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

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

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 1,673 in 864 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 24 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

The northernmost municipality on

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

island, Kazamaura is on the northwestern shore of

Shimokita Peninsula The is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaido. Overview It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Tsugaru Strait to the north and Mutsu Bay to the west and south. Shaped like an ...

. It is separated from the island of

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

by the

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

. Most of the village is part of the Osoreyama Mountain Range, resulting in little flat land. The Ikokuma River flows through the village. Approximately 96% of the total area of the village is covered by forests. Much of the village is within the borders of the

Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in the Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN. The park, consists of several discontinuous l ...

Neighboring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture * Mutsu *

Ōma is a town located in Aomori, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,868 in 2,500 households, and a population density of . The total area of the town is . Geography Ōma occupies the northwestern coastline of Shimokita Peninsula, f ...

Climate

The village has a cold

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

characterized by cool short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall and strong winds. (

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 ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Kazamaura is 8.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1259 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Kazamaura population statistics
/ref> the population of Kazamaura has declined over the past 60 years, and is now half of what it was a century ago.

History

Kazamaura was founded with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889 through the merger of the three hamlets of , , and , with the new village taking one ''

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

'' from the names of its components to form "Kazamaura".

Government

Kazamaura 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 eight members. Sai is part of Shimokita District which, together with the city of Mutsu, contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aomori 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 Kazamaura is heavily dependent on forestry and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

(particularly for

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

and

konbu ''Konbu'' (from ) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' () or ''haidai'' (). Kelp features in the diets of many civilizations, including Chinese and Icela ...

Education

Kazamaura has one public elementary school, and one public middle school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

The village has no passenger railway service. The nearest train station is Shimokita Station on the

JR East 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 ...

Ōminato Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Noheji Station and Ōminato Station on the Shimokita Peninsula in eastern Aomori Prefecture. Station list :●: All rapid service trains stop, ○: Some r ...

Highway

Local attractions

*Shimofuro Onsen - A sulphur hot spring resort known for its view of the many fishing boat lights that shine on the Tsugaru Strait after sunset. *Kuwabata Onsen,- a hot spring resort *Isaribi Strait Park *Squid Centre - A center for supplying fresh squid *Ikokuma River - A mountain river noted for its scenic foliage season and fishing.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Villages in Aomori Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Kazamaura, Aomori