270px, Nakatsu Gorge 270px, Tea plantations in Niyodogawa 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 Agawa District,

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...

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 4‚861 in 2,788 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 15 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Niyodogawa is located in the

Shikoku Mountains The Shikoku Mountains () are a mountain range that runs from east to west in the central part of the Shikoku in Japan. The length of the mountain range is about . The highest peak in the mountain range is Mount Ishizuchi. References

{ ...

of north-central Kōchi Prefecture on the upper reaches of the

Niyodo River The is a river that flows through Ehime and Kōchi Prefectures in Shikoku, Japan. Etymology There are various theories as to how the name Niyodo came to be. *A theory posits that when Prince Takaoka, the son of Emperor Heizei, came to To ...

Neighbouring municipalities

Ehime Prefecture * Kumakōgen Kōchi Prefecture * Ino *

Ochi is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in ''yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
The ...

* Tsuno

Climate

Niyodogawa 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 warm summers and cool winters with light snowfall. The average annual temperature in Niyodogawa is 13.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2688 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Niyodogawa population statistics
/ref> the population of Niyodogawa has decreased precipitously since the 1950s and is now less than a quarter of what it was a century ago.

History

As with all of Kōchi Prefecture, the area of Niyodogawa was part of ancient

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

. 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 ...

, the area was part of the holdings of

Tosa Domain The was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, controlling all of Tosa Province in what is now Kōchi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. It was centered around Kōchi Castle, and was ruled throughout its ...

ruled by the

Yamauchi clan The Yamauchi clan (山内氏) were a family of rulers over what was then the Tosa Province which spanned the southern half of Shikoku island. The province was given to the family in 1600 after Yamauchi Kazutoyo led troops under Tokugawa Ieyasu ...

from their seat at

Kōchi Castle is an Edo Period Japanese castle in the city of Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is located at Otakayama hill, at the center of Kōchi city, which in turn is located at the center of the Kōchi Plain, the most prosperous area of former ...

. Following 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 ...

, the village of Ikegawa was established within

Agawa District, Kōchi is a district located in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. As of October 10, 2018, the district has an estimated population of 26,601 and a density of 33.09 persons per km2. The total area is 803.67 km2. Towns and villages * Ino *Niyodogawa Merg ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1, 1889. Ikegawa was raised to town status on April 1, 1913. On August 1, 2005, the town of Ikegawa and the village of Agawa, both from Agawa District, and the village of Niyodo, from Takaoka District were merged to form the town of Niyodogawa.

Government

Niyodogawa 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 ...

town council of five members. Niyodogawa, together with the municipalities of Agawa District, contributes two members to the Kōchi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Kōchi 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

Traditionally, agriculture, forestry and limestone mining were mainstays of the local economy. The area is noted for its production of Tosa Tea, a variety of green tea.

Education

Niyodogawa has three public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

The town does not have any passenger railway service. The nearest train station is Nishi-Sakawa Station on the

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four Prefectures of Japan, prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Jap ...

Dosan Line The is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa, Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Kagawa, and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kōchi (town), Shimanto, Kōchi ...

Highways

* * *

Local attractions

The most popular festival held in Niyodogawa is the Akiba Matsuri, held annually on February 11. A day long procession up a hillside to the Akiba Jinja, it features elaborate costumes, a highly choreographed march and focuses on the tossing of long wooden poles topped with the tail feathers of ''

Onagadori The Onagadori (, "long-tailed chicken") is a historic Japanese breed of chicken, characterised by an exceptionally long tail. It was bred in the seventeenth century in Kōchi Prefecture, on Shikoku island in southern Japan, and was designated a ...

'', the famous long tailed roosters of

. Often designated as one of the three major festivals in the Kōchi festival calendar, it is the one occasion where many former residents of the town return to participate, particularly important for a small town ravaged by depopulation. Niyodogawa has two popular nature spots, Nakatsu Gorge and Yasui Valley. Nakatsu Gorge has a walking path to Uryu Falls. It has more dramatic views of the rock walls that make up the gorge. It has also become a spot for canyoning. There is a public hot bath at a small hotel called Yunomori. Yasui Valley has more waterfalls to explore. It also has some cottages to rent. Tourists come to Yasui Valley to see "Niyodo Blue," an iridescent blue color that is best observed when the sun hits the river at a low angle. Another spot to see "Niyodo Blue" is at Nikobuchi Falls in neighboring Ino Town.

References

External links

*
Niyodogawa official website
Towns in Kōchi Prefecture {{Kochi-geo-stub