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 6,090 in 2598 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 20 persons per km². Approximately 66% of the population is over the age of 65.Fukushima Prefectural Demographics
, accessed February 13, 2009 apanese The total area is .

Geography

Nishiaizu is located at the far northwestern corner of the

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princ ...

region of Fukushima Prefecture, bordered

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

to the north and the west. It is known as the "front door" to the

Iide Mountains The or is a mountain range that spans the Fukushima, Niigata and Yamagata prefectures in Japan. Its highest peak is at 2,128m, and the main peak of the range is Mount Iide at 2,105m above sea level. The range contains a number of peaks highe ...

. About 86 percent of the total area is composed of mountains and forests.Nishiaizu official website
accessed February 5, 2009 apanese *Mountains : Mount Mikunidake (1644 m) *Rivers : Aga River

Neighboring municipalities

Fukushima Prefecture * Aizubange * Kaneyama * Kitakata * Yanaizu Niigata Prefecture *

Aga Aga or AGA may refer to: Business * Architectural Glass and Aluminum (AGA), a glazing contractor, established in 1970 * AGA (automobile), , 1920s German car company * AGA AB, , a Swedish company, the originator of the AGA cooker * AGA Rangemaster ...

Climate

Nishiaizu 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 ''Dfb'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nishiaizu is 11.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1548 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Nishiaizu population statistics
/ref> the population of Nishiaizu has declined by more than two-thirds over the past 60 years.

History

The area of present-day Nishiaizu 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 Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture. The town of Nishiaizu was founded on July 1, 1954 through a

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

of the villages of Shingo and Okugawa with the town of Nozawa and villages of Onomoto, Tosejima, Mutsuai, Shitatani, Muraoka, Kaminojiri and Hosaka in Kawanuma District. In 2006, Nishiaizu residents decided to decline a merger with the city of Kitakata.

Economy

Nishiaizu is a rural area with a local economy dependent on agriculture and forestry.

Education

Nishiaizu has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education. * Nishiaizu Elementary School * Nishiaizu High School.
Nishiaizu official website.

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 ...

–

Ban'etsu West Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kōriyama Station (Fukushima), Kōriyama Station in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and Niitsu Station in Akiha-ku, Niigata, Akiha Ward, Niigata (cit ...

* - - -

Highway

* – Nishiaizu PA * * *

Local attractions

* ''Enmanji Kannon-dō'', the temple building is the one designated Important Cultural Property in Nishiaizu.Japan National Cultural Properties database
, accessed February 5, 2009. apanese/ref> * Torioi-Kannon Nyohōji - the gate and four wooden statues are Fukushima Prefectural Important Cultural Properties. The temple houses one of the Aizu region's three important statues of Kannon.
''Torioi-Kannon Nyohōji'' official website, accessed February 13, 2009.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Nishiaizu, Fukushima, Towns in Fukushima Prefecture