is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 to ...

, Japan. The city was founded on February 11, 1942. the city has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 30,752 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 144 per km². The total area is 210.55 km². It is famous for boat trips on the river and

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

Aoi Aso Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is colloquially known as . It was originally established as a prefectural shrine, but is currently designated as a . Five of the structures within the shrine are listed as Nation ...

, one of the

National Treasures of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scien ...

, is located in Hitoyoshi. It is bounded to the north, east, and west by towns of

Kuma District is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. In 2003 the district had an estimated population of 64,552 and a density of 48.64 persons per square kilometer. The total area is 1,327.16 km2. History Economy Kuma District is noted fo ...

, and to the south by

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

Commerce

Hitoyoshi's main product is rice shochu (an indigenous spirit distilled from rice), or kuma-shochu, which is the official name of rice shochu produced in Kumamoto's Hitoyoshi and Kuma District. This shochu must be produced in these areas from Japanese rice and with water from the Kuma River, which runs through the town. The

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

granted kuma-shochu

geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

status in 1994. The most popular brand is Hakutake Shiro, which currently holds 50% market share on all rice shochu sold in Japan. However, Takahashi Distillery, the producer of Hakutake Shiro, is just one of 28 distilleries in Hitoyoshi in the surrounding region that produce kuma-shochu.

Climate

Hitoyoshi has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, and is heavier in the summer months, especially June and July.

Tourism

Hitoyoshi Station is a railway station on the Hisatsu Line and Yunomae Line in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) and Kumagawa Railroad. The name of the Yunomae Line station is officially , which was renamed from Hitoyosh ...

SL Hitoyoshi The SL Hitoyoshi (SL 人吉) is a named steam hauled excursion train operated by the Kyushu Railway Company ( JR Kyushu) on the Kagoshima Main Line and the Hisatsu Line since April 2009. Overview The SL Hitoyoshi runs a return journey between K ...

Hitoyoshi Castle Hitoyoshi is a 12th-century castle, now ruins, located in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture. It is recognized as one of Japan's Japan's Top 100 Castles, top 100 castles. History There was an original castle built on the site by Sagara Nagayori, ...

Kuma River (Japan) The is a river in Kumamoto Prefecture, central Western part of Kyūshū, Japan. It is sometimes referred as Kumagawa River. It is the longest river in Kyushu, with the length of 115 km long and has a drainage area of . The tidal flat ...

kuma River Rafting Kuma or KUMA may refer to: Characters * Kuma, a bear also known as Teddie in ''Persona 4'' * Kuma (Tekken), father and son characters of the same name in the ''Tekken'' franchise * Kuma Lisa, an archetypal character from Bulgarian and Russian fol ...

* KAJIYA-MACHI STREET * KOYA-MACHI * Sekaiichi Chiisana Bijutsukan Chobit * Eikokuji * MOZOKA station 868

In popular culture

Hitoyoshi is the inspiration for and setting of "Ohitoyo" in the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

Rail Romanesque is a visual novel developed by Lose, which has also been adapted into the anime series . ''Maitetsu'' was initially released in Japan in 2016, and it was released internationally by Sekai Project on Steam in 2018. Sekai Project also releas ...

and the visual novel game that the anime is derived from.

Notable people from Hitoyoshi

Tetsuharu Kawakami was a Japanese baseball player and manager, known for his red bat, and his nickname . He was a professional player for 18 years, winning the batting title five times, two home run crowns, three RBI titles, and had six titles for the most hits in ...

, baseball player and manager *

Miki Tori , also known as Micky Bird or Mickey Bird, is a Japanese manga artist, character designer, essayist, and screenplay writer. Tori has won multiple awards for his work, including two Seiun Awards (in 1994 for ''Dai-Hon'ya'', and in 1998 for ''SF Ta ...

, manga artist *

Teruyoshi Uchimura , half of the Japanese comedy duo Utchan Nanchan, is one of the most famous and influential comedians in the owarai community. His nickname is ''Utchan'' ("Wutchan"), and his partner, Kiyotaka Nanbara, is known as ''Nanchan''. He was born on July ...

, comedian

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Cities in Kumamoto Prefecture