270px, Awaji City Hall 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 on Awaji Island in

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 42,597 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 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

The city of Awaji occupies the northern third of Awaji Island. It is connected to Kobe City to the north by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, and is sandwiched between

Osaka Bay Osaka Bay (大阪湾 ''Ōsaka-wan'' ) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. I ...

and the Gulf of Harima on the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, 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 Osaka Ba ...

. There are no large rivers in the city, but there are many agricultural ponds. The Tsuna hills run through the center of the city, with Mount Myoken (522 meters) as the highest point. The

Nojima Fault is a fault that was responsible for the Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995 (Kobe Quake). It cuts across Awaji Island, Japan and it is a branch of the Japan Median Tectonic Line which runs the length of the southern half of Honshu island. The f ...

(the focus of the

Great Hanshin earthquake The Great Hanshin Earthquake (, ) occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region of Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum intensity of 7 o ...

) is located in the city.

Surrounding municipalities

Hyogo Prefecture * Sumoto

Climate

Awaji 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 Awaji is 16.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1600 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.6 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Awaji has been declining steadily over the past 70 years.

History

The city of Awaji is situated in ancient

Awaji Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan covering Awaji Island, between Honshū and Shikoku.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Awaji''" in . Today it is part of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is sometimes called . Awaj ...

. It was ruled as part of

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima ...

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 ...

. 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

Tsuna District, Hyōgo was a Districts of Japan, district located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. As of 2005, the district had an estimated population of 11,500, and the total area was 58.21 km2. Former towns and villages * Awaji, Hyōgo, Awaji * Goshiki, Hyōgo ...

. The town of Iwaya was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system April 1, 1889. On April 1, 1956 Iwaya merged with the neighboring town of Kariya and the villages of Url and Hamaguchi to form the town of Awaji; however, on June 19, 1961 a portion of the town was separated to form the town of Higashiura. On April 1, 2005 Awaji and Higashiura merged back together, along with the towns of Tsuna, Hokudan and

Ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...

to form the city of Awaji.

Government

Awaji 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. Awaji 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 9th 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 local economy is largely rural, and is based on agriculture and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

. Awaji has traditionally been famous for its production of joss sticks, which in the early 1960s accounted for 70% of the Japanese domestic market. The production of

roof tile Roof tiles are overlapping tiles designed mainly to keep out precipitation such as rain or snow, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or slate. Later tiles have been made from materials such as concrete, glass ...

s is also a local speciality.

Education

Awaji has 11 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. There are also two private high schools. The Kansai University of Nursing and Health Sciences is located in Awaji. The

Ashiya University is a private university in Ashiya, Hyōgo, 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 th ...

Awajishima Seaside Seminar Center,

Kobe University , also known in the Kansai region as , is a public research university located in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan. The university was established in 1949, but the academic origins of Kobe University trace back to the establishment of Kobe Higher Commercia ...

Inland Sea Environment Education and Research Center and University of Hyogo Graduate School of Green Environment and Landscape Management are all located in Awaji. The Awaji City Library serves Awaji. In 1999 this library and the West Bloomfield Library in

West Bloomfield, Michigan West Bloomfield Township is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, West Bloomfield is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population ...

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 ...

were paired as sister institutions.

Transportation

Railway

Awaji does not have any passenger rail service.

Highways

Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway *

Other

Jointly with Minami Awaji and Sumoto, the city operates a low-cost

electric bike An electric bicycle, e-bike, electrically assisted pedal cycle, or electrically power assisted cycle is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fa ...

rental scheme, designed to attract visitors to stay for more than one day in order to explore the island.

Sister cities

Paranaguá Paranaguá (Tupi language, Tupi, 'Great Round Sea') is a city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, ...

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, since May 29, 1986 * St. Marys, Ohio,

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 ...

, since August 3, 2006

Local attractions

* Akashi Kaikyo Bridge *Akashi Kaikyo National Government Park *Awaji World Park Onokoro * Awaji Yumebutai ( Kiseki No Hoshi Greenhouse) * Esaki Lighthouse *

Funaki Site The is an archaeological site located in the Funaki neighborhood of the city of Awaji, Hyōgo in the Kansai region of Japan, with the traces of a late Yayoi period settlement. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2021. O ...

, National Historic Site * Gossa Kaito Site, National Historic Site *Honpuku-ji Temple * Izanagi Jingū, ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...

'' of Awaji Province * Matsuho Battery Site, National Historic Site

Notable people from Awaji

Toshio Iue was a Japanese inventor and industrialist who founded Sanyo, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Prior to the founding of Sanyo, he played an influential role in the growth and development of Panasonic Corporation, Matsushita Electric Works, working closely ...

, inventor and industrialist * Takashi Sasano, actor *

Tetsuya Watari born (December 28, 1941 – August 10, 2020) was a Japanese film, stage, and television actor. Life He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Watari belonged to the karate club at university. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosu ...

, actor *

Harukichi Yamaguchi was the founder of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which grew to become Japan's largest and most powerful yakuza organization. Yamaguchi established the group in Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a ...

, yakuza

References

External links

*
Awaji City official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Awaji, Hyogo Cities in Hyōgo Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan