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 ...

Chita District is a district located in southwestern Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Chita Peninsula. As of October 1, 2019, the district had an estimated population of 160,542 with a density of 968 persons per km2. Its total area was 165.84 km2. Municipal ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 17,393 in 7338 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 453 persons per km². The total area of the town was .

Geography

Minamichita is located in the extreme southern tip of

Chita Peninsula The Chita Peninsula (知多半島 ''Chita Hantō'') is a peninsula to the south of Aichi Prefecture, central Honshū, Japan. It runs approximately north-south. To the west is Ise Bay, while to the east it encloses Mikawa Bay. It faces the Atsu ...

in southern Aichi Prefecture, including a number of islands in

Mikawa Bay Mikawa Bay (Landsat photo) Mikawa Bay (三河湾 ''Mikawa-wan'') is a bay to the south of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, surrounded by Chita Peninsula The Chita Peninsula (知多半島 ''Chita Hantō'') is a peninsula to the south of Aichi Prefect ...

. The town is bordered by Mikawa Bay to the east, and

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie prefecture, Mie and Aichi prefecture, Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the small ...

to the west. Part of the town's area are within the borders of the Mikawa Wan Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

*Aichi Prefecture ** Mihama

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Minamichita had been declining steadily over the past 70 years.

Climate

The town 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 Minamichita is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

History

The area of Minamichita was part of

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces w ...

and controlled by

Owari Domain The Owari-Han, also known as the Owari Domain, was a significant feudal domain in Tokugawa shogunate, Japan during the Edo period. Situated in the western region of what is now Aichi Prefecture, it covered portions of Owari Province, Owari, Mino ...

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 ...

. It was a major port on the coastal trade route between

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

and Osawa. 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 into villages within

Chita District, Aichi is a district located in southwestern Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Chita Peninsula. As of October 1, 2019, the district had an estimated population of 160,542 with a density of 968 persons per km2. Its total area was 165.84 km2. Municipal ...

with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The modern town of Minamichita was established on June 1, 1961, through the merger of the towns of Utsumi, Mihama, and Morozaki, and the villages of Shinojima and Himakajima, all within Chita District. During March 2006, discussions were held to

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

Minamichita with the town of Mihama to the north to form the new city of “Minamicentrair” after the popular nickname for

Chūbu Centrair International Airport is an international airport on an artificial island (which also houses the ) in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, south of Nagoya in central Japan. The airport covers about 470 hectares (1,161 acres) of land and has one runway. ...

, but the merger proposal was strongly opposed by the majority of the inhabitants of Minamichita, and the merger did not take place.

Economy

The

primary sector The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...

dominates the economy of Minamichita, notably

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 ...

and agriculture. Secondary industries include food processing, and seasonal tourism to beach resorts. The Yamadera

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

(山寺窯) was located in Utsumi, today part of Minamichita. The kiln was active in the years Meiji 40 (1907) - Taishō 3 (1914). It produced Utsumi ware (内海焼).

Education

Minamichita has six public elementary schools and five public junior high schools operated by the town government, and one high school operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Meitetsu , publicly trading as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the '' Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of w ...

– Chita New Line *

Highways

* Minamichita Road *

Seaports

*Morogizaki Port

Local attractions

* Himakajima - island in Mikawa Bay *Minamichita Onsen - hot spring resort * Shinojima - island in Mikawa Bay Kankonouen.JPG, Sightseeing farm Flower garden CITTA NAPOLI.jpg, Citta Napoli Himakajima7.JPG, Himakajima File:Shinojima1.jpg, Shinojima Hazumisaki3.JPG, Cape Hazu

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Aichi Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan