is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located in

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

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 village 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 4,314 in 1694 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 11 persons per km². The total area of the village is . m². Much of the village is within the borders of

Oze National Park , is an area consisting of open greenland in Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Niigata Prefectures in Japan. The park is 372 km2 in area and is the 29th national park in Japan. Opened on 30 August 2007, the park's area includes the marshes ...

Geography

Located in northern Gunma, Katashina is bordered by

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

to the east and

Fukushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

to the northeast. The village is very mountainous, with the highest elevation being 2578 m and the lowest 640 m. The temperature can reach up to 36 °C in the summer, but in the winter, it can drop to -18 °C. The average temperature is 11 °C, the yearly precipitation is 1042 mm, and amount of snowfall is 95 cm, with the snowy period lasting for 120 days. * Mountains:

Mount Nikkō-Shirane is a stratovolcano in the Nikkō National Park in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. It stands at 2,578 m high. It is the highest mountain in north eastern Japan (no higher mountains exist in the east or north of this mountain). Its pea ...

(2578 m), Mount Shibutsu (2228 m), Mount Hotaka (2158m) * Rivers: Katashina River, Ōtaki River * Lakes: Marunuma (Maru Swamp), Suganuma

Surrounding municipalities

* Hinoemata

* Kawaba * Minakami * Numata

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 ...

* Uonuma

Nikkō is a Cities of Japan, city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city's population was 80,239, in 36,531 households. The population density was 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Nikkō is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

Climate

Katashina has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(Köppen ''Dfb'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Katashina population statistics
/ref> the population of Katashina has decreased by more than half over the past 60 years.

History

The area of present-day Katashina was part of the ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' holdings within

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

administered directly by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

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 ...

. On April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, Katashina village was established within

Tone District, Gunma is a rural district located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of January 2015, the district had an estimated population of 34,946 and an area of 1,322.23 km2, with a population density of 26.4 people per square kilometer. Towns and villages * ...

Government

Katashina 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 ...

village council of ten members. Katashina, together with the other municipalities in Tone District, contributes one member to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of

Gunma 1st district is a single-member constituency of the Japanese House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet. It is located in Gunma Prefecture and consists of the cities of Maebashi and Numata and the district of Tone as well as parts of the ...

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 Katashina is heavily dependent on seasonal tourism to ski resorts and to

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

hot springs.

Education

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

Transportation

Railways

Katashina does not have any passenger railway service.

Highways

* *

Local attractions

* Ca et la Ski Resort Oze (Closed) * Chigira Farm * Hanasaku Hot Springs * Hotaka Bokujo Ski Area * Katashina Hot Springs * Katashina Plateau Ski Resort * Konsei Mountain Pass * Marunuma Dam * Marunuma Hot Springs * Marunuma Plateau Ski Resort * Oguna Hotaka Ski Area * Oze Iwakura Ski Area * Oze Tokura Hot Springs * Oze Tokura Ski Area *

Ozegahara is a high altitude :marshland in the Oze National Park, Japan. Approximately 8 km2 in size, the marshland is well known for various species of plants, including the "mizu-bashō" (White Skunk Cabbage), "Nikkōkisuge" (yellow alpine lilie ...

- Oze National Park * Shirane Hot Springs * Sonohara Dam

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Villages in Gunma Prefecture