![Landscape of Shimotsugu, Shitara-cho 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Landscape_of_Shimotsugu%2C_Shitara-cho_2017.jpg)
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
Kitashitara District,
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...
,
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 4,531 in 2,133 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 16.5 persons per km². The total area of the town was .
Geography
Shitara is located in the extreme northeast corner of Aichi Prefecture. Much of the town’s area is covered by mountains and forest, and portions of the town are within the borders of the
Tenryū-Okumikawa Quasi-National Park
is a quasi-national park in the Tōkai region of Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN. The park includes the Tenryū-kyō Gorge of the upper Tenryū River in Iida, Sakuma Dam and its surrounding ...
.
Neighboring municipalities
Aichi Prefecture
*
Shinshiro
*
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
* Kitashitara District
**
Toyone
**
Toei
Nagano Prefecture
*
Shimoina District
**
Neba
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Shitara has decreased drastically and is only a third of what it was 60 years ago.
Climate
The town has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild 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 Shitara is 11.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2310 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.3 °C.
Shitara climate data
/ref>
History
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 ...
, most of present Shitara was ''tenryō
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 ...
'' territory under direct control of the 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 ...
. After 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 organized into several villages within Kitashitara District with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Taguchi Village, the site of the district administrative office, was elevated to town status on October 10, 1900. The town of Shitara was established on September 30, 1956 through the merger of Taguchi with the neighboring villages of Damine, Nagura and Furikusa. The village of Tsugu was also formed on the same day through the merger of Kamitsugu and Shimotsugu villages. Shitara and Tsugu 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 ...
on October 1, 2005.
Economy
The primary industry of Shitara is agriculture, with rice, tomatoes, cabbage and daikon
Daikon or mooli, ''Radish, Raphanus sativus'' Variety (botany), var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia, daikon ...
as the main crops. Production of hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
generation is also a major contributor to the local economy.
Education
Shitara has five public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education.
Primary schools
*Taguchi Primary School
*Seirei Primary School
*Damine Primary School
*Nagura Primary School
*Tsugu Primary School
Junior High schools
*Shitara Junior High School
*Tsugu Junior High School
High schools
*Taguchi High School
Foreign Exchange Program
*Thomas Middle School (Arlington Heights, IL, USA)
*South Middle School (Arlington Heights, IL, USA)
Transportation
Railway
Shitara does not have any passenger railway services.
Highway
*
*
*
Local attractions
*Kurabune Ruins (鞍船遺跡) – 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 ...
archaeological site excavated in 1922
*Damine Castle (田峯城) – ruins of a 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 ...
castle
*Soezawa Onsen - hot spring resort
Notable people from Shitara
* Mitsuzo Sasaki, author
References
External links
Official home page
{{Authority control
Towns in Aichi Prefecture