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
Ōita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...
,
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 ...
at the tip of
Kunisaki Peninsula in northern
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
.
Notable for the
Usa Jingū, the head shrine of all 40,000
Hachiman
In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements ...
shrines across Japan, the city annually attracts as many as 1.8 million worshipers from all over the country on
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whi ...
. There are other tourist attractions in the city, such as the temple of Hongan-ji Betsuin, making it one of the prefecture's leading tourist cities.
As of March 2017, the city has 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 55,534 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 130 persons per km². The total area is 439.12 km².
History
The town of Usa became a city on April 1, 1967. On March 31, 2005, the towns of
Ajimu and
Innai (both from
Usa District) were merged into Usa.
Geography
Usa is located at the tip of the Kunisaki Peninsula in northern Kyushu.
Usa is made up of three areas.
*Usa, the area surrounding the
Usa Jingū (also known as the Usa Shrine)
*Yokkaichi, the area surrounding the Hongan-ji temple, and an administrative town from the Edo Period
*Nagasu, a port area
Climate
Usa 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 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, nota ...
''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter. The average annual temperature in Usa 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 .
[ The highest temperature ever recorded in Usa was on 31 July 2015; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 26 February 1981.][
]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Usa in 2020 is 52,771 people.[ Usa has been conducting censuses since 1950.
]
Tourism
Attractions
Futaba no Sato, a museum dedicated to sumo wrestler Futabayama Sadaji, is located in the city. There is a statue outside the museum, built by the government in 1999, depicting the names and hand prints of three sumo wrestlers who have won more than 60 competitive bouts. In addition to Futubayama, Tanikaze Kajinosuke and Hakuhō Shō are represented on the statue.Ōita Prefectural Museum of History
The opened in Usa, Ōita Prefecture, Japan in 1998, replacing the of 1981. It is one of Japan's many museums which are supported by a prefecture.
The collection is organised around themes including life and ancient Buddhism in Toyo no kuni a ...
.
Anecdotes
Product labeling
There have been claims that products made in this town and exported to the US as early as the 1930s carried the label "MADE IN USA", for it to appear as if the product was made in the United States. There are reports that the name of the town was changed to "USA" for this purpose. The aforementioned claims are false. The city had this name long before the 1960s. Usa is a city and products must be labeled by country of origin, making it highly improbable that this would be an adequate loophole. In addition, any products being imported to the U.S. marked as being "made in USA" would have been flagged.
Notable people
* Futabayama Sadaji, 35th yokozuna in sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...
References
External links
Usa City official website
Cities in Ōita Prefecture
{{Oita-geo-stub