270px, Tonami-yotaka festival held in June 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 ...

in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,659 in 16,739 households and a population density of 384 persons per km². Its total area was .

Geography

Tonami is located in the Tonami plains of western Toyama Prefecture. Much of the area is a dispersed settlement typical of this region of Japan.

Surrounding municipalities

*Toyama Prefecture **

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places and organizations * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama, Toyama, the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, ...

** Takaoka ** Oyabe ** Nanto **

Imizu 270px, Tonami-yotaka festival held in June is a city located in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 93,447 in 37,734 households and a population density of 850 persons per km². Its total area was . Geography Im ...

Climate

Tonami has a humid continental climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Himi is 13.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2414 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C.

Demographics

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

History

The area of present-day Tonami was part of ancient

Etchū Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Etchū bordered on Noto and Kaga Provinces to the west, Shinano and Hida Provinces to the south, Echigo Province to the east and the Sea ...

, and was part of the holdings of

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.

under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The town of Tonami was founded on April 1, 1952 by the merger of the town of Demachi with the villages of Gokaya, Aburaden, Shoge, Nakamura and Hayashi. The villages of Aoshima and Ogami joined two months later on June 1, 1952. The villages of Ota, Minamihannya, Higachi-Nojiri, Yanaze and Nishi-Tonami were annexed on January 15, 1954, followed by Sendan, Sendanyama, Hannya, and Higashi-Hannya on March 1. The expanded town of Tonami was raised to city status on April 1, 1954. On November 1, 2004, the town of Shōgawa (from Higashitonami District) was merged into Tonami.

Government

Tonami has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members.

Education

Tonami has eight public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the town government, and two public high schools operated by the Toyama Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

West Japan Railway Company (JR West) - Jōhana Line ** - -

Highway

* Hokuriku Expressway * * *

International relations

* - Lisse, Netherlands, sister city since April 21, 1992 * –

Panjin Panjin () is a coastal prefecture-level city in central Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, situated on the northern shore of the Liaodong Bay. It borders Anshan to the east, Yingkou to the southeast, and Jinzhou to the west and north ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, China, friendship city since April 25, 1991 * – Yalova, Turkey, friendship city since October 3, 1989

Local attractions

Masuyama Castle was a Muromachi period ''yamashiro''-style Japanese castle located in what is now part of the city of Tonami, Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Honshu, Japan. The ruins have been protected by the central government as a National Hist ...

, ruins of a Sengoku period castle and National Historic Site. It was also known as *Yotaka festival, held in June, with many parade floats which purposely collide during the festival, drawing large crowds to witness the spectacle. The Yotaka festival event originally began in the neighboring town of Fukuno. It features competitions between groups carrying '' mikoshi'' portable shrines. "Yoiyasa" is a traditional saying shouted by many during the event. When it is night, lamps using paper shades are lit. This festival is a prayer for a good harvest of the fields.

Tulips

There is a tulip park in Tonami, as well as a nationally recognized tulip festival that is held every year. There is a windmill transferred by the Netherlands, inscribed "DE VRIENDSCHAP" (friendship). The Tonami tulip festival has over 600 different kinds of tulips, and more than 2.5 million tulips in recent years.

References

External links

* {{Toyama Cities in Toyama Prefecture