270px, Kunio Yanagida birthplace 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 ...

in Kanzaki District,

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 town 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 18,742 in 7803 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 410 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Fukusaki is located in the center of Hyōgo Prefecture, and occupies the middle part of Ichikawa River Basin. It is surrounded by low mountains and hills. Nagusayama (683 meters) in the northwestern end has seven waterfalls and many reservoirs are located in the eastern part of the town.

Neighbouring municipalities

Hyōgo Prefecture *

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

* Ichikawa * Kasai

Climate

Fukusaki 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 Fukusaki 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 Fukusaki was on 20 August 2023; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 3 February 1996.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Fukusaki in 2020 is 19,377 people. Fukusaki has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

The area of the modern town of Fukusaki was within ancient Harima Province. In 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 ...

, it was mostly under the controls of

Himeji Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Harima Province in what is now the southern portion of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Himeji Castle, which is located in what ...

with small portions as ''

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 administration 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 ...

. 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 villages of Fukusaki was created within Kanzaki District, Hyōgo. On December 1, 1925, Fukuzawa merged with the neighboring village of Tomioka and was elevated to town status. Fukusaki expanded on May 3, 1956, by annexing the neighboring villages of Tahara and Yachikusa.

Government

Fukusaki 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 ...

town council of 14 members. Fukusaki, together with the other municipalities of Kanzaki District, 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 town is part of Hyōgo 12th 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

Fukusaki has an economy centered on light manufacturing of electrical component, food processing, pharmaceuticals and metals processing, with agriculture playing a smaller role.

Education

Fukusaki has four public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. The Kinki Health Welfare University is also located in the town.

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, ...

– Bantan Line *

Highway

Chūgoku Expressway * JP Expressway E95

Bantan Renraku Road *

Local attractions

Kunio Yanagita was a Japanese author, scholar, and Folklore studies, folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change in his career. His pursuit of this led to his eventual e ...

(1875–1962) Was born in Fukusaki, and due to his importance in the study of Japanese folklore, the town has a number of '' yokai'' sculptures. In Tsujikawayama Park there are currently five statues whose designs were chosen through "The National Yokai Modeling contest". A total of 17 "Yokai benches" also exist within the town. As a way to create tourism, these benches were created and placed near local businesses and other points of interest. ;Kunio Yanagita's house and Matsuoka family memorial museum The house of folklorist

and memorial hall to his brothers is located in Fukusaki. He wrote about his house in one of his books, ''Kokyou Nanajunen'' (70 years in hometown): "It was the smallest house in ishometown." The book also describes Gataro (ガタロ), a ''kappa''. The municipal government of Fukusaki installed a mechanical ''kappa'' statue that pops out of a pond in Tsujikawayama Park to attract tourists. In 2015, the government went on to design a ''kappa'' costume for the character Gajiro (ガジロウ), who is said to be the younger brother of Gataro. Gajiro has since been adopted as the mascot of Fukusaki. Yanagita had four brothers. One of the younger brother's name is Teruo ( Eikyū), a famous Japanese traditional painter. Some of his paintings are shown in the museum. The anniversary day of Yanagita's death is held at the Santou-Ki Haiku Festival. ;Kanzaki-gun Museum of History and Customs Miki house01 2816

The museum is a western-style building built in 1886. It was renovated in 1972 to a museum for keeping and promoting the development of culture. ;House of the Miki family The Miki House belonged to the great chief of Fukusaki. It is said that

read thousands of books from this family when he was a child. ;Suzunomori shrine Suzunomori shrine is in the Tsujikawa region, near Kunio Yanagita's house.

Festivals

There are two Major festivals: the Autumn Festival and Summer Festival. During the Autumn Festival, young men carry a portable shrine and pray for a good harvest. These young men often wear ' happi'. The Summer Festival is held on the 9th of August at the playground of Fukusaki Junior High School. There are fireworks displayed, bon dancing and drum performances. As well as food/game stalls.

References

External links

* *
Fukusaki official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukusaki, Hyogo Towns in Hyōgo Prefecture Fukusaki, Hyōgo