270px, Rice Terraces in Kamikatsu 270px, Kanjo Waterfall at Jigen-ji temple 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 ...

located in Katsuura District,

Tokushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

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 1,431 in 750 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 13 persons per km². The total area of the town is . It is the least populated of the towns of Shikoku.

Geography

Kamikatsu is located in central Tokushima prefecture on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

. It is located in a mountainous area the upper reaches of the Katsuura River. Parts of the town are within the borders of the Chūbu Sankei Prefectural Natural Park.

Neighbouring municipalities

Tokushima Prefecture * Kamiyama * Katsuura * Naka * Sanagōchi

Climate

Kamikatsu 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 ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kamikatsu is 13.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2128 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.0 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kamikatsu has been declining for the past 70 years.

History

As with all of Tokushima Prefecture, the area of Kamikatsu was part of ancient Awa Province. 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 ...

, the area was part of the holdings of

Tokushima Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Awa Province and Awaji Province in what is now Tokushima Prefecture and Awaji Island of modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. It was centered around Tokushima ...

ruled by the Hachisuka clan from their seat at Tokushima Castle. The villages of Takahoko (高鉾村) and Fukuhara (福原村) established within Katsuura District, Tokushima with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. The two villages merged on July 20, 1955 to form the town of Kamikatsu.

Government

Kamikatsu 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 eight members. Kamikatsu, together the city of Komatsushima and town of Katsuura, contributes three members to the Tokushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tokushima 1st 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

The economy of Kamikatsu is agricultural, and the town is noted for its rice terraces. Kamikatsu is a "zero waste" town; all household waste is separated into 45 different categories and sent to be

recycled Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

at the Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center. In 2008, a poll showed that 40% of residents were still unhappy about the aspect of the

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

that required items to be washed. But the town continues the policy as it is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than purchasing an

incinerator Incineration is a list of solid waste treatment technologies, waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-ene ...

. The Town recycles about 80% of its waste, compared to 20% in the rest of Japan, which is still relatively high compared to the USA at 9% and the Philippines at less than 5%, according to a Rappler article.. The town has set a goal to become fully zero waste by 2020.

Education

Kamikatsu has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

Kamikatsu does not have any passenger rail service. The closest station is Minami-Komatsushima Station on the

JR Shikoku 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 of Japan, prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Jap ...

Mugi Line.

Highways

Kamikatsu is not on any national highway or expressway.

Local attractions

* Chūbu Sankei Prefectural Natural Park