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 ...

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 city has 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 54,013 in 20,179 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 160 persons per km². The total area of the city was . The Adachi neighborhood of Nihonmatsu was the birthplace of artist Chieko Takamura, subject of the book of poems , written by her husband Kōtarō Takamura.

Geography

Nihonmatsu is located in the Nakadōri section of Fukushima prefecture, between the cities of Fukushima and

Kōriyama is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 321,938 people in 141760 households, and a population density of 425 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Kōriyama is designated as a core city and ...

. It is approximately 250 km from central Tokyo. Nihonmatsu's western border consists of the Adatara mountain range. The

Abukuma River The , with a length of , is the second longest river in the Tōhoku region of Japan and the 6th longest river in the country. It is designated as a Classification of rivers in Japan, Class A river. It runs through Fukushima Prefecture and Miyagi P ...

runs through the eastern part (forming the border between the former towns of Adachi and Tōwa), flowing from south to north. *Lakes: Miharu Dam *Mountains: Mount Adatara (1,728 m), Hiyama (1,054 m), Kohatayama (666.3 m) *Rivers:

Neighboring municipalities

*Fukushima Prefecture ** Fukushima ** Inawashiro ** Katsurao ** Kawamata **

** Motomiya **

Namie is a Towns of Japan, town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. the town has a population of 1,238 in 794 households, although the official registered population was 17,114 in 6853 households. The total area of the town is . The town was ev ...

** Ōtama ** Tamura

Climate

Nihonmatsu has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nihonmatsu is 12.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1215 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nihonmatsu peaked around 1950 and has since declined to pre-1920s levels.

History

The area of present-day Nihonmatsu was part of ancient Mutsu Province. It developed as post station on the Ōshū Kaidō highway and as the

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

of Nihonmatsu Domain, a 100,700 ''

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

'' han, which was ruled by the Niwa clan under 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 ...

) in 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 Adachi District in the Nakadōri region of Iwaki Province. The town of Nihonmatsu was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Nihonmatsu annexed the neighboring villages of Shiozawa, Dakeshita, Sugita, Ishii and Ohdaira on January 1, 1955 and was elevated to city status on October 1, 1958. The city annexed the towns of Adachi, Iwashiro and Tōwa (all from Adach District) on December 1, 2005.

Government

Nihonmatsu 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 26 members. Nihonmatsu contributes two members to the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Fukushima 2nd district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Nihonmatsu is a regional commercial center with a mixed economy. It is especially noted for furniture manufacturing and ''

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

'' brewing.

Education

Nihonmatsu has 16 public elementary schools and seven public junior high school operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Fukushima Board of Education. *Fukushima Prefectural Adachi High School *Fukushima Prefectural Adachi Higashi High School *Fukushima Prefectural Nihonmatsu Industrial High School

Transportation

Railway

JR East 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 ...

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line () is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Saitama, Saitama, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Uts ...

** - -

Highway

* – Nihonmatsu Interchange * * *

International relations

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

, United States, since July 30, 1999 * Jingshan County,

Hubei Province Hubei is a province in Central China. It has the seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital at Wuhan serves as a major politi ...

, China, friendship city since October 16, 1994

Local attractions

Nihonmatsu Shonentai Manifestation Monument 20100625

Tourist spot

* Chieko Memorial Museum, the home of Chieko Takamura preserved as a museum *,

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 ...

resort located in western Nihonmatsu * Ebisu Circuit, famous drift racing track, adjacent to Tohoku Safari Park * Nihonmatsu Castle, also known as Kasumiga Castle, is a historical castle along with a park. Nihonmatsu Castle is one of Japan's Top 100 Castles. Nihonmatsu Castle has also been called one of the top 100 sites in Japan for cherry blossom viewing by

Wikivoyage Wikivoyage is a free web-based travel guide for travel destinations and travel topics written by volunteer authors. It is a sister project of Wikipedia and supported and hosted by the same non-profit Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Wikivoyage has ...

. * The Nihonmatsu Lantern Festival is held every October 4–6. The festival has been held annually since 1643 and is one of the three largest lantern festivals in Japan. * Obama Castle, historical castle ruins

Sake

Nihonmatsu has a long history of

brewing, with several sake breweries headquartered in the city: * , established in 1752, one of the few breweries that continues to use the traditional kimoto brewing process. Tours are available. * Himonoya, maker of the Senkonari brand sake. * , established in 1897. * , established in 1716.

Notable people from Nihonmatsu

* Kan'ichi Asakawa, academic * Michiro Endo, musician, political activist * Yuki Takamiya, long-distance runner * Chieko Takamura, artist

References

External links

Official website

Nihonmatsu Tourism Federation
{{Authority control Cities in Fukushima Prefecture