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
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...
,
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 15,286, 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 45 persons per km
2, in 6,797 households. The total area of the town is .
Geography
Shichinohe is in central Aomori Prefecture, to the east of the
Hakkōda Mountains
The are an active volcanic complex in south-central Aomori Prefecture, Japan, in Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Often called or simply , the mountains are collectively listed as one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. Its highest peak, ...
.
Neighboring municipalities
Aomori Prefecture
*
Aomori
is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...
*
Towada
is a city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,697, and a population density of 84 persons per km2 in 27,677 households. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Towada is in the foothills of the Hakkōda M ...
*
Tōhoku
*
Hiranai
( ain, ピラナィ, piranay) is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 10,460 in 4,860 households, and a population density of 48 persons per km². It i ...
Climate
The town has a cold
humid climate characterized by cool, short summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall (
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 Shichinohe is 9.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1233 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.1 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,
Shichinohe population statistics
/ref> the population of Shichinohe peaked around 1960 and has declined over the past 60 years.
History
Shichinohe began as one of a series of numbered fortified settlements established by the Nanbu clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji of Kai P ...
in the early Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
to control their new territories in Nukada District of northern Ōshū Oshu or Ōshū may refer to:
*Another name for Mutsu Province, a former Japanese province
*Ōshū, Iwate, Japan, a city
*Northern Fujiwara
The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese kuge, noble Japanese c ...
. Shichinohe Castle
was a Japanese castle located in what is now the town of Shichinohe, in Kamikita District of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. On December 13, 1941 the area was proclaimed a National Historic Site by the Japanese g ...
was controlled by a branch of the Nanbu clan for several generations until the end of Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, when in 1591, the Shichinohe Nanbu clan opposed the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
during the Kunohe Rebellion and were defeated. The clan survived as ''hatamoto
A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' However ...
'' under the main lineage of the Nanbu clan at Morioka Domain
300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle
was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, ...
under 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 ...
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
. The Shichinohe Domain
was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan, located in Mutsu Province, Honshū. It was centered at Shichinohe Castle in what is now the modern town of Shichinohe, Aomori in the Kamikita District of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku ...
, a subsidiary domain
Domain may refer to:
Mathematics
*Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined
**Domain of definition of a partial function
**Natural domain of a partial function
**Domain of holomorphy of a function
* Do ...
of Morioka Domain was created in 1819.
During the post-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 ...
establishment of the modern municipalities system on 1 April 1889, Shichinohe Village was incorporated. It was elevated to town status in 1949. On 31 March 2005, the neighboring village of Tenmabayashi was merged
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
into the town of Shichinohe. Shichinohe-Towada Station on the Tōhoku Shinkansen opened on 4 December 2010. This restored a rail link to the town after the closure of the Nanbu Jūkan Railway
The was a railbus line in eastern Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Services on the railway began 1962 and ceased in 1997 due to financial hardship. It connected Noheji Station in the town of Noheji to Shichinohe Station in the town of Shichinohe.
Orga ...
which previously connected Shichinohe Station
is a former railway station on the former Nanbu Jūkan Railway in Shichinohe, Aomori, Japan.
There was once a plan to use the Nanbu Jūkan Railway to connect the Tōhoku Shinkansen with Noheji or Mutsu, but the railway was closed before t ...
with Noheji Station
is a railway station located in the central district of the town of Noheji in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The station has been operating since 1891. Since 2010, the station has been jointly operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) an ...
on the Tōhoku Main Line
The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fuku ...
until 1997.
Government
Shichinobe 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 16 members. Shichinohe is part of Kamikita District, which contributes four members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Aomori 2nd district
Aomori 2nd district (青森県第2区, ''Aomori-ken dai-niku'' or simply 青森2区, ''Aomori-niku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located ...
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 Shichinohe is heavily dependent on agriculture and stock raising. Primary crops include rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, Japanese yam
''Dioscorea japonica'', known as East Asian mountain yam, yamaimo, or Japanese mountain yam, is a type of yam ('' Dioscorea'') native to Japan (including Ryukyu and Bonin Islands), Korea, China, Taiwan, and Assam.
''Dioscorea japonica'' is us ...
and carrot
The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...
s.
Education
Shichinohe has three public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education. The town also has one special education school for the handicapped, and an agricultural vocational school.
Transportation
Railway
East Japan Railway Company
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
(JR East) - Tōhoku Shinkansen
The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main ...
*
Highway
*
*
*
* (unsigned)
*
International relations
* – Hadong
Hadong County (, ''Hadong-gun'') is a county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is on the far-west side of the province, bordering South Jeolla Province. The county office is located at Hadeong-eup.
History
The county of Hadong was call ...
, South Gyeongsang
South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
Local attractions
*Site of Shichinohe Castle
was a Japanese castle located in what is now the town of Shichinohe, in Kamikita District of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of far northern Japan. On December 13, 1941 the area was proclaimed a National Historic Site by the Japanese g ...
, a National Historic Site
* Futatsumori Site, a Jōmon period
The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...
settlement and shell midden that is a National Historic Site
* Takayama Uichi Memorial Museum of Art
Noted people from Shichinohe
*Takegoro Ebina, jockey
*Takehiro Hashimoto, professional baseball player
*Kaiki Nobuhide
Kaiki Nobuhide (born 12 June 1952 as Masaaki Nishino) is a former sumo wrestler from Tenmabayashi, Aomori, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1965, and was promoted to the top '' makuuchi'' division in 1975. He earned three gold stars fo ...
, sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
wrestler
*Uichi Takayama, artist
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
Towns in Aomori Prefecture