250px, Ryutaku-ji is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

located in

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

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 village 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 15,653 in 5,942 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 520 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

Located in central Gunma, Shintō sits between the slopes of

Mount Haruna is a dormant stratovolcano in Gunma, eastern Honshū, Japan. Outline Mount Haruna started to form more than 300,000 years ago and the last known eruption was 550 AD. The volcano has a summit caldera containing the symmetrical cinder cone ...

and the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kantō ...

region.

Surrounding municipalities

Takasaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of th ...

Maebashi is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It wa ...

Shibukawa is a city in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,098 in 32,439 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Shibukawa is the location of Ikaho Onsen, a popular hot spring resort. ...

* Yoshioka

Climate

Shintō has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Shintō is 12.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1282 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shintō has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

History

The area of present-day Shintō contains numerous ''

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』� ...

'' burial mounds from the 6th century. On April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system 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 ...

, Momonoi village was established within

Nishigunma District, Gunma Location of Nishigunma within Gunma Prefecture file: Gumma Gumma-gun 1889.png, Historic Map of Gunma Districtareas 1 through 38 were formerly Nishigunma District1. Takasaki, 2. Sano, 3. Kuragano, 4. Iwahana, 5. Ōrui, 6. Takigawa, 7. Kyogashima, 8 ...

. In 1896, Nishigunma District was united with Kataoka District to create Gunma District, which was subsequently divided in 1949 with Momonoi village becoming part of Kitagunma District. The village was the scene of the Girard incident in 1957, in which an American soldier stationed at Shintō shot and killed a Japanese civilian, sparking a jurisdictional dispute between the Japanese and American governments.Time Magazine article
/ref> In 1957, a portion of Sōma village was merged with Momonoi village. Momonoi was renamed Shintō on August 1, 1959.

Economy

Traditionally, the economy of Shintō was heavily dependent on agriculture; however, the area has developed into 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 ...

for neighboring Takasaki and Maebashi. The village also hosts JGSDF Camp Soumagahara, home of the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

JGSDF 12th Brigade.

Government

Shintō 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 ...

village council of 14 members. Shintō and neighboring Yoshioka contribute one member to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Gunma 5th 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 ...

Education

Shintō has two public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Shintō is not served by any railway services. The nearest station is in the city of Maebashi to the south. Shintō is not served by any national highways.

Local attractions

* Kayano site, a National Historic Site

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shinto, Gunma Villages in Gunma Prefecture Shintō, Gunma