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 central Mie 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 ...

, bordering on Nara Prefecture to the west. , the city had an estimated population of 77,022 in 34,658 households and a population density of 590 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Nabari is located in the hilly Iga region of northwestern Mie Prefecture.

Neighboring municipalities

Mie Prefecture * Tsu *

Iga Iga may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ambush at Iga Pass, a 1958 Japanese film * Iga no Kagemaru, Japanese manga series * Iga, a set of characters from the Japanese novel '' The Kouga Ninja Scrolls'' Biology * ''Iga'' (beetle), a gen ...

Nara Prefecture * Uda * Yamazoe * Soni

Climate

Nabari 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 Nabari is 13.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1439 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Nabari population statistics
/ref> the population of Nabari grew rapidly from the 1950s, but has slightly decreased since the year 2000.

History

The area around Nabari is part of ancient

Iga Province was a province of Japan located in what is today part of western Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Iga" in . Its abbreviated name was . Iga is classified as one of the provinces of the Tōkaidō. Under the ''Engishiki'' cl ...

, and Nabari developed from the Asuka period as a post station on the Ise Kaidō highway from Asuka and

Heijō-kyō was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient ...

to the Ise Grand Shrines. It is mentioned in ancient works, including the ''

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

''. Nabari Town in Nabari District in Mie Prefecture was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Nabari District was merged with Iga District in 1896 to form Naga District. The city of Nabari was established on March 31, 1954 by the merger of Nabari town with the neighboring villages of Takigawa, Minowa and Kunitsu. Voters rejected a proposal to merge with the neighboring city of Iga in February 2003.

Government

Nabari has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 14 members. Nabari contributes two members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Mie 2nd 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 economy of Nabari is mixed, with agriculture (especially for fruits) and '' sake'' production, along with light manufacturing and chemicals production predominant. Due to its proximity to Osaka and Nara, the city is also increasing becoming a bedroom community.

Education

* Kogakkan University – Nabari branch campus *Nabari has 14 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by then Mie Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

20px Kintetsu Railway – Osaka Line ** - - -

Highway

* *

Sister city relations

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

, Jiangsu, China.

Local attractions

Akame Forty-eight Waterfalls The Japanese lates (''Lates japonicus''), also known as the ''akame'' (from the Japanese , literally "red eye") or Japanese barramundi, is a species of fish found in Japan. A bottom-dweller restricted to estuarine habitats and large rivers in the ...

. Asides from being a popular hiking spot, the waterfalls are rumored to be the training location for ninja hundreds of years ago. *

Kuroda House Kuroda (written: lit. "black ricefield") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese painter * Akinobu Kuroda 黒田明伸, Japanese historian *Chris Kuroda, lighting designer and operator for the band Phish and Ju ...

. The Kuroda House was a large manor operated by Todaiji Temple from the Heian to the Muromachi period. * A statue based on the character of

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...

can be found near Kanonji Temple, its mysterious nature attracted the attention of online outlets and fans of the franchise

Notable people from Nabari

* Edogawa Rampo, Author * Michiyo Heike, singer, songwriter * Kentaro Kuwahara, professional baseball player * Mina Fukui, model * Andou Daisuke, guitarist

References

External links

*
Nabari City official website
{{Authority control Cities in Mie Prefecture