270px, Goshikihama Park Lighthouse 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 de ...

located in

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

, Japan. , the city had 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 ...

of 35,888 in 16169 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

of 180 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Iyo is situated in the center of Ehime, approximately 10 kilometers southwest of the prefectural capital of

Matsuyama 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243541 househ ...

. The western portion of the city, from Gunchū in the north down to Futami's Shimonada in the south, hug the coast of the

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland s ...

, nestled in the southwestern section of the Dogo Plain. The southeastern portion of the city enters into the mountains in the interior of the prefecture, and the Nakayama area in particular is quite mountainous.

Neighbouring municipalities

Ehime Prefecture * Masaki to the north *

Tobe Tobe may refer to: * Tobe, a trademark for ski suits and snowmobile suits * Tobe, Ehime, a town in Japan ** Tobe ware porcelain from Tobe, Ehime * Tobe Hooper (1943–2017), American horror film director * Tobe! Polystars arcade game * Tobe Se ...

to the east * Uchiko and Ōzu to the south

Climate

Iyo has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Iyo is 15.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1770 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 26.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 4.5 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Iyo population statistics
/ref> the population of Iyo has decreased slowly since the 1950s.

History

Iyo is part of ancient

Iyo province was a province of Japan in the area of northwestern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Iyo bordered on Sanuki Province to the northeast, Awa to the east, and Tosa to the south. Its abbreviated form name was . In te ...

. While archaeological artifacts show that the Iyo area has been settled since at least as far back as the

Yayoi period The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

(300 BC to 250 AD), the origins of the present city of Iyo can be traced back to the year 1635, when the Matsuyama han ceded the territory including Iyo to the Ōzu Domain. The port at Gunchū, the heart of present-day Iyo, became the main commercial port for Ōzu Domain and the surrounding community flourished. The town of Gunchū was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on December 15, 1889. On January 1, 1955, the town of Gunchū was merged with the villages of Kita-yamasaki, Minami-yamasaki and Minami-iyo to form the city of Iyo. On April 1, 2005, Iyo absorbed the towns of Nakayama and Futami (both from Iyo District), raising its population to over 40,000 and nearly quadrupling its area. The seal of the city of Iyo incorporates the red of the sunset of Futami, the green of Nakayama, and the blue of the original Iyo city seal.

Government

Iyo 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, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

city council of 18 members. Iyo contributes one member to the Ehime Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Ehime 4th district of the lower house of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paral ...

Economy

Iyo houses the national headquarters for Marutomo and Yamaki, food manufacturing companies that specialize in dried Bonito flakes. Other main products include

mikan ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as miyagawa mandarin, unshu mikan, cold hardy mandarin, satsuma mandarin, satsuma orange, naartjie, and tangerine. ''Citrus unshiu'' was named after Unshu (Wenzho ...

and Nakayama

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...

s and other fruits and vegetables. In addition, Futami has had some success in making its sunset a local tourist draw, creating a seaside park, a sunset museum and an annual sunset concert at its

Shimonada Station is a passenger railway station located in the city of Iyo, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Shikoku and has the station number "S09". The station has been featured on the Seishun 18 Ticket promotional poster 3 times, making it very ...

Education

Iyo has nine public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has one public high school operated by the Ehime Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railways

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

Yosan Line The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately p ...

* - - - - - - - - 50px

Iyotetsu The is the main transport provider in Matsuyama, Ehime, Shikoku, Japan. The company operates railway, tram, and bus lines, and also has many subsidiaries, which include a bank, department stores, travel agencies, and various other businesses. ...

Gunchū Line * - -

Highways

Matsuyama Expressway * *

Notable individuals from Iyo

Masanobu Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, herbicide and pesticide free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of agricu ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Ehime Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan