is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located in

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

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 village 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 4,688 in 1,873 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 47 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

Chikuhoku is located in the center of Nagano Prefecture in the Matsumoto Basin.

Higashijo Dam is a dam in Chikuhoku, Nagano Prefecture, 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 ...

and Onikuma Dam are located in Chikuhoku.

Climate

The village has a climate characterized by cool, humid summers and cold winters (

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 ...

''Dfa''). The average annual temperature in Chikuhoku is 9.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2515 mm with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.8 °C.

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture ** Aoki ** Azumino ** Chikuma **

Ikusaka is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village has an estimated population of 1,743 in 721 households, and a population density of 44.6 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . Geography Ikusaka is located in the cen ...

** Matsumoto ** Nagano ** Omi ** Ueda

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Chikuhoku has decreased by more than half over the past 70 years.

History

The area of present-day Chikuhoku was part of ancient

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. Most of the area was under the control of

Matsumoto Domain file:Matsumoto Castle, administrative headquarters of Matsumoto Domain.jpg, 250px, Matsumoto Castle, administrative headquarters of Matsumoto Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is locat ...

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 villages of Honjō, Sakakita, and

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

were created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The village of Chikuhoku was incorporated on October 11, 2005, by a merger of the three villages.

Education

Chikuhoku has three public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the village government, and one middle school operated jointly between Chikuhoku and neighboring Omi village. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

Shinano Railway - Shinano Railway Line ** - - ' -

Highway

* *

Local attractions

*Site of Aoyagi Castle * Mount Kamuriki, known in

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, Tradition, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The Folklor ...

as the location of Mount Ubasute

Notable people from Chikuhoku

* Tomio Hora, historian

References

External links

* * Villages in Nagano Prefecture {{Nagano-geo-stub