was 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 Iwate District,

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 ...

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 of Matsuo was created on April 1, 1889 within Kita-Iwate District with the establishment of the municipality system. Kita-Iwate and Minami-Iwate Districts merged to form Iwate District on March 29, 1898. On September 1, 2005, Matsuo, along with the towns of Ashiro and Nishine (all from Iwate District), was merged to create the city of Hachimantai and no longer exists as an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. Matsuo was formerly known as the home of Japan's largest

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

mine—the Matsuo Kōzan —and, later, as the home of the Matsukawa

geothermal power Geothermal power is electricity generation, electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation i ...

plant. The iron and copper Matsuo mine was also located there before abandonment in 1971. As of September 2005, 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 6,786 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 28.89 persons per km². The total area was 234.85 km².

Sister cities

Miyako, Iwate is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 51,150, and a population density of 41 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Miyako is located in central Iwate Prefecture, bordered by ...

* Nago, Okinawa Friendship and cooperation cities: * Altenmarkt,

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Local attractions

* Hachimantai hot spring resort ** Toushichi hot spring * Matsuogawa hot spring * East Hachimantai onsen resort * Kanezawa spring

External links

Official website of Hachimantai
Dissolved municipalities of Iwate Prefecture Hachimantai, Iwate {{Iwate-geo-stub