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 Nishiusuki District,

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...

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 has 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 3400 in 1504 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 20 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Gokase is located in the northwest Miyazaki Prefecture, in the center of the Kyushu Mountains, and borders

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

from the northern part of the town to the northwest, west, and southwest. The area is generally high in altitude, with even the hilly area in the north, the center of the town, being over 500 meters above sea level, and the southern part of the town being mountainous, over 1,000 meters above sea level. It takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach the prefectural capital, Miyazaki City, by car, while Kumamoto City can be reached in about 1 and a half hours, so the relationship with Kumamoto Prefecture is close.

Neighbouring municipalities

Kumamoto Prefecture *

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...

Miyazaki Prefecture * Morotsuka * Shiiba *

Takachiho file:TakachihokyoWithManaiFalls.JPG, 270px, Manai Falls file:Mt.Sobo.jpg, 270px, Mount Sobo file:Yokagura.jpg, 270px, Yokagura is a List of towns in Japan, town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , t ...

Climate

Gokase 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, humid summers and cool winters. The average annual temperature in Takachiho is . The average annual rainfall is with June 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 Takachiho was on 19 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 21 February 1983. Summers are cool, with the average daily temperature in August being about the same as Aomori City (23.5 °C), and the average minimum temperature being about the same as Hachinohe City (19.5 °C), with 28.6 midsummer days and only two extremely hot days in the past. Winters are relatively cold, and the average temperature in January is about the same as Sendai City (2.0 °C). Due to the effects of strong cold air and low pressure on the south coast, snow tends to accumulate, and heavy snowfall of 20 cm or more can occur, but it is not a heavy snowfall area. The southernmost ski resort in Japan is located on the eastern ridge of Mt. Kousaka in the southwestern part of the town.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Gokase in 2020 is 3,472 people. Gokase has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

The area of Gokase was part of ancient

Hyūga Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to modern Miyazaki Prefecture Hyūga bordered on Ōsumi to the south, Higo to the west, and Bungo to the north. Its abbreviated form name was , although it was als ...

. 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 ...

, it was part of the holdings of Nobeoka Domain. The villages of Sankasho and Kuraoka within

Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki is a district located in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. As of October 2020, the district has an estimated population of 18,749 and the density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volum ...

were established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The two villages merged to form the town of Gokase on August 1, 1956.

Government

Kadogawa 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 nine members. Gokase, collectively with the towns of

and Hinokage contributes one member to the Miyazaki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Miyazaki 2nd 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

Gokase has a very rural economy, based on forestry and agriculture. Production of ''

sansai is a Japanese language, Japanese word literally meaning "mountain vegetables", originally referring to vegetables that grew naturally, were foraged in the wild, and not grown and harvested from fields. However, in modern times, the distinctio ...

'' and fish-farming of '' seema'' are important local economic activities.

Education

Gokase has four public elementary school and one public junior high schools operated by the town government and one combined secondary school operated by the Miyazaki Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railways

Gokase has no passenger train service. The nearest station is on the Minamiaso Railway Takamori Line or on the

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Hōhi Main Line.

Highways

Kyushu Chūō Expressway * * *

References

External links

*
Gokase official website
{{Miyazaki Towns in Miyazaki Prefecture