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

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

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 28,329 in 12,570 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 40 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kazuno is located in the far northeast corner of Akita Prefecture. The urban center is located in the Hanawa Basin, which is part of the basin of the Yoneshiro River. Outside the Hanawa Basin, it is mountainous and heavily forested, with numerous rivers and waterfalls with the

Ōu Mountains The are a mountain range in the Tōhoku region of Honshū, Japan. It is the longest range in Japan and stretches south from the Natsudomari Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture to the Nasu volcanoes at the northern boundary of the Kantō region. T ...

and

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

on the east. The area has many

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 ...

. Much of the city is within the borders of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park, although the city does not border on

Lake Towada is the largest Volcanic crater lake, crater lake in Honshū island, Japan. Located on the border between Aomori Prefecture, Aomori and Akita Prefecture, Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level and is 327 m ...

self. Due to its inland location, the difference between the annual maximum temperature and the annual minimum temperature is very large and the city is noted for its heavy snowfall in winter.

Neighboring municipalities

Akita Prefecture * Kitaakita * Kosaka * Ōdate * Semboku Aomori Prefecture * Sannohe * Shingō *

Takko is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,968 in 2097 households and a population density of 21 persons per km2 The total area of the town is . Geography Takko occupies ...

* Towada Iwate Prefecture * Hachimantai

Climate

Kazuno 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 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'') with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters with heavy snowfalls. The average annual temperature in Kazuno is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kazuno has declined over the past 60 years.

History

The area of present-day Kazuno was settled in prehistoric times, and contains major

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

archaeological sites and numerous

burial mounds A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

from the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

. The area was part of ancient Mutsu Province and was ruled by the

Nambu clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji of Kai Pr ...

Morioka Domain 300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū ...

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 ...

. After the start of the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, the area became briefly part of Rikuchū Province before being transferred to Akita Prefecture in 1871. It was organized as part of Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture in 1878 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The city of Kazuno was founded on April 1, 1972 by the merger of the towns of Hanawa, Towada, and Osarizawa and the village of Hachimantai.

Government

Kazuno 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 18 members. The city contributes two members to the Akita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Akita 2nd district 2 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 Kazuno is based on agriculture, forestry and seasonal tourism. Kazuo is the main production area in Akita Prefecture for apples, pears, cherries, peaches, blueberries, quince, and prunes. Although Kazuno is located in a mountainous area, it has also cultivated rice.

Education

Kazuno has six public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Akita Prefectural Board of Education. Akita Prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

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 ...

- Hanawa Line * - - - - - - -

Highway

* * * * * * *

Local attractions

* Alpas Sports Park * Chagama Falls – one of the Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls * Dainichido Bugaku - Ritual dance and music held on January 2,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

* Hachimantai Onsen * former Osarizawa Mine * Ōyu Onsen * Ōyu Stone Circles - Jōmon period archaeological site, Special National Historic Site of Japan * Yuza Onsen

International relations

Kazuno is twinned with: *

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When ...

, Hungary (1995) * Liangzhou, China since November 6, 2000

Noted people from Kazuno

* Junko Asari, Olympic marathon runner * Yuta Kimura, professional baseball player *

Takayuki Matsumiya Takayuki Matsumiya (; born 21 February 1980 in Akita) is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in marathon races. He holds the Asian record and Japanese record over 25 km and 30 km. He has a twin brother, Yuko, who is also ...

, Olympic long-distance runner * Yasuhiko Okudera, professional soccer player * Kenichi Takahashi, Olympic long-distance runner *

Naitō Torajirō Naitō, Naito or Naitou (written: 内藤) is a Japanese name, also transliterated as Naitoh or Nightow. Notable people with the surname include: * , vice president of Lenovo's PC and Smart Devices business unit, known as the "Father of ThinkPad" * ...

, historian * Tomoefuji Toshihide, sumo wrestler

Media

* Kazuno Kiritanpo FM

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Akita Prefecture