270px, Miyoshi City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Ikeda district of Miyoshi 270px, Yoshino River in Miyoshi 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

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the nort ...

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 city 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 23,782 in 12103 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 33 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Miyoshi is located in the western part of Tokushima Prefecture and is the largest municipality 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'' (), '' ...

, accounting for1/6 of the prefecture's geographic area. However, it is a very mountainous area with only 13% considered habitable. The

Shikoku Mountains Shikoku Mountains () is a mountain range that runs from east to west in the central part of the Shikoku in Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwes ...

have many steep slopes and are subject to landslides and rockfalls. Traditional steep slope farming methods the used to prevent soil erosion. The Hashikura Prefectural Natural Park spans the border between Miyoshi and Higashimiyoshi.

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture * Mima * Tsurugi * Higashimiyoshi * Naka Kagawa Prefecture * Kan'onji * Mitoyo * Mannō Ehime Prefecture *

Shikokuchūō is a city located in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 83,635 in 28876 households and a population density of 200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Shikokuchūō is the leading producer of pape ...

Kōchi Prefecture *

Kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

Ōtoyo, Kōchi is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Nagaoka District, Kōchi, Nagaoka District, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan in the mountainous district of central Shikoku. The and both flow through Ōtoyo. It is the only municipality in Shikoku where ove ...

Climate

Miyoshi 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 high, but there is a pronounced difference between the wetter summers and drier winters. The average annual temperature in Miyoshi is . The average annual rainfall is with September 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 Miyoshi was on 16 July 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 28 February 1981.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Miyoshi in 2020 is 23,605 people. Miyoshi has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Miyoshi was part of ancient Awa Province. From the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

it was the seat of the

Miyoshi clan is a Japanese family descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and the Minamoto clan (Seiwa-Genji). They were a cadet branch of the Ogasawara clan and the Takeda clan. At the beginning of the 14th century AD, Ogasawara Nagafusa settled in Shi ...

, a once powerful warlord clan who ruled most of Shikoku and parts of Honshu.. 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 character ...

, the area was part of the holdings of Tokushima Domain ruled by the

Hachisuka clan The are descendants of Emperor Seiwa (850-880) of Japan and are a branch of the Ashikaga clan through the Shiba clan (Seiwa Genji). History Ashikaga Ieuji (13th century), son of Ashikaga Yasuuji, was the first to adopt the name Shiba. The Shib ...

from their seat at Tokushima Castle. Following 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 ...

, it was organized into 10 villages within

Miyoshi District, Tokushima is a district located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 14,025 and a density of 115 persons per km2. The total area is 122.48 km2. Towns and villages * Higashimiyoshi Mergers ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889, including the villages of Ikeda (池田村), Mino (三野村), Sanmyo (三名村), and Minawa (三縄村). Ikeda was raised to town status on October 1, 1905 and Mino on January 26, 1924. Sanyo and Minawa merged on September 30, 1956 to form the town of Yamashiro. The city of Miyoshi was established on March 1, 2006, from the merger between the towns of Ikeda, Ikawa, Mino and Yamashiro, (all from Miyoshi District) and the villages of Higashiiyayama and Nishiiyayama from Mima District.

Government

Miyoshi 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 ...

city council of 22 members. Miyoshi contributes two members to the Tokushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tokushima 2nd 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 paral ...

Economy

The economy of Miyoshi is strongly dependent on agriculture, forestry and small-scale food processing.

Education

Miyoshi has 13 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the city government and three public high schools operated by the Tokushima Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has i ...

– Tokushima Line * - JR_logo_(shikoku)

– Dosan Line * - - - - - - - -

Highways

Tokushima Expressway The is a national Expressways of Japan, expressway in the Shikoku region of Japan. The expressway is numbered E11 between Naruto and Tokushima Junctions and E32 between Tokushima and Kawanoe-Higashi Junctions under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Re ...

* * * * *

Sister city relations

* The Dalles,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States

Local attractions

* Unpen-ji, 66th temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage * Hashikura Prefectural Natural Park *

Iya Valley The Iya Valley (祖谷 ''Iya'') region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its dramatic mountain valleys, thatched roof farmhouses and historic vine bridges. Although access has improved in recent years, the Iya Valley and ...

* Kazura Bridge * Oku Kazura Bridge * Oboke Gorge * Koboke Gorge * Yoshino River File:Hasikuraropeway 03.jpg, Hasikura Ropeway File:Kazura-bashi, Iya Valley 01.jpg, Kazura-bashi, Iya Valley File:Oboke Koboke 02.jpg, Oboke Koboke File:Hashikuraji 02.JPG, Hashikura-ji

Noted people from Miyoshi

* Miho Takai, politician * Shunichi Yamaguchi, politician * Kikuji Yamashita, artist

References

External links

*
Miyoshi City official website

miyoshi-tourism
Cities in Tokushima Prefecture {{Tokushima-geo-stub