270px, traditional buildings in Yasuda
270px, Kōnomine Jinja autumn festival
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
Aki District,
Kōchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...
,
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 2,455 in 1244 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 47 persons per km².
The total area of the town is .
Geography
Yasuda is located in southeastern Kōchi Prefecture on the island of
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
. The town area is generally along the valley in the middle and lower reaches of the Yasuda River, and extends back to Umaji Village. It faces Tosa Bay in the south. Forests occupy about 80% of the town.
Neighbouring municipalities
Kōchi Prefecture
*
Aki
*
Tano
*
Kitagawa
*
Umaji
Climate
Yasuda 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 ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,
Nahari population statistics
/ref> the population of Yasuda has been decreased steadily since the 1960s.
History
As with all of Kōchi Prefecture, the area of Yasuda was part of ancient Tosa Province
was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syste ...
. The name of Aki District appears in Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...
. 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 characteriz ...
, the area was part of the holdings of Tosa Domain
The was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its history by t ...
ruled by the Yamauchi clan
The Yamauchi clan (山内氏) were a family of rulers over what was then the Tosa Province which spanned the southern half of Shikoku island.
The province was given to the family in 1600 after Yamauchi Kazutoyo led troops under Tokugawa Ieyasu a ...
from their seat at Kōchi Castle
is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is located at Otakayama hill, at the center of Kōchi city, which in turn is located at the center of the Kōchi Plain, the most prosperous area of former ...
. The village of Yasuda was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on February 11, 1925.
Government
Yasuda 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 multic ...
town council of five members. Yasuda, together with the other municipalities of Aki District, contributes one member to the Kōchi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Kōchi 1st district of the lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
of the Diet of Japan
The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...
.
Economy
Yasuda's economy is centered on Polytunnel
A polytunnel (also known as a polyhouse, hoop greenhouse or hoophouse, grow tunnel or high tunnel) is a tunnel typically made from steel and covered in polyethylene, usually semi-circular, square or elongated in shape. The interior heats up beca ...
agriculture and commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...
, notable for ''Ayu
Ayu or AYU may refer to:
* Ayu (given name)
* Ayu sweetfish (''Plecoglossus altivelis''), a species of smelt
* ''Ayu'', a local name for the African manatee
* Ayu (singer) or Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
* Ayu Islands, a small archipelago in I ...
'', for which the town is famous. There are two local sake brewers located in Yasuda: Minami Shuzou (Tamanoi 玉の井) and Tosatsuru (土佐鶴).
Education
Yasuda has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.
Transportation
Railway
Tosa Kuroshio Railway
The is a Public-Private_Partnerships_In_Japan, third-sector railway company in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. The name comes from the former Tosa Province and the Kuroshio Current. The company was founded in 1986, and operates three lines: a former J ...
- Asa Line
* -
Highway
*
Sister city relations
* - Montefrío, Spain, sister city since February 2018.
Local attractions
* Kōnomine-ji, 24th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage
The or is a multi-site pilgrimage of 88 temples associated with the Buddhist monk Kūkai (''Kōbō Daishi'') on the island of Shikoku, Japan. A popular and distinctive feature of the island's cultural landscape, and with a long histor ...
*Kōnomine Jinja
References
External links
*
Yasuda official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasuda, Kochi
Towns in Kōchi Prefecture
Populated coastal places in Japan