is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in northern

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

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 city 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 28,971 in 12245 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 72 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Asago is located in the north of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is located in the east of

Chūgoku Mountains is a mountain range in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. It runs in an east–west direction and stretches approximately from Hyōgo Prefecture in the east to the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The range also reaches under the Pacific Ocean ...

, and the mountains and forests were occupy 93% of the town. The Maruyama flows from south to north in the town. The

Tataragi Dam The is a large Pumped-storage hydroelectricity, pumped-storage Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power station in Asago, in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. With a total installed capacity of , it is one of the List of pumped-storage hydroelectric p ...

was built across the Tataragi stream, a tributary of the Maruyama.

Neighbouring municipalities

Hyōgo Prefecture * Kamikawa * Shisō *

Taka The taka (, , sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at . Issuance of banknotes 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while the 2 and 5 govt. notes are the responsibility of the ...

* Tanba * Toyooka * Yabu Kyoto Prefecture *

Fukuchiyama file:Fukuchiyama City Hall.jpg, Fukuchiyama City Hall file:福知山駅プラットフォームより View toward northeast from platform of Fukuchiyama station 2011.1.10 - panoramio.jpg, Fukuchiyama city center is a Cities of Japan, city in north ...

Climate

Asago 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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool to cold winters. Precipitation is significantly higher in summer than in winter, though on the whole lower than most parts of Honshū, and there is no significant snowfall. The average annual temperature in Asago is . The average annual rainfall is with July 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 Asago was on 20 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 28 February 1981.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Asago in 2020 is 28,989 people. Asago has been conducting censuses since 1960.

History

The area of Asago was in ancient

Tajima Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of northern Hyōgo Prefecture. Tajima bordered on Tango Province, Tango and Tanba Province, Tanba to the east, Harima Province, Harima to the south, and Inaba Province, Inaba to the west. ...

and is the location of many

burial mounds A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

from the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

. These include the

Chasuriyama Kofun The is a Kofun period kofun, burial mound, located in the Ikunocho Kuchiganaya neighborhood of the city of Asago, Hyōgo, in the Kansai region of Japan. It was designated a Monuments of Japan, National Historic Site of Japan in 2004. Overview T ...

in Wadayama, one of the largest ''enpun'' (円墳)-style elliptical burial mounds in the

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

. The Ikuno Silver Mine opened in 807 in the early

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

and mining continue through 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 ...

. During the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

the area was under the control of the

Yamana clan The was a Japanese samurai clan which was one of the most powerful of the Muromachi period (1336–1467); at its peak, members of the family held the position of Constable ('' shugo'') over eleven provinces. Originally from Kōzuke Province, an ...

, the ''

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

'' of Tajima Province and

Takeda Castle was a Sengoku period Japanese castle located in the Wadayama neighborhood of the city of Asago, in the northern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It is located north of Himeji, and north-west of Kyoto, and is situated some 353 metres above sea ...

was the stronghold their retainers, the Otagaki clan. Following the establishment of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, the area was mostly ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territory under direct control of the shogunate due to the importance of the silver mine, with some small areas undertone control of

Toyooka Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tajima Province in what is now the northern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered initially around Toyooka Castle, and later at Toyooka ''jin ...

Izushi Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Tajima Province in what is now the northern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered initially around Izushi Castle in what is now the Izushi n ...

. 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the area was under"Toyooka Prefecture" until incorporated into Hyōgo Prefecture in 1876. The town of Ikuno and the villages of Yamaguchi and Akagawa were created with the establishment of the modern municipalities on April 1, 1889. Asago was founded on March 31, 1954, from the merger of the former villages of Yamaguchi and Nakagawa. By 2004, the town had an estimated

of 7,465 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 57.33 persons per km². The total area was 130.20 km². On April 1, 2005, Asago absorbed the towns of Ikuno, Santō and Wadayama (all from Asago District) to create the city of Asago.

Government

Asago 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 ...

city council of 18 members. Asago contributes one member to the

Hyogo Prefectural Assembly The is the prefectural parliament of Hyōgo Prefecture. The assembly's 87 members are elected every four years in 40 districts by single non-transferable vote. Nine of the electoral districts correspond with the wards of Kobe city and the rema ...

. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo 5th 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

Asago has mostly a rural economy based on agriculture and commerce. Local industries include food processing, metal products, electrical machinery, and non-ferrous metals.

Education

Asago has seven public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. There is also one private middle school and one private high school. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

–

San'in Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

* -

–

Bantan Line The is a railway line that connects Himeji and Wadayama station in Asago City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The line is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and serves as a connector between the Sanyo Main Line and the Sanin Main L ...

* - - - -

Highways

Kitakinki-Toyooka Expressway The , otherwise known as the Kitakinki Road, is an incomplete two-lane national expressway in Hyōgo Prefecture. It is owned and operated primarily by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), but has a short section ma ...

Bantan Renraku Road * * * *

International relations

Sister cities

Newberg, Oregon Newberg is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to George Fox University. As of 2023 the city population was 26,095 making it the second most populous ...

, United States *

Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Tay River (Ontario), Tay River, southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. History The town was established as a military settlement in 1816, shortly after the War of ...

, Canada

Friendship cities

Barbizon Barbizon () is a commune (town) in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Barbizonais''. Art history The Barbizon school of painters is n ...

, France

Local attractions

*Asago Art Village * Ikuno Dam *Ikuno Ginzan Silver Mine *Kuchiganaya area **Tanyo Museum **Ikuno Shoin *

Kurokawa Dam The is a large pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Asago, in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. With a total installed capacity of , it is one of the largest pumped-storage power stations in the world, and the largest in Japan. The facil ...

File:Ichikawa river Ikuno Asago Hyogo01s5bs4272.jpg, Scenery of Kuchiganaya, Ikuno File:Tanyo Shinkin bank Hall01n4272.jpg, Tanyo Museum File:Tataragi Dam04n4272.jpg, Tataragi Dam File:Asago Art Village08n4272.jpg, Asago Art Village

Noted people from Asago

Takashi Shimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), '' Rashomon'' (1950), '' Ikiru'' (1952) ...

, actor *

Sanzo Wada was a Japanese Painting, painter and costume designer who won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for his work on the jidaigeki film ''Gate of Hell (film), Gate of Hell'' (1953). Wada reorganized the Japan Standard Color Association into t ...

, artist, costume designer

References

External links

*
Official Asago Travel Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asago, Hyogo Cities in Hyōgo Prefecture Asago, Hyōgo