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

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

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 42,489 in 18776 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 430 persons per km². Its total area is .

Geography

Komoro is located in eastern Nagano Prefecture. The Chikuma River flows through the southern and western part of the city. Some extinct volcanic mountains are located between Komoro and neighboring Tsumagoi. The highest point in Komoro is Mt. Kurofu ( ja). Its peak is above sea level. The lowest point is . The old city center is at about . There are many slopes, so Komoro is known as a "hilly city" (坂の町).

Surrounding municipalities

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 ...

** Tsumagoi *Nagano Prefecture ** Miyota ** Saku ** Tōmi

Climate

Komoro is far from the sea and surrounded by mountains, so the rainfall is lower and diurnal temperature range is greater than many locations in Japan, and average annual temperature of Komoro is relatively cool because of the high altitude. The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

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 ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Komoro is 10.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1108 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Komoro peaked at around the year 2000 and has declined slightly since.

History

Pre-modern

The area of present-day Komoro was part of ancient

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. The

Tōsandō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. It is part of the ''Gokishichidō'' system. It was situated along the central mountains of northern Honshu, specifically th ...

, one of the national routes passed Komoro, which was the location of an ''Umaya'' (駅), or post station for government officials and army. However, the name "Komoro" first appears in written history in the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

chronicle, '' Azuma Kagami''. In those days, Komoro Tarō Mitsukane (小諸太郎光兼), a ''

gokenin A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become '' jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect ...

,'' was assigned by the shogunate to govern the area. During the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, the region came under the control of the Ogasawara Ōi clan. The area had a very unsettled history during the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

. Under 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 ...

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 ...

, much of the area was under the control of Komoro Domain and the town developed into a ''

jōkamachi The were centres of the domains of the feudal lords in medieval Japan. The ''jōkamachi'' represented the new, concentrated military power of the daimyo in which the formerly decentralized defence resources were concentrated around a single, cent ...

'' around Komoro Castle.

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 ...
and later

The modern town of Komoro was established on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the Meiji period municipalities system. The town of Komoro annexed villages of Kawabe, Kitaoi and Osato (all from Kitasaku District) on February 1, 1954. The city of Komoro was established on April 1, 1954 after absorbing the villages of Minamioi and Mitsuoka (both from Kitasaku District). On April 1, 1959, parts of the town of Tōbu (now part of the city of Tōmi) was merged into Komoro and the city has been unchanged since.

Government

Komoro 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 19 members.

Economy

Komoro is a regional commercial center and has a primarily agricultural economy based on cultivation of rice, vegetables and fruits. Among agricultural products in Komoro, potatoes,

soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") are Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour, with a small amount of wheat flour mixed in. It has an ashen brown color, and a slightly grainy texture. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sau ...

, apples, and peaches are popular. Komoro has many soba restaurants and apple orchards, so a lot of visitors come there from Shutoken. Komoro is also known for its

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae''), and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads; p ...

Education

Komoro has six public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the city government. There are two public high schools operated by the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education.

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 ...

- Koumi Line ** - - - - * Shinano Railway Symbolmark

Shinano Railway – Shinano Railway Line ** - *'' Nunobiki Electric Railway'' ( ja) (abolished in 1936) **'' - - - ''

Highway

* Jōshin-etsu Expressway * Chūbu-Ōdan Expressway * * * *

Sister city relations

Komoro is twinned with: * Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan (1973) *

Ōiso file:OISO.jpg, 260px, Ōiso Long Beach resort is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 31,262 and a population density of 1820 persons per km². The total area of the town ...

, Kanagawa, Japan (1973) * Namerikawa, Toyama, Japan (1974)

Local attractions

*Kaikoen, a park in the center of Komoro containing the foundations of Komoro Castle as well as a museum dedicated to Shimazaki Toson (see below) and a zoo ( ja). The third gate of castle (San'nomon) and the fourth gate (Otemon) are

Important Cultural Properties of Japan An The term is often shortened into just is an item officially classified as Tangible Cultural Property (Japan), Tangible Cultural Property by the Government of Japan, Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Cul ...

, as is the Kyu Komoro Honjin ( ja). Kaikoen is known for

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

s, and has been selected as one of the Top 100 Cherry Blossom Viewing Sites in Japan ( ja). *Nunobikisan Shakuson-ji (Nunobiki-Kan'non) ( ja), a Buddhist temple dating from 748 AD (

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

) located at the top of a deep ravine. Kan'nondo Kūden, the oldest surviving building was built in 1252 and is an Important Cultural Property. You can also see ''Shidare zakura'' ( ja) in April. *Mountain hiking in Takamine ( ja), close to the active volcano Mt Asama, and Mt. Kurofu is about a 30-minute drive uphill from Komoro. You can also enjoy skiing in winter, and

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 ...

in all seasons there. * Teranouchi Stone Age Settlement ruins, a Jōmon-period settlement trace and National Historic Site

Notable residents

Shuichi Abe is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Nagano Prefecture, assuming office in 2010. In 2014, he was re-elected for another four-year term as the governor of the prefecture.The talk with governor Abe , Community Television Komoro
��in japanese） *

Kuniaki Kobayashi was a Japanese professional wrestler, most notable for being the generational rival of the famous Tiger Mask character in Japanese ''puroresu''. He wrestled numerous acclaimed matches against Tiger Mask I and Tiger Mask II. Early life Kob ...

, Japanese professional wrestler for AJPW and

NJPW (NJPW) is a Japanese professional-wrestling promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV Asahi and Amuse Inc. owning minority shar ...

. He was born and raised in Komoro, Nagano. *

Tōson Shimazaki was the pen-name of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a Romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of Japanese Naturalism. The ...

, poet and writer. Toson spent a period teaching in Komoro, and is featured in a dedicated museum located within Komoro's Kaikoen park.
Sodo Yokoyama
, a leaf-flute Zen Master who lived as a hermit in Komoro's Kaikoen Park until 1980. Yokoyama was inspired by an earlier resident of Komoro, the poet and writer Shimazaki Toson. See Arthur Braverman's excellen
article
for some personal recollections of Yokoyama.

References

External links

Official Website

Komoro Tourism Website

「小諸で待ってる」（Promotional Video by Komoro Tourism Bureau）
(added English subtitles) {{Authority control Cities in Nagano Prefecture