260px, Daien-ji 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

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

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 8,669 people in 4108 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 53 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Skiing is very popular in Ōwani Town, and seven Olympic athletes have grown up there.

Geography

Ōwani, located in Minamitsugaru District, occupies the hilly southern border between south-central Aomori Prefecture and northern Akita Prefecture, to the southeast of the city of Hirosaki.

Neighbouring municipalities

Akita Prefecture *

Ōdate is a city in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 67,865 in 31,433 households, and a population density of 75 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōdate is located in the mountains of norther ...

Aomori Prefecture * Hirakawa *

Hirosaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,639 in 71,044 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a jōkamachi, ca ...

Climate

The town has a cold

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Ōwani is 9.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1397 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.0 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Ōwani has decreased steadily over the past 60 years.

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 Ōwani was controlled by the

Tsugaru clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, ...

Hirosaki Domain file:Hirosakijo.jpg, Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a ''tozama'' Han (Japan), feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Muts ...

. 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 a village within Minamitsugaru District of Aomori Prefecture with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On April 1, 1923, Ōwani was proclaimed a town. On July 1, 1954, it annexed neighboring Kuradate Town, but lost a portion of its territory to Hirosaki City on September 30, 1964.

Government

Ōwani 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 legislature of 12 members. Ōwani, together with the city of Hirakawa contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Aomori 3rd 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 Ōwani is heavily dependent on agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Tourism from

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

s and

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

hot springs also contribute to the local economy. Mount Ajara was a venue for the

2003 Asian Winter Games The 5th Asian Winter Games (), also known as Aomori 2003 (), took place from February 1 to 8, 2003 in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Mascot The 2003 Winter Asiad mascot is ''Winta'', a black woodpecker. Venues The venues for the 2003 Winter Asiad w ...

Education

Ōwani has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town's only high school, a branch of Hirosaki Minami High School, closed in 2013.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East) -

Ōu Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station (Fukushima), Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1 ...

* -

Kōnan Railway Ōwani Line The is a railway route operated by the Japanese private railway in Aomori Prefecture, from Chūō-Hirosaki Station in Hirosaki to Ōwani Station in Ōwani. History On July 25, 1949, the was established, and connected Ōwani Station with ...

* - -

Highway

* – Owani Interchange *

Local attractions

* Daien-ji * Ōwani onsen

Noted people from Ōwani

Wakanohana Kanji II was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ōwani, Aomori, Ōwani, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori. He was the sport's 56th ''Makuuchi#Yokozuna, yokozuna''. He was popular with sumo fans and was well-known for his rivalry with Kitanoumi. After r ...

, sumo wrestler

Olympic skiers

Shinzo Yamada was a Japanese cross-country skier. He competed in the men's 18 kilometre event at the 1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, wer ...

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

Ginzo Yamada was a Japanese cross-country skier. He competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held ...

, 1936 Winter Olympics * Kenichi Yamamoto,

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

* Yuji Yamanaka,

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

* Akiyoshi Matsuoka,

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

and

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

Hideaki Yamada is a Japanese cross-country skier. He competed in the men's 15 kilometre event at the 1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene la ...

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: ; ) and commonly known as Sarajevo '84 (Serbian Cy ...

* Nobuko Fukuda,

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

and

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Sister cities

Novi, Michigan Novi ( ) is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Novi is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(in

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

)About Novi
" Novi Public Library. February 11, 2010. Retrieved on November 28, 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owani, Aomori Towns in Aomori Prefecture