270px, Kaimei Gakko 270px, Aerial view of Unomachi neighborhood of Seiyo 270px, Onogahara in Seiyo 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

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, T ...

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 35,456 in 17627 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 69 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Seiyo is located in southeastern Ehime Prefecture, with Uwa Bay on the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to ...

to the west, and with 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 ...

to the east, with a difference in elevation of 1403 meters. The city area is long from east to west and due to its diverse topography, it was certified as a Japanese Geopark (Shikoku Seiyo Geopark) by the Japan Geoparks Committee on September 24, 2013. Onogahara, which is part of the Shikoku Karst, one of Japan's three major

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

landscape, is very beautiful with its green grassland and white limestone. Komatsu is home to Rakan Cave, one of the largest caves in Shikoku, which is open to the public as a

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

with a length of 700 meters.

Neighbouring municipalities

Ehime Prefecture * Ōzu *

Yawatahama is a city located in of Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 31,385 in 15638 households and a population density of 240 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yawatahama is located in the we ...

* Ikata * Uwajima * Kumakōgen * Uchiko * Kihoku Kōchi Prefecture *

Yusuhara 270px, Japan National Route 440 in Yusuhara is a town located in Takaoka District, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 3,285 and a population density of 14 persons per km².The total area of the town is . G ...

Climate

Seiyo has a diverse climate, from the inland mountain plateau (Onogahara), where more than 2 meters of snow accumulates in winter, to the warm coastal area, and the basin with a lot of fog due to the influence of two dams. During the

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

season, coastal areas are often damaged by high tides and high waves, and mountainous areas are often damaged by landslides caused by heavy rain. The temperature can differ by more than 10 degrees between the coastal area and Onogahara. In general, Seiyo 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. The average annual temperature in Seiyo is 15.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1663 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Seiyo population statistics
/ref> the population of Seiyo has been decreased steadily since the 1960s.

History

The area of Seiyo was part of ancient Iyo Province. 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 areaway part of the holdings of

Uwajima Domain 270px, Date Munenari 270px, Uwajima Date Museum was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now western Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Uwajima Castle, and was ruled t ...

or its subsidiary

Iyo-Yoshida Domain Date Munemichi, 8th ''daimyō'' of Iyo-Yoshida, photographed post-Meiji restoration was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now western Ehime Prefecture on the island ...

. 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 ...

, the area was organized into towns and villages within Higashiuwa District and Nishiuwa District in Ehime Prefecture. The city of Seiyo was established on April 1, 2004, from the merger of the towns of Akehama, Nomura, Shirokawa and

Uwa The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilities ...

(all from Higashiuwa District), and the town of Mikame (from Nishiuwa District).

Government

Seiyo 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 18 members. Seiyo contributes one member to the Ehime Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ehime 4th 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 industrial base of Seiyo is weak and the economy is poor. In the past, the Uwa neighborhood (Unomachi) and the Nomura neighborhood were distribution points for rural goods, but due to poor transportation connection and rural depopulation, commerce has declined. The main economic activity is agriculture, with citrus fruits, rice and chestnuts are mainly cultivated.

Animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

(pigs, dairy cows, beef cattle) is also practiced.

Education

Seiyo has 12 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has three public high schools operated by the Ehime Prefectural Board of Education, and the prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railways

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 ...

- Yosan Line * - - -

Highways

Matsuyama Expressway The is a national expressway in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The expressway is numbered E11 between Kawanoe Junction and Matsuyama Interchange and E56 between Matsuyama and Uwajima-Kita Interchanges under the MLIT's "2016 Proposal for Realization ...

* * * *

Local attractions

Kannon Spring Water

In the former town of Uwa there is a natural spring, the water of which is known as . This water was designated as one of Japan's by the

Ministry of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

in March 1985. Hiking trails along the spring's mountain rivers are a popular destination in the summertime. The spring is also used for , a Japanese cuisine where bundles of cold sōmen noodles are set into a stream of water that flows down a track, with hungry patrons waiting alongside.

Otoi Sumo

The former town of Nomura, now a part of Seiyo, holds an annual

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 ...

competition for children and amateur adults known as the Tournament. It is held after the Kyushu basho and usually attracts a few professional sumo wrestlers.

Castle Land

A wealthy eccentric built a castle on the side of a mountain near the Nomura Dam in the former town of Nomura. It was originally a retreat for parties, complete with overnight lodging facilities. It never achieved any measure of popularity, and the owner eventually donated it to the city of Seiyo. It now lies uninhabited and largely unused.

Museums

* Museum of Ehime History and Culture * Kaimei School

Shrine and temples

* Meiseki-ji, 43rd temple on the Shikoku Pilgrimage

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Ehime Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan