is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

located in southwestern

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

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 ...

, on

Chita Peninsula The Chita Peninsula (知多半島 ''Chita Hantō'') is a peninsula to the south of Aichi Prefecture, central Honshū, Japan. It runs approximately north-south. To the west is Ise Bay, while to the east it encloses Mikawa Bay. It faces the Atsu ...

. As of October 1, 2019, the district 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 160,542 with 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 968 persons per km². Its total area was 165.84 km².

Municipalities

The district consists of five towns: * Agui * Higashiura * Mihama * Minamichita * Taketoyo ;Notes:

History

Chita District was one of the ancient districts of

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces w ...

and is mentioned in

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

records. One of the castles that guarded the area was Ōno Castle. Modern Chita District dates to the cadastral reforms of the early

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, and was initially given to Nukata Prefecture in former

Mikawa Province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari Province, O ...

, whereas the holdings of former

Owari Domain The Owari-Han, also known as the Owari Domain, was a significant feudal domain in Tokugawa shogunate, Japan during the Edo period. Situated in the western region of what is now Aichi Prefecture, it covered portions of Owari Province, Owari, Mino ...

became '' Nagoya Prefecture''. With the creation of Aichi Prefecture, Chita District again came to be considered part of former Owari Province.

District Timeline

With the organization of municipalities on October 1, 1889, Chita District was divided into four towns (Handa, Kamezaki, Yokosuka, Ono) and 63 villages. In December 1890, Narawa and Tokoname were also elevated to town status, followed by Taketoyo in February 1891, Arimatsu in September 1892 and Utsumi in November 1893. Otaka and Morozaki became towns in September 1894, followed by Kyōwa and Otaka in May 1903 and Toyohama in February 1905. The number of remaining villages was consolidated from 52 to 14 in 1906, leaving the district with 14 towns and 14 villages. Nishiura became a town in December 1911, followed by Obu in November 1915 and Yawata in March 1922. Handa was proclaimed a city on October 1, 1937, merging with the towns of Kamezaki and Narawa. The village of Ueno became a town in February 1940, followed by Noma in July 1942. This left Chita District with 16 towns and nine villages at the end of World War II. In June 1946, the village of Higashiura was elevated to town status. In October 1951, the village of Onizaki became a town, followed by Asahi in April 1952, Kosugaya in July 1952, Agui in January 1953. On April 1, 1954 the city of

Tokoname is a Cities of Japan, city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 57,872 in 24,872 households, and a population density of 1,035 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Tokoname is located on ...

was established by the merger of the towns of Tokoname, Ōno, Onizaki and Nishiura and the village of Sanwa. On April 1, 1955 Kyōwa and Noma towns merged to form the town of Mihama. On the same day, the towns of Yawata, Okada and Asahi merged to form the town of Chita. Kosugaya Town was dissolved on March 31, 1957, with portions joining neighboring Tokoname and Mihama. On June 1, 1961, the towns of Utsumi, Toyohama, and Morozaki merged to form Minamichita. In December 1964, the towns of Arimatsu and Otaka were annexed by

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, becoming part of Midori-ku. On April 1, 1969, the city of Tōkai was established by the merger of the towns of Ueno and Yokosuka. On September 1, 1970 the towns of Obu and Chita were both elevated to city status, leaving the district with 5 towns.

External links

Counties of Japan
{{coord, 34, 47, 34, N, 136, 53, 17, E, region:JP_type:adm2nd_source:kolossus-huwiki, display=title Districts in Aichi Prefecture