250px, Mount Shirane from Manza Onsen 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 ...

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 Fuku ...

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 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 usi ...

of 9,546 in 3,999 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 28 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

Tsumagoi is situated on the northwestern corner of

, touching Nagano Prefecture to the north, south, and west. Because of its elevated location and the ash deposits of

Mount Asama is an active complex volcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands above sea level on the border of Gunma and Nagano ...

, Tsumagoi is well known for growing cabbages. Parts of the village are within the borders of then

Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of the main island of Honshū, Japan formed around several active and dormant volcanoes. It spans the mountainous areas of Gunma, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures. The name refers to the two mountain ran ...

. * Mountains:

(2568m), Mount Motoshirane (2171m), Mount Kusatsu-Shirane (2160m), Mount Azumaya (2354m) * Rivers:

Agatsuma River Agatsuma may refer to: *, Japanese shamisen player *Agatsuma District, Gunma, a district in Gunma Prefecture, Japan * Agatsuma, Gunma, a town in Gunma Prefecture, Japan * Agatsuma River, a river in Japan *Agatsuma Entertainment Agatsuma Entertain ...

* Lakes: Lake Baragi, Lake Tashiro

Surrounding municipalities

* Kusatsu * Naganohara Nagano Prefecture * Karuizawa * Komoro * Takayama *

Suzaka is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 50,828 in 19,979 households, and a population density of 334 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Suzaka is located in northern Naga ...

* Ueda * Tōmi *

Miyota is a town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,562 in 6897 households, and a population density of 260 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Miyota is located on the eastern ...

Climate

Tsumagoi 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 ''DBf'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, due to the high elevation. Winters are cold, with a January 24-hour average temperature of , while summers are warm and wet, with a July 24-hour average temperature of . The average annual rainfall is 1345 mm with September as the wettest month.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tsumagoi has recently decreased after several decades of relative stability. Tsumagoi has been recognized by Japan's Office for the Promotion of Regional Revitalization ( Kishida Cabinet Secretariat), which promotes the development of new technologies to combat depopulation, for meeting a "high standard" (高水準) of

digital transformation Digital transformation is the adoption of digital technology by an organization to digitize non-digital products, services or operations. The goal for its implementation is to increase value through innovation, invention, customer experience or e ...

telework Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commuting, commute to a central place of work, such as an office bui ...

infrastructure. Related projects have been awarded over ¥7.0M in government grants.

History

Numerous Jōmon period remains have been found in Tsumagoi, although later

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon ...

artifacts are almost non-existent, as the area is not suitable for rice cultivation. 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 characte ...

, the area around Tsumagoi was part of the

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...

-administered territory within

Kōzuke Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered by Echigo, Shinano, Musashi and Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . Under the '' Engishiki'' classification system, Kōzuke was r ...

. Kanbara area (鎌原村) was severely damaged by the

Tenmei eruption The Tenmei eruption () was a large eruption of Mount Asama that occurred in 1783 (''Tenmei 3''). This eruption was one of the causes of the Tenmei famine. It is estimated that about 1,500–1,624 people were killed in the eruption. The event is ...

of Mt. Asama in 1783 (477 people died). 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 ...

on April 1, 1889, the village of Tsumagoi was created within Agatsuma District of Gunma Prefecture.

Government

Tsumagoi 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 ...

village council of 12 members. Tsumagoi collectively with the other municipalities in Agatsuma District, contributes two members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Gunma 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

270px, Tsumagoi cabbage and Mount Asama The economy of Tsumagoi is primarily agricultural, with cabbage forming the most noted local crop. Seasonal tourism primarily in connection with its onsen hot spring resorts and ski resorts are also major contributors to the local economy.

Education

Tsumagoi has two public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government, and one public high schools operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education.

Senior high schools

* Tsumagoi High School

Junior high schools

* Tsumagoi Junior High School

Elementary schools

* Higashi Elementary School * Nishi Elementary School

Transportation

Railway

JR East –

Agatsuma Line Agatsuma may refer to: *, Japanese shamisen player *Agatsuma District, Gunma, a district in Gunma Prefecture, Japan *Agatsuma, Gunma, a town in Gunma Prefecture, Japan *Agatsuma River, a river in Japan *Agatsuma Entertainment, a Japanese toy/video ...

* - -

Highway

* * * *

Local attractions

The main draw of tourists to Tsumagoi are the '' onsen'' (natural hot spring) resorts, some of which are also associated with ski resorts. There are two major hot spring resort areas within the town. *Palcall Tsumagoi Mountain Resort *Manza Onsen and ski resort *Kazawa Onsen and ski resort *Tsumagoi Onsen *Handeki Onsen

Noted people from Tsumagoi

* Akira Kuroiwa, Olympic gold medalist speed skater *

Toshiyuki Kuroiwa is a former speed skater from Japan, who represented his native country in three consecutive Winter Olympics in 1992, 1994 and 1998. At Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in th ...

, Olympic silver medalist speed skater * Masato Kobayashi, professional baseball player

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Villages in Gunma Prefecture Tsumagoi, Gunma