270px, Yamagata Takahata Winery 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

Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...

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 23,367, in 7629 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 130 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Takahata is located in mountainous southeastern Yamagata Prefecture. The

Mogami River The is a river in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Description and history It is 224 km long and has a watershed of 7,040 km2. It is regarded as one of the three most rapid rivers of Japan (along with the Fuji River and the Kuma River). ...

flows through the town.

Neighboring municipalities

*Yamagata Prefecture **

Yonezawa Yonezawa City Hall is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 81,707 in 33,278 households, and a population density of 150 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Yonezawa is most famous for ...

** Nan'yō **

Kaminoyama 250px, Hayama neighborhood in Kaminoyama is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 29,617 in 11278 households, and a population density of 120 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . G ...

** Kawanishi *Miyagi Prefecture ** Shichikashuku *Fukushima Prefecture **

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

Climate

Takahata 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 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/Dfa'') with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Takahata is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Takhata population statistics
/ref> the population of Takahata has declined slightly in recent decades.

History

The area of present-day Takahata was part of ancient

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early peri ...

. During the Edo period, it was a

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, ...

ruled by a branch of the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several ...

until their transfer to

Tendō Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered in what is now the city of Tendō, Yamagata. Tendō was ruled by the tozama Oda clan , direct descendants of the famed Od ...

, and afterwards a portion was controlled by the

Yonezawa Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered at Yonezawa castle in what is now the city of Yamagata, Yamagata, Yamagata, and its territory extended over t ...

. After the start of 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 ...

, the area became part of Higashiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture. The village of Takahata was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was elevated to town status on December 12, 1895, and the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

used to write its name assumed its present form in January 1905.

Economy

The economy of Takahata is based on agriculture and forestry. The town is noted for its production Delaware grapes and for its

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

Education

Takahata has six public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Yamagata Prefectural Board of Education. .

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 ...

Yamagata Shinkansen The is a Mini-shinkansen route in Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It provides service between Tokyo and Shinjō in Yamagata Prefecture over the tracks of the Tohoku Shinkansen and the Ōu Main Line. The term Yamaga ...

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1992, the Fukushima–Yamag ...

Highway

* – Nanyō-Takahata interchange * * * *

Sister city relations

* -

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance o ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Local attractions

*site of Takahata Castle * Hinata Caves, National Historic Site *

Ōdachi Caves The is an archaeological site with a Underground living, cave dwelling in use in the early Jōmon period (8000 to 2500 BC), located in what is now part of the town of Takahata, Yamagata in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The site was desig ...

, National Historic Site * Hibakoiwa Caves, National Historic Site * Ichinosawa Caves, National Historic Site

Notable people

Yuko Aoki (born on February 5, 1977, in Takahata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan) is a former Japanese bikini model and singer. Biography She first started modeling in 1995, and became a "Visual Queen of the Year" at Fuji TV for 1996. She was a frequent cover ...

, model *

Shunsaku Kudō Commander was an Officer (armed forces), officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He is notable for the humanitarian act of rescuing 442 enemy British and American sailors from the Java Sea in 1942. Biography Born in 1901, Kudō graduated from th ...

, Imperial Japanese Navy officer

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Yamagata Prefecture