is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village 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 4,910 in 1628 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...

of 64 persons per km². The total area of the village is . Nakagawa is listed as one of

The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan is a Japanese nonprofit organization of listing some of the most beautiful villages and towns in Japan. The association is active on enhancement and protection of Japanese rural heritage, cultural fairs & branding and promotion of regional, nat ...

Geography

Nakagawa is located in the Ina Valley of south-central Nagano Prefecture in the

Kiso Mountains are a mountain range in Nagano and Gifu prefectures in Japan. They are also called the and they combine with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") to form a group collectively known as the Japanese ...

. The

Tenryū River The is a river in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river. Its source is Lake Suwa in the Kiso Mountains near Okaya in Nagano Prefecture. It then flows through Aichi Prefecture and western Shizuoka Prefect ...

flows through the village. The Koshibu Dam is located in Nakagawa.

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture ** Komagane ** Iijima ** Matsukawa ** Ōshika

Climate

The village has a climate characterized by characterized by hot and humid summers, and cold 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 Nakagawa is 9.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1691 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.25 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Nakagawa population statistics
/ref> the population of Nakagawa has been declining over the past 70 years.

History

The area of present-day Nakagawa was part of ancient Shinano Province. The villages of Katagiri and Minakata merged on August 1, 1959 to form the village of Nakagawa.

Education

The village has two public elementary schools and one public junior high school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

Central Japan Railway Company -

Iida Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi, Aichi with Tatsuno Station in Tatsuno, Nagano, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The line links eastern Aichi Prefecture and southern Nagano Prefe ...

Highway

Notable people from Nakagawa

Kōichi Shiozawa was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The literary critic Rinsen Nakazawa was his older brother. Biography Shiozawa was born in Matsumoto city, Nagano prefecture. His family was distillers of the fame ...

, Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy

References

External links

*
Official Website
Villages in Nagano Prefecture {{Nagano-geo-stub