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 ...

Hiyama Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan located on the Oshima Peninsula on the Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

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 ...

. It is the capital of Hiyama Subprefecture. One of the oldest towns in Hokkaido, the name Esashi comes from the Ainu word for

kombu ''Konbu'' (from ) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' () or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many civilizations, including Chinese and Icela ...

, a type of edible

kelp Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...

well known in Japan. It is the birthplace of a

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

tradition called Esashi oiwake.

Geography

Esashi is a district and port town located on the western seaboard of Hokkaido on the Assabugawa river, facing the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

. Its eastern part is mountainous. The town is bordered by the municipalities of Kaminokuni, Assabu and Otobe. It has a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

connection to Okushiri island. The rail link was discontinued in 2014; Esashi Station was the terminus of the Esashi Line.

Kamome Island is an island (or more precisely, peninsula) in the Sea of Japan just off the coast of the town of Esashi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The island serves as a breakwater for the Esashi port. It has several historical sites and is protected as a part of the ...

in the town is part of Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park.

Climate

Esashi has a hot

Humid Continental Climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

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''), bordering on 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 ...

(''Cfa'') with far less snow in winter than elsewhere in Hokkaido due to the influence of the warming ''tsushima-kairyu''

ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, sh ...

Culture

The area is home to Esashi Oiwake, a traditional Japanese folk music derived from mago-uta verses from Shinshu which spread throughout Japan during the Edo era and have become an Esashi art form. The district holds a national oiwake convention each September. The oiwake musician 青坂満 comes from Esashi. The ubagami-daijingu dogyo festival, based around the ubagami-daijingu

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

, is celebrated in August. Esashi was the subject of the 1992 single ''Esashi love-song'' by Yuka Õne. The town also has a celebrated historical dance: Doba Shishimai. The dance's three acts include a Shinto ritual dance of three fawns, a pestle-swinging dance and a dance of hinds quarreling over a fawn. Esashi has an official sister town, Notogawa (now part of Higashiо̄mi city) in

Shiga prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

. It also has official friendship status with Suzu city in

Ishikawa prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

History

In the

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

period, Esashi grew wealthy as a herring fishing town. The town's prosperity coined a saying, "Even Edo is not as busy as Esashi in May" and visitors to the town described the herring as being so plentiful that it turned the color of the sea white. Several Meiji-era residences of those who grew wealthy on the trade are preserved in the town today, including the Sekikawa family country house and the Nakamura family house. The majority of Esashi's historic buildings are located on Esashi Inishie Road. The fisheries failed around the turn of end of the 19th century and the town tried to replace its major industry with tourism. The town advertised itself using the Min'yo classical Japanese folk song, the main part of which was originally from the village of Oiwake in central Japan, but became known as Esashi Oiwake as the town's version gained renown. *1900: Esashi Town became a First Class Village. *1955: Esashi Town and Tomari Village were merged to form the new town of Esashi.

Education

* High school ** Hokkaido Esashi High School * Junior high schools ** Esashi Junior High School (江差町立江差中学校) ** Esashi Kita (North) Junior High School (江差町立江差北中学校) * Elementary schools ** Esashi Elementary School ( 江差町立江差小学校) ** Esashi Kita Elementary School (江差町立江差北小学校) ** Minamigaoka Elementary School ( 江差町立南が丘小学校)

Sister cities

* Suzu, Ishikawa * Higashiomi, Shiga

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esashi, Hokkaido (Hiyama) Towns in Hokkaido sam sosi