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

Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...

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 16,910, in 9,177 households. The

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 ...

was 88 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Owase is located in southeastern

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan and is located within the Kansai region. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. The peninsula has long been a sacred place in Buddhism, Shinto, and Shugendo, and many people wou ...

, in southern Mie Prefecture, facing the Gulf of Kumano the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Ninety percent of the city area is forested or coastal rias. Sandwiched between mountains and the offshore

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black Current or is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

, the area has very heavy rainfall from spring through autumn. More than 80% of the population is concentrated in former Osawe town, on the coast.

Climate

Owase 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 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''). It has comfortable spring and autumn seasons, and warm winters with practically no snow. The warm

makes its closest contact with the Japanese coast at Owase. Combined with the high mountains falling almost to the sea, this gives Owase an extremely heavy annual rainfall of , which is the highest in the world at low altitudes in subtropical and warm temperate latitudes. Only certain parts of southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, coastal

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

coast have as much rain at low elevations outside the tropics.

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

s often pass Owase in summer. Despite the excessive wetness of the climate, summers are no more uncomfortable or humid than in the rest of southern Japan. Humidity is marginally lower than in the cities close to the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

or on the southern

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

Demographics

The population of Owase has decreased steadily over the past 50 years.Owase population statistics
/ref>

History

The area of present-day Owase was part of ancient

Shima Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan which consisted of a peninsula in the southeastern part of modern Mie Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Shima''" in . Its abbreviated name was . Shima bordered on Ise ...

. It was transferred to

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

in 1582. During this time, large-scale forestry projects were begun. 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 ...

, the area became part of Mie Prefecture. The town of Owase was established in April 1889, within Kitamuro District of Mie Prefecture, with the creation of the modern municipalities system. The city of Owase was established in June 1954, by the merger of the town of Owase with the surrounding villages of Sugari and Kuki and the villages of Kitawauchi and Minamiwauchi, both from Minamimuro District.

Government

Owase 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 council of 10 members. Owase, collectively with the towns of Kihoku, contributes two members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Mie 4th 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

Owase is mainly supported by its commercial fishery and forestry industries. Yellowtail,

amberjack Amberjacks are Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific fish in the genus ''Seriola'' of the family Carangidae. They are widely consumed across the world in various cultures, most notably for Pacific amberjacks in Japanese cuisine; they are most oft ...

Japanese horse mackerel The Japanese jack mackerel (''Trachurus japonicus''), also known as the Japanese horse mackerel or Japanese scad, is a species named after its resemblance to mackerel but which is in the Family (biology), family Carangidae, the jacks, pompanos, t ...

, sauries,

sea bream Sparidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Spariformes, the seabreams and porgies, although they were traditionally classified in the order Perciformes. The over 150 species are found in shallow and deep marine waters in te ...

and

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

are among the fish landed at Owase.

Japanese cypress ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and ornamental qua ...

and

cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L.f.). It is considered to be endemic to Japan, ...

trees are found in abundance here in the mountains.

Education

Owase has five public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the city government. One public high school is operated by the Mie Prefectural Department of Education. The prefecture operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR Tōkai –

Kisei Main Line The is a railway line that parallels the coastline of the Kii Peninsula in Japan between Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. The name takes the ''kanji'' characters from the names of the old provinces of and . The line is operated by Cen ...

* - - - -

Highway

* 24px, link=, alt=E42 Kisei Expressway * * *

Port

*Owase Port

Festivals and events

* – farmers market held the first Saturday morning of every month, featuring stalls selling Owase's local produce such as fresh seafood, dried fish, sea salt, jam etc. along with special performances by the locals. * – the largest festival in Owase, held annually on 1–5 February. In the evenings of 2-4 February, men parade around the streets, jostling each other and chanting "Ya Ya" while drinking

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 ...

before the "chosen" ones dive into the sea to purify themselves. The festival ends off with a day-long street parade on the 5th featuring dance performances and an archery contest at Owase Jinja. * – a summer festival held on the first Saturday in August with a fireworks display. * – held on 15 September annually, beginning with a day-long parade culminating at the local Hachiman Jinja

Sister cities

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...

, Canada, since September 26, 1968 *

Jinzhou District Jinzhou District () is one of the seven districts of Dalian, Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. It is located about northeast of the city centre and faces the Bohai Sea to the west as well as the Korea Bay to the east and has a long ...

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

, China, since July 8, 2007

Notable people

* Hideo Fukuyama, professional race car driver

References

External links

*
Owase sightseeing page
* {{Authority control Cities in Mie Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Owase, Mie