI (1500 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Wharton, Texas, United States, it serves the Houston, Texas area. The station is currently owned by Martin Broadcasting. History KANI was first proposed, and a constr ...

** Minokamo ** Toki **

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Yaotsu is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kamo District, Gifu, Kamo District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 11,036 and a population density of 886 persons per km2, in 4311 households. The total area of the to ...

Demographics

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

History

The area around Mitake was part of traditional

Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...

. 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 ...

, Fushimi-juku and

Mitake-juku 270px, Site of the ''honjin''. was the forty-ninth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now part of the town of Mitake, Kani District, Gi ...

prospered as post stations on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...

highway connecting Edo with

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. During the post-

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 ...

cadastral reforms, the area was organised into Kani District, Gifu Prefecture. The town of Mitake was formed in 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. On February 1, 1955, Mitake absorbed the neighbouring towns on Fushimi and Naka, and the village of Kaminogo.

Economy

Mitake was once a major producing area of

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

coal, with more than 100 coal mines operating during its peak around 1947, producing more than a quarter of the nation's output; however by 1968 the last mines closed.

Land subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...

is now a growing problem in the town.

Education

Mitake has three public elementary schools and three public middle school operated by the town government and one public junior high school operated by neighbouring Kani city. The town has two public high schools operated by the Gifu Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Meitetsu , referred to as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the ''Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of which of ...

Hiromi Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu). It connects Inuyama Station in Inuyama, Aichi with Mitake Station in Mitake, Gifu. Stations L: LE: MU: All trains stop at stations ...

** - -

Highway

The town is not located on any national highways.

References

External links

*
Mitake official website
{{Gifu Towns in Gifu Prefecture