is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Yazu District,

Tottori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, least populous prefecture of Japan at 538,525 (2023) and has a geographic area of . ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 2,852 in 1,285 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 14 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Wakasa, located deep in the

Chūgoku Mountains is a mountain range in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. It runs in an east–west direction and stretches approximately from Hyōgo Prefecture in the east to the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The range also reaches under the Pacific Ocean ...

, is 95% mountainous. The population of Wakasa is primarily located in mountain villages in a line from the southeast to northwest of the town. Most of the population is located along the Hattō River or its small tributaries. The town hosts an annual 'Yukigassen', an organised snowball fighting tournament in which up to fifty teams participate. The winners win a trip to participate in the Hokkaido grand tournament.

Geography

Wakasa is largely rural and located centrally in the

. Prominent mountains in the town include

Mount Hyōno is a mountain on the border of Yabu, Hyōgo Prefecture, and Wakasa, Tottori Prefecture, in Japan. It is the highest mountain in Hyōgo Prefecture. This mountain is one of the 200 famous mountains in Japan. Other names of this mountain are Suga ...

(),

Mount Mimuro is a mountain on the border of Shisō, Hyōgo Prefecture, and Wakasa, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The height is {{Convert, 1358.0, m, ft, 0, abbr=on, and this mountains is the second highest mountain in Hyōgo Prefecture after Mount Hyōno. O ...

(), Ōginosen (), and Mount Shinbachi (). The area of the town along the border with

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

is part of

Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-National Park is a List of national parks of Japan, Quasi-National Park in Hyōgo Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, and Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on 10 April 1969 and has an area of . Overview Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Kokutei Kōen comprise ...

. The Hattō River (), the largest tributary of the

Sendai River The is a river in eastern Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The Sendai is in length and has a drainage area of . The source of the river is in the Chūgoku Mountains. The Sendai flows north through Tottori Prefecture into the Sea of Japan. Under the Ri ...

, emerges from

Tokura Ridge Tokura (written: 都倉, 戸倉 or 十倉) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese jurist *, Japanese composer *, Japanese physicist Fictional characters *, a charac ...

on the border of Wakasa and Shisō,

. The Hattō flows from the southwest foot of Mount Hyōno through the town and joins the Sendai in the Kawaramachi area of Tottori City.

Bordering municipalities

Wakasa, while located in Tottori Prefecture, borders Hyōgo and

Okayama is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...

prefectures. Hyōgo Prefecture *

Kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

* Shinonsen * Shisō * Yabu Okayama Prefecture * Nishiawakura Tottori Prefecture * Chizu * Tottori * Yazu

Climate

Wakasa has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with moderate snowfall. The average annual temperature in Wakasa is 10.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1982 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Wakasa has been as follows:

History

Early history

The mountainous areas of Wakasa do not appear to have supported a population in early Japanese history. No remains from the Jōmon (14,000 – 300 BCE) or

Yayoi The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

300 BCE – 250 CE) periods have been found in Wakasa. The town had two or three small settlements in the Kofun period (250–538). Wakasa became part of Yakami District in

Inaba Province was a Provinces of Japan, former province in the area that is today the eastern half of Tottori Prefecture in the San'in region of Japan. Inaba was bordered by Hōki Province, Hōki, Mimasaka Province, Mimasaka, Harima Province, Harima and Tajim ...

early in recorded Japanese history. Settlements in the area are appeared early in the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

(794–1185), and the name of a village called "Wakasa" first appear in the historical record this time. The Yabe clan controlled Wakasa throughout the Heian period to the end of the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

(1185 – 1333). The Yabe built

Wakasa Oniga Castle was a Sengoku period mountain-top Japanese castle located in what is now the town of Wakasa, Tottori Prefecture, in the San'in region of Japan. The ruins of the castle were designated a National Historic Site in 2008. History Wakasa Oniga Ca ...

in this period. The existence of the Yabe clan and Oniga castle are noted in the

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a medieval Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the ...

, a Japanese

historical epic Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a hero ...

written in the late 14th century.

Later history

Wakasa, located in a richly forested area of the Chūgoku Mountains, was a source of lumber and lumber products from early times. The production of raw

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, planks,

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

, and

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellet fuel, pellets. ...

is noted as early as the Kamakura period. These products, as well as rice, were transported on the Hattō River for export to other parts of Japan via the

Japan Sea The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

. At the beginning of the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(1603–1868) the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

developed land for rice paddies in Wakasa as part of a nationwide effort to increase rice production in Japan. The mountainous areas of Wakasa provided extensive

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

for rice-producing areas in the flatlands of the lower Sendai River, but Wakasa suffered frequent flooding from the Hattō River, notably in 1815 and 1888. 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

in 1868 Wakasa became part of the newly formed Tottori Prefecture. The town was officially incorporated under administrative reforms by the Meiji government in 1889.

Government

Wakasa 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

town council of 10 members headed by a chairperson. Wakasa, collectively with the other municipalities of Yazu District, contributes two members to the Tottori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tottori 1st district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Education

Wakasa has one public combined elementary/middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school

Economy

Wakasa has historically been a center of the lumber trade, but is now also known for its production of

daikon Daikon 大根 (だいこん) or mooli, (مولی) ''Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia ...

radish and other agricultural products.

Transportation

Railway

Wakasa Railway - Wakasa Line *

Highways

* *

Local attractions

, National Historic Site * Wakasa Shrine

References

External links

*
Wakasa official website
{{Authority control Towns in Tottori Prefecture Wakasa, Tottori