![Kuromoriyama01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Kuromoriyama01.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 ...
in
Iwate Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita 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 of 33,090, in 12338 households, and a population density of 134 persons per km². The total area of the town is .
Geography
Shiwa is located in central Iwate Prefecture, in the
Kitakami River
The is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the Tōhoku region. It is long and drains an area of . page 793 It flows through mostly rural areas of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. The source of the river is the Mount Nanashirug ...
basin, south of the prefectural capital of
Morioka
is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is .
...
. The
Sannōkai Dam is located in Shiwa.
Neighboring municipalities
Iwate Prefecture
*
Morioka
is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is .
...
*
Hanamaki
is a Cities of Japan, city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 94,691, and a population density of 100 persons per km², in 37,773 households. The total area of the city is . Hanamaki is famous as the birthplace ...
*
Shizukuishi
is a town located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 16,263 in 6354 households, and a population density of 27 persons per km². The total area of the town is .
Geography
Shizukuishi is located in the Ōu M ...
*
Yahaba
is a town in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 27,227, and a population density of 400 persons per km² in 10,131 households. The total area of the town is .
Geography
Yahaba is located in central Iwate Prefectur ...
Climate
Shiwa has a humid
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and 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'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Shiwa is 10.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1326 mm with September as the wettest month and February as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.3 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Shiwa has remained relatively steady over the past 70 years.
History
The area of present-day Shiwa was part of ancient
Mutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture.
Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...
, and has been settled since at least the
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 ...
. The area was inhabited by the
Emishi
The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...
people, and came under the control of the
Yamato dynasty
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...
during the early
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
. During the
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 ...
, the area was ruled by a branch of the
Northern Fujiwara
The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm. , followed by the Shiba clan during the
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
. During the
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 ...
, the area was conquered by the
Nambu 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 Pr ...
in 1588. 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 ...
, Shiwa prospered as a
post station on the
Ōshū Kaidō
The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government of ...
highway connecting
Edo with the northern provinces, as well as from its location on the
Kitakami River
The is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the Tōhoku region. It is long and drains an area of . page 793 It flows through mostly rural areas of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. The source of the river is the Mount Nanashirug ...
. Initially part of
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
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 ...
, from 1684, four villages (Tsuchidate, Katayose, Inato and Kamihirazawa) formed an
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of
Hachinohe Domain
was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honshū. The domain was centered at Hachinohe Castle, located in the center of what is now the city of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture.
History
O ...
.
During the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, this exclave became the village of Shiwa, and the town of Hizume and the villages of Furudate, Mizuwake, Akaishi, Hikobe, Sahinai, Akasawa, ane Nagaoka were established within
Shiwa District on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. These municipalities were merged on April 1, 1955 to form the new town of Shiwa.
Government
Shiwa 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 ...
city legislature of 18 members. Shiwa, and the town of
Yahaba
is a town in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 27,227, and a population density of 400 persons per km² in 10,131 households. The total area of the town is .
Geography
Yahaba is located in central Iwate Prefectur ...
collectively contribute two seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the city is part of
Iwate 1st 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 local economy of Shiwa is traditionally based on agriculture, primarily rice cultivation, apples, grapes and cucumbers; however, due to its proximity to Morioka city, it is increasingly serving as a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
.
Education
Shiwa has eleven public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education.
Shiwa Town Board of Education
/ref>
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 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 ...
* – –
Highway
* – Takizawa Interchange
*
*
*
International relations
* – Southern Downs
The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...
, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia
* - Portage, Michigan
Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 46,292 in the 2010 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...
, United States[
]
Notable people from Shiwa
* Toru Yoshida, professional soccer player
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
Towns in Iwate Prefecture