270px, Naka Town Hall 270px, border of Anan and Naka 270px, Ogama Falls 270px, Naka River at Wajiki 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 Naka District,

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

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 7,597 in 3734 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 11 persons per km².The total area of the town is .

Geography

Naka is located in southern of Tokushima Prefecture on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. It is situated on the banks of the Naka River. Parts of the town are within the borders of the

Tsurugisan Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park that spans the borders of Tokushima and Kōchi Prefectures, Japan. It was founded on 3 March 1964 and has an area of . Within Tokushima Prefecture, the park includes a stretch of the Yoshino River and the Iya Valley ...

, including areas such as Konose Gorge and the Tsurugisan Super Forest Road. In addition, Ogama Falls and Daitodorono Falls are scenic spots.

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture * Anan * Mima * Miyoshi * Katsuura * Kamikatsu * Minami * Mima * Kaiyō * Kamiyama Kōchi Prefecture * Aki *

Kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

* Umaji

Climate

Naka 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 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'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is high, but there is a pronounced difference between the wetter summers and drier winters. The average annual temperature in Naka is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Naka was on 18 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 8 February 1984.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Naka in 2020 is 7,367 people. Naka has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Naka was part of ancient Awa Province. 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 ...

, the area was part of the holdings of

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima ...

ruled by the

Hachisuka clan The are descendants of Emperor Seiwa (850-880) of Japan and are a branch of the Ashikaga clan through the Shiba clan (Seiwa Genji). History Ashikaga Ieuji (13th century), son of Ashikaga Yasuuji, was the first to adopt the name Shiba. The Shiba ...

from their seat at

Tokushima Castle was an Edo period Japanese castle located in the city of Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site since 1957. Its Omotegoten Gardens are designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty. Hi ...

. The villages of Aioi (相生村) and Wajjiki (鷲敷村) were established within

Naka District, Tokushima is a district located in Tokushima, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 7,549 and a population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a meas ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. Wajiki was elevated town status on July 10, 1908 followed by Aioi on September 30, 1956. Naka was founded on March 1, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Aioi, Wajiki, and Kaminaka and the villages of Kisawa and Kito, all from Naka District.

Government

Naka 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. Naka contributes one member to the

Tokushima Prefectural Assembly is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Tokushima 1st district Tokushima 1st district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, and consists of the city of Tokushima and the village of Sanag� ...

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 Naka is largely agricultural.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical (), abbreviated OPC, is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Tokyo, Osaka and Naruto, Japan. The company was established August 10, 1964. History OPC's parent company Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd. joined the Tokyo Stock Exchange through an ini ...

has a large facility in Naka.

Education

Naka has four public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Tokushima Prefectural Department of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Naka has no passenger railway service. Kuwano Station in neighboring Anan or Hiwasa Station in neighboring Minami, both on the

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

Mugi Line The is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nic ...

are the closest stations.

Highways

* *

Local attractions

Notable people from Naka

Taiki Nakago is a former Japanese professional baseball pitcher. He was born on September 21, 1984. He is currently playing for the Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Sai ...

, baseball pitcher *

Masatoshi Sanma is a Japanese slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1997 to 2011. He was eliminated in the semifinals of the C2 event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, finishing in 9th place. His partner in the C2 boat was Hiroyuk ...

, slalom canoer

References

External links

*
Naka official website
Towns in Tokushima Prefecture {{Tokushima-geo-stub