is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

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 city 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 20,118 in 7372 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 99 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It markets itself as "Japan's Hometown" and is known as the "Little Kyoto of Snow Country".

Geography

Iiyama is located in the mountainous far northern portion of Nagano Prefecture, and is bordered by

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

to the north. The area is known for severe winters with heavy snowfall. The

Chikuma River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

(the longest river in Japan) runs through the centre of the area and becomes known as the

Shinano River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

when it passes into Niigata Prefecture.

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture **

Kijimadaira is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 4,468, and a population density of 45.8 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . Geography Kijimadaira is located in mountainous northeas ...

** Nakano **

Nozawaonsen is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 3,653 in 1,395 households and a population density of 63 persons per km². The total area of the village is . Geography Nozawaonsen is located in mo ...

** Sakae ** Shinano *

** Jōetsu ** Myōkō

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

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''). The average annual temperature in Iiyama is . The average annual rainfall is with January as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . All of the city is considered part of the snow country of Japan, with heavy accumulations of snow in winter.

History

The area of present-day Iiyama was part of ancient

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. The area was part of the holdings of Iiyama Domain 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 ...

, and the core of the city was the ''

jōkamachi The were centres of the domains of the feudal lords in medieval Japan. The ''jōkamachi'' represented the new, concentrated military power of the daimyo in which the formerly decentralized defence resources were concentrated around a single, cent ...

'' surrounding Iiyama Castle, held by a cadet branch of the

Honda clan The is a Japanese family that claims descent from the medieval court noble Fujiwara no Kanemichi. The family settled in Mikawa and served the Matsudaira clan as retainers. Later, when the main Matsudaira family became the Tokugawa clan, the H ...

. The modern town of Iiyama was established within Shimominochi District, Nagano with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. It was raised to city status on August 1, 1954 by the merger of the town of Iiyama with neighboring villages of Akitsu, Tokiwa, Yanagihara, Tozama, Kijima and Zuiho. The villages of Ōta and Okayama were also annexed in 1955.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Iiyama has declined over the past 70 years.

Government

Iiyama 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 ...

city legislature of 16 members.

Economy

The economy of Iiyama is primarily agricultural with emphasis on rice, asparagus, mushrooms and potatoes. Manufacturing includes production of ''

Butsudan A , sometimes spelled butudan, is a shrine commonly found in temples and homes in Japanese Buddhist cultures. A ''butsudan'' is either a defined, often ornate platform or simply a wooden cabinet sometimes crafted with doors that enclose and p ...

'', skis and electronics. Seasonal tourism to ski resorts and

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

also make a major contribution. The TV and electronics manufacturer Iiyama was founded in the city in 1972, although, after a series of mergers, the company is no longer headquartered there. The old office continues to be used as a manufacturing centre for Iiyama's parent company, Mouse Computer.

Education

Iiyama has seven public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has one public high school operated by the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

Hokuriku Shinkansen The Hokuriku Shinkansen () is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga, Fukui, Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR ...

** *

Iiyama Line The is a railway line in Japan linking Toyono Station in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture and Echigo-Kawaguchi Station in Nagaoka, Niigata, Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Stations ...

** – – – – – – – –

Highway

Jōshin-etsu Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming is a kanji acronym consisting of 3 characters, each representing the former names of the prefectures that the route traverses. consis ...

* * *

International relations

* –

Futian District Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as one of the city's central business district (CBD). Name There are two ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, China – friendship city since July 10, 2014.

Local attractions

*There are many well known ski resorts in the area. These include Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort, Madarao Sympathique (now closed), Madarao Kogen, Tangram Ski Circus, Togari Onsen, and Hokuryuko *The is a Designated Cultural Landscape of Japan. *Iiyama also hosts a number of popular festivals such as the Iiyama Snow Festival and Kamakura Snow Hut Festival in February and Iiyama Dontokoi in August. *The Shinetsu Trail, that runs through Iiyama along the border between Nagano prefecture and Niigata prefecture, is a popular hiking spot in summer. *In February 2015, Guinness World Records confirmed that the city had officially broken the record for 'most snowmen built in an hour.'

Notable people from Iiyama

Naoki Inose is a Japanese politician, journalist, historian, social critic and biographer of literary figures such as Yukio Mishima and Osamu Dazai. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Tokyo from June 2007Jun Hongo"Ishihara's new right-hand man settles in." ...

– author and former Tokyo governor

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Nagano Prefecture Cultural landscapes of Japan