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

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

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 17,313 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 1201 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Ōi is located in hilly southwestern Kanagawa Prefecture, bordering on the Tanzawa Mountains. The Sakawa River runs through the western end of the town. The Oiso Hills stretch from the northeastern and eastern part of the town, and the area from the center to the south of the town is flat. The Sakawa Weir (aqueduct), which is a diversion of the Sakawa River, flows through the central portion of the town to join the Kikugawa River that flows towards Odawara to the south. The flat lands are mostly paddy fields, and 10% of the town area and more than 30% of the cultivated land area are paddy fields. In addition, fruit trees such as mandarin oranges are also cultivated in the hills.

Surrounding municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture *

Odawara is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

* Hadano * Nakai, Matsuda, Kaisei

Climate

Ōi 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 light to no snowfall.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōi has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

History

During 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 ...

, the area around present-day Ōi was part of

Odawara Domain file:Odawara 2006-02-21 c.jpg, 250px, Odawara Castle, Headquarters of the Odawara Domain was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period, located primarily in western Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture). It was centered on Odawa ...

Sagami Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu Province, Izu ...

. 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 ...

, it became part of Ashigarakami District in Kanagawa Prefecture. On April 1, 1889, the district of Ashigarakami was administratively divided into villages, including Kaminaka, Soga, Yamada and Kaneda with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. On November 3, 1943, the villages of Yamada and Kaminaka merged to form the village of Aiwa. Aiwa later lost a portion of its territory to neighboring Nishihadano on June 20, 1956. The remaining portion merged with Kaneda and portions of Soga to form Ōi on April 1, 1956.

Government

Ōi 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 14 members. Ōi, together with the other municipalities in Ashigarakami District and Minamiashigara city, collectively contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Kanagawa 17th 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 ...

Economy

The economy of the Ōi is primarily agricultural.

Education

Ōi has three public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town has one public high school operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR Tokai – Gotemba Line * -

Highway

* (Ōi-Matsuda Interchange) *

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oi, Kanagawa Towns in Kanagawa Prefecture Ōi, Kanagawa