270px, Sekkakei Gorge 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 Hino District,

Tottori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hirosh ...

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 4,144 in 1903 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 12 persons per km². The total area of the town is , representing 10% of the total area of Tottori Prefecture.Over 90% of the town is covered by mountains and forest, and 5% of the land is arable. Areas of Nichinan are part of

Hiba-Dogo-Taishaku Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park that spans areas of Tottori Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, and Hiroshima Prefecture, to the east of the island of Honshu, Japan. It was founded on 24 July 1963 and has an area of . As its name suggests, the Hiba-Dogo-Ta ...

Geography

Nichinan is a landlocked town located at the south-western tip of Hino District in the southwestern corner of Tottori Prefecture. The town is mountainous and located on the backbone of the

Chūgoku Mountains is a mountain range in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. It runs in an east–west direction and stretches approximately from Hyōgo Prefecture in the east to the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The range also reaches under the Pacific Ocean ...

Mountains

*– *– *– *– *– *– *– *–

Lakes

Dams

Rivers

The

Hino River The is a major river in the western part of Tottori Prefecture. The river flows east-northeast for , and is the longest river in the prefecture. The Hino River emerges from the Chūgoku Mountains. The source of the river is at an elevation of ...

originates in Nichinan. Four of its major

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

in Nichinan include: * * * *

Neighboring municipalities

Hiroshima Prefecture *

Shōbara 270px, Shōbara City Hall 270px, Bihoku-kyuryo Park 270px, Shobara city center area aerial photograph is a city in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,343 in 14984 households and a population density of ...

Tottori Prefecture *

Hino Hino may refer to: Places Estonia * Hino, Põlva County * Hino, Võru County ** Lake Hino Japan * Hino, Shiga * Hino, Tokyo * Hino, Tottori ** Hino District, Tottori ** Hino River Transportation * Hino Motors, a Japanese truck manufacturer o ...

* Nanbu Okayama Prefecture *

Niimi is a city located in northwestern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 30,583 (14,628 males, 15,955 females), with 12,857 households and a population density of 39 persons per km2. The total a ...

Shimane Prefecture *

Okuizumo is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Nita District, Shimane, Nita District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It was formed on March 31, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Nita, Shimane, Nita and Yokota, Shimane, Yokota. As of March 1, 2017, ...

Yasugi is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. As of March 1, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 38,875 and a population density of 92 persons per km². The total area is . History The ruins of Gassantoda Castle are in Yasugi. Acco ...

Climate

Nichinan has a Humid climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nichinan is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . Its record high is , reached on 19 August 2020, and its record low is , reached on 16 February 2011.

Demography

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nichinan has been as follows. The town has been suffering from rural depopulation, and the population has been rapidly decreasing since the 1960s.

History

The area of Nichinan was part of ancient

Hōki Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Tottori Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hōki bordered on Inaba, Mimasaka, Bitchū, Bingo, and Izumo Provinces. The ancient capital was in the area that is ...

. 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 ...

, it was part of the holdings of the

Ikeda clan was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021) of the Seiwa Genji. Minamoto no Yasumasa, the fourth generation descending from Yorimitsu, and younger brother of Minamoto no Yorimasa (1104-1180), was the first to ...

Tottori Domain 270px, Ikeda Yoshinori 270px, Front gate of the Tottori Domain residence in Edo was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now Tottori Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It controlled all of Inaba Provi ...

. Following 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 ...

. the area was divided into villages within

Hino District, Tottori is a district located in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of 2012, the district has an estimated population of 12,036 and a density of 20.1 persons per km2. The total area is . History Hino District has been settled since ancient times. The area ...

on October 1, 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The town of Hokunan (伯南町) was created by the merger of the villages of Hinoue and Yamagami on May 2, 1955. It merged with the villages of Takamiya, Tari, Iwami and Fukue to form the town of Nichinan on April 1, 1959.

Government

Nichinan 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 ten members. Nichinan, collectively with the other municipalities of Hino District, contributes one member to the Tottori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tottori 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 Nichinan is based agriculture, forestry, and seasonal tourism to its

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

Education

Nichinan has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

Hakubi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region of Japan. It begins at the south end of Okayama Prefecture at Kurashiki Station in Kurashiki, passing through Niimi Station on ...

* -

Highways

* *

Local attractions

* Sekka Gorge *Nichinan Historic Village *Nichinan Apple Village *Hanamiyama Ski Resort * Sasaraku-jinja * Gedatsu-ji

Cultural Institutions

The Nichinan Cultural Center (785 Kasumi, Nichinan, Tottori), located next to the Nichinan Town Hall, houses the town's three main cultural facilities in one building. The Cultural Center is accessible by bus, or a 30-minute walk, from the

Shōyama Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Nichinan, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Shōyama Station is served by the Hakubi Line, and is located 95.4 kilometers from th ...

. *Satsuki Hall—a 502-seat performance hall *Nichinan Library *Nichinan Art Museum日南町美術館
/ref>

References

External links

*
Nichinan official website
{{Authority control Towns in Tottori Prefecture