270px, Okawahara Plateau 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 to ...

located in Myōdō 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 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 1983 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 47 persons per km².The total area of the village is . Sanagōchi is the only village remaining in Tokushima Prefecture.

Geography

Sanagōchi is located in northern part 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 9.5 kilometers from east-to-west and 4.5 kilometers from north-to-south. The area is known for its spelunking caves.

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture *

Tokushima 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 ...

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

* Itano * Kitajima * Kamiita *

Ishii Ishii (, "stone well") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Akio Ishii (born 1955), Japanese baseball player * Ami Ishii (born 1980), Japanese gravure idol *Anna Ishii (born 1998), Japanese performer, model and actress ...

Climate

Sanagōchi 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 snowfall. The average annual temperature in Sanagōchi is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2128 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sanagōchi has been declining for the past 70 years,

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Sanagōchi 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 C ...

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 village of Sanagōchi was established within

Myōdō District, Tokushima is a Districts of Japan, district located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 2,144 and a population density, density of 49.8 persons per km2. The total area is 42.28 km2. Towns a ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889.

Government

Sanagōchi 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 ...

village council of eight members. Sanagōchi, together with the city of Tokushima, contributes ten members 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 village 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 Sanagōchi is agricultural. The village is famous for producing (literally "peach strawberry"), a type of strawberry which is renowned for its juiciness and hence retails for very high prices – a large strawberry can sell for upwards of 500 yen (over $6 at 2011 exchange rates). Various sweets are made using it, such as chocolate and

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

-covered strawberries, and

Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, Ne ...

Japan sells Momo Ichigo ice cream.Momo Ichigo ice cream
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Education

Sanagōchi has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

Sanagōchi is not served by any passenger railway station. The nearest station is

Tokushima Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Tokushima in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). Lines Tokushima Station is the terminus of both the Kōtoku Line (station number " ...

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 ...

Kōtoku Line The is a railway line in northeastern Shikoku, Japan that connects the prefectural capitals Takamatsu (Kagawa) and Tokushima (Tokushima). Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) owns and operates the line, whose name comes from the characters in th ...

and

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 ...

Highways

* *

References

External links

*
Sanagōchi official website
Villages in Tokushima Prefecture {{Tokushima-geo-stub