is a

rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...

located in

Yamagata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...

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 ...

. As of December 2013, the district has an estimated population of 30,443 and an area of 1,224.89 km². Most of the city of Nagai was formerly part of Nishiokitami District.

Towns and villages

* Iide * Oguni * Shirataka

History

Okitami County was an ancient place name in part of

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

. 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 ...

, the portion which became Nishiokitami district consisted of 116 villages entirely within the area controlled by

Yonezawa Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered at Yonezawa castle in what is now the city of Yonezawa, and its territory extended over the Okitama District of Dewa Pr ...

. The area was designated Yonezawa Prefecture in August 1871, renamed Okitami Prefecture in December 1871, and became part of Yamagata Prefecture in 1876. Nishiokitami District was created on November 1, 1878. With the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889, it was organized into one town (Nagai) and 16 villages. * On December 3, 1890 Arato was raised to town status * On November 3, 1942 Oguni was raised to town status * On October 10, 1954 Shirataka was raised to town status * On November 15, 1954 Nagai was raised to city status * On April 1, 1958 Iide was raised to city status {{Authority control Districts in Yamagata Prefecture