is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in

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 ...

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 town 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 15,158 in 6,575 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 17 persons per km². The total area of the town was .

Geography

Minamiaizu is located in the mountainous southern portion of the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, bordered

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 south. *Mountains : Onsabi Mountains, Nasudake, Mount Nanatsugadake *Rivers : Okawa, Ina River

Neighboring municipalities

*Fukushima Prefecture ** Hinoemata ** Shimogō ** Shōwa ** Tadami *Tochigi Prefecture ** Nasushiobara **

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

Minamiaizu 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 ''Dfa'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Minamiaizu is 8.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1642 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Minamiaizu population statistics
/ref> the population of Minamiaizu peaked I the 1950s and has declined steadily over the past 60 years. It is now less than it was a century ago.

History

The area of present-day Minamiaizu was part of ancient Mutsu Province and formed part of the holdings of

Aizu Domain was a Han (Japan), domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Tsuruga Castle in M ...

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

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 ...

, it was organized as part of Minamiaizu District in Fukushima Prefecture. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the town of Tajima and the villages of Ina, Nangō, and Tateiwa were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system. These four municipalities merged on March 20, 2006, to form the town of Minamiaizu.

Economy

The economy of Minamiaizu is primarily agricultural. Rice, tomatoes and asparagus are the main crops.

Education

The town has seven public elementary schools and four public junior high school operated by the town government. The town has two public high schools operated by the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education. *Fukushima Prefectural Tajima High School * Fukushima Prefectural Minamiaizu High School

Transportation

Railway

Aizu Railway – Aizu Line * - - - - - - - Yagan Railway – Aizu Kinugawa Line *

Highway

* * * * *

Local attractions

Maezawa Magariya Village *Aizu-Tajima Gionsai festival *Hosoi Residence Museum *Komado Wetlands *Maezawa Magariya Village (Museum of "L" Shaped Old Folk Houses) *Okuaizu Museum *Tashiroyama Wetlands *Yunohana Onsen

Noted people from Minamiaizu

* Kozo Watanabe, politician

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Fukushima Prefecture Minamiaizu, Fukushima