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 o ...

located primarily on

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...

, in Ōshima District,

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

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 n ...

. As of June 2013, 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 usi ...

of 9,379 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 39.1 persons per km². The total area was 239.91 km².

Geography

Setouchi occupies the southern portion of Amami Ōshima, facing the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated ...

to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It also includes numerous offshore islands of Amami Ōshima, including the inhabited islands of Kakeromajima,

Ukejima Uke Island, or , is one of the Satsunan Islands of Japan, classed with the Amami Islands, Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa.''Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan'', Teikoku-Shoin Co., Ltd., Tokyo, The island, 13.34 km² in area, ...

and Yoroshima.

Climate

The climate is classified as

humid subtropical 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 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, nota ...

''Cfa'') with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is high throughout the year, but is highest in the months of May, June and September. The area is subject to frequent

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

Surrounding municipalities

Amami The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

Uken is a village located on Amami Ōshima, in Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of June 2013, the village had an estimated population of 1,843 and a population density of 17.9 persons per km2. The total area was 103.07 km2. ...

History

Higashikata Village was established on April 1, 1908. It became the town of Koniya on April 1, 1936. As with all of the Amami Islands, the village came under the administration of the United States from July 1, 1946 to December 25, 1953. On September 1, 1956 Koniya merged with three neighboring villages to form the town of Setouchi.

Economy

The town economy is primarily based on agriculture, with

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

and citrus

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

as the main crops. Industries include shochu refining and commercial fishing.

Transportation

Ports

*Koniya Port, with ferry connections to Kagoshima and to the other Amami islands.

Highway

* Japan National Route 58

Noted people from Setouchi

Ikue Asazaki is a Japanese folk singer. She grew up on the Amami Islands (in Setouchi, Kagoshima) which are famous for spawning popular singers of shima-uta, Amami's traditional music genre. Her father influenced her early music strongly during her upbringi ...

– musician *

Chitose Hajime is a Japanese singer from Amami Ōshima. She sings in the shima-uta style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. History Early life Chitose Hajime began learning shamisen under her mother's encouragement from a young ...

– musician * Tadashi Kanehisa – folklorist *

Kenji Midori is a Japanese martial artist. He is an instructor of the Full-contact Karate. He has an 8th Dan black belt in World Karate Organization Shinkyokushinkai. Career Midori was a student of Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin kaikan. He lost in th ...

– Karateka * Shomu Nobori - Russian translator *

Meisei Chikara is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Setouchi, Kagoshima. He debuted in sumo wrestling in July 2011 and made his ''makuuchi'' debut in July 2018. His highest rank has been ''sekiwake''. He wrestles for Tatsunami stable. Unusually for ...

- sumo wrestler Image:View of Katetsu cove from nearby Manen-zaki.jpg, Katetsu cove from nearby Manenzaki Image:Uke Island Uke-Amuro port Kagoshima,JAPAN.jpg, Uke Island Image:Yoro island kagoshima,japan.jpg, Yoro Island

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Towns in Kagoshima Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan