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 Kikuchi District,

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

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 36,053 in 16240 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 520 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Ōzu is located about 19 kilometers east-northeast from the center of

Kumamoto City is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

, the prefectural capital, at the eastern edge of the Kumamoto Plain and the Kumamoto metropolitan area. The town lies at the base of Mt Aso, to the west of the mountain. The

Shirakawa River The is a river in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The river originates in the foothills of Mount Hiei on the outskirts of Kyoto, winds through the Geisha district of Gion, and eventually flows into the Kamo River. Its name, which means "white river" i ...

flows west through the southern part of the town. The urban center of Ōzu is located in the western part of the town's geographic area. Ōzu was near the epicenter of the

2016 Kumamoto earthquakes The were a series of earthquakes, including a magnitude 7.0 mainshock which struck at 01:25 Japan Standard Time, JST on April 16, 2016 (16:25 UTC on April 15) beneath Kumamoto, Kumamoto City of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, Kyu ...

Neighboring municipalities

Kumamoto Prefecture * Aso * Kikuchi * Kikuyō * Kōshi *

Mashiki is a town located in Kamimashiki District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 34,118 in 14750 households, and a population density of 520 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Kumamoto Airport is lo ...

* Minamiaso * Nishihara

Climate

Ōzu 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. The average annual temperature in Ōzu is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2000 mm with September being the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.1 °C.

Demographics

According to Japanese census data, the historical population of Ōzu is as shown below

History

The area of Ōzu was part of the ancient

Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces. History The cas ...

. 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 ...

it was part of the holdings of the

Kumamoto Domain The , which was in existence from 1600 to 1871, had a significant influence in the region. Initially, it controlled its vast territory of 520,000 koku, which later expanded to 540,000 koku after the division of the 8th generation territory and the e ...

. 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 ...

, the town of Ōzu was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.

Government

Ōzu 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 16 members. Ōzu, collectively with the other municipalities of Kikuchi District contributes two members to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Kumamoto 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

Ōzu has an economy dominated by agriculture and manufacturing. Notably, there is a large

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

motorcycle factory located in Ōzu that employs people from around the world. There are many cattle farms in the area, and local farmers both raise cattle, and grow crops to provide feed for them.Kumamoto farmers hurt by loss of land amid TSMC projecthttps://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15219036 Ōzu is also known for its sweet potatoes (''karaimo''). In 2024, after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) chose neighbouring Kikuyō as the location to build its second Japanese plant, Ōzu experienced the sharpest increase in commercial and industrial land prices of any area of Japan for the period ending July 1. This demand for land has caused problems for local farmers who rent farmland, since land owners have been asked to end their rental agreements early, giving up the land. In addition, local farmers are feeling a tension between possible short-term financial returns, and a wish to pass their farms on to their heirs as working farms.

Education

Ōzu has seven public elementary schools and two public junior high schools operated by the town government, and two public high schools operated by the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railways

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Hōhi Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, southern Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects the west and east coasts of the island. The line originates at Kumamoto Station in Kumamoto and ends at terminal of Ōita Station ...

* -

Highways

* * *

Airport

While Aso Kumamoto Airport itself is not in Ōzu, Higa Ōzu station is where airport liner buses provide the easiest public transport access to the airport.

Attractions

The town is known for its

Azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

(tsutsuji) Festival in the spring. Prior to the 2020 COVID outbreak, the town held the Ōzu Town Jizo festival in late August, however this festival has been on hiatus since COVID. Ōzu has one of the oldest homes in Kikuchi District that opens twice a year for tourists, and a racing track. Ōzu’s location on the edge of the caldera that surrounds

Mount Aso or Aso Volcano is the largest active volcano in Japan and among the largest in the world. Common use relates often only to the somma volcano in the centre of Aso Caldera. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the i ...

provides scenic views, and access to the mountain.

References

External links

*
Ōzu official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozu, Kumamoto Towns in Kumamoto Prefecture