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 42,664 in 15649 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 380 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Located in the northern end of the Zennoji Plain of northern Nagano prefecture, Nakano is located on the Chikuma River and is surrounded by mountains. The weather in Nakano varies greatly over the seasons.

Surrounding municipalities

*Nagano Prefecture ** Iiyama ** Iizuna ** Kijimadaira ** Nagano ** Obuse ** Takayama ** Yamanouchi

Climate

Nakano has a climate characterized by 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 Nakano is 12.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1406 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Nakano population statistics
/ref> the population of Nakano has remained relatively constant over the past 70 years.

History

The area of present-day Nakano 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 area was part of the ''

tenryō 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 war ...

'' (direct holdings) of the

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 ...

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 ...

and was administered from Nakano ''

jin'ya A was a type of administrative headquarters in the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period of Japanese history. ''Jin'ya'' served as the seat of the administration for a small domain, a province, or additional parcels of land. ''Jin'ya'' ho ...

.'' Nakano was the capital of "Nakano Prefecture" from 1870 to 1871, when it was merged with Nagano Prefecture. The modern town of Nakano was established on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the municipalities system. It was elevated to city status on July 1, 1955 by the merger of the town with neighboring villages of Hino, Entoku, Nagaoka, Hiraoka, Takaoka, Shinano, and Yamato. On April 1, 2005, the village of

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

(from Shimominochi District) was merged into Nakano.

Government

Nakano 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 20 members.

Economy

The city of Nakano is supported largely by its agricultural industry. Nakano boasts high quality fruits and vegetables, including Fuji apples, Kyohō grapes, peaches, pears, rice, asparagus, and mushrooms. It is Japan's leading producer of '' Enokitake'' mushrooms. The city is also well known for its

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

s. The biannual rose festival in Ippongi Park displays thousands of rose plants, and attracts tourists from all over Japan. Nakano City has experienced significant growth since the Nagano

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

. Located near many popular ski areas, Nakano's economy is augmented by the ski-tourism industry. Nakano is home to Cosina Co., Ltd, a designer and manufacturer of camera and lenses.

Education

Nakano has 11 public elementary schools and four public middle schools run by the city. There are two public high schools under 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 ...

Iiyama Line The is a railway line in Japan linking Toyono Station in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture and Echigo-Kawaguchi Station in Nagaoka, Niigata, Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Stations ...

** - * 20px

Nagano Electric Railway The is a private railway based in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Japan. The company and its line are commonly referred to as . It originally operated three lines, but only the Nagano Line between Nagano — Suzaka — Shinshū-Nakano — ...

– Nagano Line ** - - - -

Highway

Jōshin-etsu Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming is a kanji acronym consisting of 3 characters, each representing the former names of the prefectures that the route traverses. consis ...

* * *

Local attractions

* Takanashi clan fortified residence, a Sengoku-period National Historic Site

Sports teams

In 2007, Nakano became home to the Shinano Grand Serows, a baseball team in the Japanese BC League ( Baseball Challenge League).

Notable people from Nakano

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, inclu ...

, composer and musical director *

Reiji Miyajima is a Japanese manga artist. He is known for his series '' AKB49: Ren'ai Kinshi Jōrei'', ''Rent-A-Girlfriend'' and '' The Shiunji Family Children''. Biography Reiji Miyajima is a native of Nakano, Nagano. After graduating at a high school in N ...

, manga artist * Tetsuo Nagata, cinematographer

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Nagano Prefecture