270px, Shingū city hall 270px, Shingū city aerial photograph 270px, Shingū Castle ruins Shingu Station01s4s4592

is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture ...

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 ...

. , the city 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 27,491 in 14649 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 110 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Shingū literally means 'New Shrine' and refers to Hayatama Shrine, one of the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano (See). The 'old shrine' would be Kamikura Shrine.

Geography

Shingū is located near the southern tip of the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. Overview The area south of the “ Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are among ...

, on the west side of the mouth of the

Kumano River The is a river in the Kii Peninsula of central Japan, located in Nara, Wakayama and Mie Prefectures. It is long and has a watershed of . The river rises from Mount Ōmine in the Yoshino-Kumano National Park in Tenkawa, Nara and follows a gener ...

, in the southeastern tip of Wakayama Prefecture. It faces the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

to the east. Parts of the city are within the limits of the

Yoshino-Kumano National Park is a national park comprising several non-contiguous areas of Mie, Nara, and Wakayama Prefectures, Japan. Established in 1936, the park includes Mount Yoshino, celebrated for its cherry blossoms, as well as elements of the UNESCO World Heritag ...

Neighboring municipalities

Wakayama Prefecture * Tanabe * Kozagawa * Nachikatsuura Mie Prefecture * Kumano * Kihō Nara Prefecture * Totsukawa

Climate

Shingū 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 to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Shingū is . The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The area is subject to

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 ...

s in summer. The highest temperature ever recorded in Shingū was on 22 August 2016. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 27 February 1981.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shingū has decreased steadily over the past 60 years.

History

The area of the modern city of Shingū was within ancient

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Prov ...

, and per the '' Nihon Shoki'' was the home of the ''Kumano

Kuni no miyatsuko , also read as "kokuzō" or "kunitsuko", were officials in ancient Japan at the time of the Yamato court. Yamato period Kuni no miyatsuko governed small territories (), although the location, names, and borders of the provinces remain unclear. K ...

'', a local king ruling the Kumano region which straddles what is now southern Wakayama and Mie prefectures. The settlement had prospered since before 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 b ...

as a timber distribution center using the Kumano River, and as an entrance to the

Kumano Sanzan A is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [].Encyclopedia of ShintoKumano Shinkō accessed on October 6, 2008 There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its k ...

shrines. 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 character ...

, it was part of the holdings of the Kii Tokugawa clan, and was the

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, a ...

Shingū Domain in the

. 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 became part o

Higashimuro District, Wakayama is a district located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. As of September 1, 2008, the district has an estimated population of 43,306 and a density of 64.8 persons/km2. The total area is 667.92 km2. Towns and villages *Kitayama is an excla ...

, and the town of Shingū was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Shingū and the neighboring town of Miwasaki merged to form the city of Shingū on October 1, 1933. Shingū annexed the village of Takeda on September 30, 1956. On October 1, 2005, the town of Kumanogawa (from Higashimuro District), 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 ...

between

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

and Mie prefectures, was merged with Shingū.

Government

Shingū 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 multi ...

city council of 15 members. Shingū contributes one member to the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Wakayama 3rd district Wakayama 3rd district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan (national legislature). It is located in Wakayama Prefecture and consists of Arida, Gobo, Shingu, and Tanabe cities and the Arida, Hidaka, Higashim ...

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 paral ...

Economy

Shingū is the central commercial city of the Kumano Region and is one of the largest cities in Wakayama Prefecture. Primary industries include forestry,

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must oft ...

, growing of leafy vegetables such as ''

komatsuna or Japanese mustard spinach (''Brassica rapa'' var. ''perviridis'') is a leaf vegetable. It is a variety (botany), variety of ''Brassica rapa'', the plant species that yields the turnip, mizuna, napa cabbage, and rapini. It is grown commercial ...

'' and horticulture, and "Kumano brand" beef. Secondary industries are centered around timber and paper processing.

Education

Shingū has five public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Wakayama Prefectural Department of Education. The city also has one private middle school and one private high school. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped, and one vocational education school.

Transportation

Railway

JR Tōkai –

Kisei Main Line The is a railway line that parallels the coastline of the Kii Peninsula in Japan between Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. The name takes the ''kanji'' characters from the names of the old provinces of and . The line is operated by Ce ...

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and i ...

–

* - -

Highway

Nachikatsuura-Shingū Road * * * *

Local attractions

* Shingū Castle ruins, National Historic Site * Kumano Hayatama Taisha, one of the

shrines *Ōmine Okugakemichi and the

Kumano Kodō The is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Hantō, the largest peninsula of Japan. These trails were used by pilgrims to " Kumano Sanzan" (熊野三山) or the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano: Kumano Hongū Taisha_(熊� ...

, parts of the

Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the Kii Peninsula in Japan. Selection criteria The locations and paths for this heritage site were based on their historical and modern i ...

, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

*Kamikura Shrine, with the object of worship a great sacred rock called "".

Cuisine

A main dish is Nare-zushi, a very traditional type of sushi which, centuries ago, was imported from Southeast Asia to China, and from China to Japan. Narezushi was the birth of sushi, and influenced how the Japanese later made their own styles of sushi that most of us know today.

Sister city relations

* Santa Cruz,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Notable people from Shingū

Yasuyuki Kishino is a former Japanese football player and manager. Playing career Kishino was born in Shingu on June 13, 1958. After graduating from high school, he joined Mitsubishi Motors in 1977. He could not play in the game and he left in 1980. In 1982, he ...

, football player and manager * Haruo Satō, former novelist and poet *

Kenji Nakagami was a Japanese novelist and essayist. He is well known as the first, and so far the only, post-war Japanese writer to identify himself publicly as a Burakumin is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese ...

, novelist

References

External links

* *
Shingu City Tourist Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shingu, Wakayama Cities in Wakayama Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Shingū, Wakayama