is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located in Aomori,

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 village 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 1,732 in 877 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 13 persons per square kilometre. Its total area is . In 2016, Sai was selected as one of The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan.

Geography

Sai occupies the western coastline of Shimokita Peninsula, facing the inlet to Mutsu Bay from the Tsugaru Strait. Much of the village is within the limits of the Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park. The mountainous area is home to many indigenous plant and animal species. Wildlife includes Japanese macaque monkeys, '' kamoshika,'' '' tanuki'' and Asian black bears. Most of the population resides in coastal hamlets. Approximately 90% of the village area is forested; of which 90% is national forest.

Neighbouring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture * Ōma * Mutsu

Climate

The village has a cold

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

characterized by cool short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall and strong winds (

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 ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Sai is 8.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1258 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sai has declined over the past 60 years and is now much less than it was a century ago.

History

The area around Sai was inhabited by the '' Emishi'' people until the historical period. 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 ...

, it was controlled by the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain and prospered due to its timber industry and as a ferry terminal to Ezo. During the post-

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 ...

establishment of the modern municipalities system on 1 April 1889, Sai Village was proclaimed from the merger of Sai hamlet with neighboring Chōgō hamlet.

Government

Sai 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 ...

village council of eight members. Sai is part of Shimokita District which, together with the city of Mutsu, contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aomori 1st 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

The economy of Sai is heavily dependent on forestry and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

. Approximately 90% of the village area is covered by mountains and forest, of which approximately 90% is national forest. Some of the locally caught seafood include sea urchin roe, sea pineapple,

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

, scallops,

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...

, '' konbu'' and

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

. Seasonal tourism is also an important contributor to the local economy.

Education

Sai has one public elementary school, one public middle school and two combined public elementary/middle schools operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

The village has no passenger railway service. The nearest train station is Shimokita Station on the

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 ...

Ōminato Line.

Highway

Local attractions

* Hotokegaura, a series of naturally-carved cliff rock formations, a National Site of Scenic Beauty * Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park *Tsugaru Straits Cultural Museum Arusas *Yanonemori Hachiman-gu

Local events

* February, Fukuura hamlet stages a ''

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

'' show featuring northern styles of ''kabuki''. * June: sea urchin roe festival * July: Hotokegaura festival * August: Sai Summer Festival and fireworks * September, Yanonemori Hachiman-gu Matsuri with floats pulled by the locals, during which '' Kagura'' is performed and

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

bless the village houses * November, Sai Culture Festival, during which different variations of festival songs and ''kagura'' are performed at the community centre. * December: Winter illumination

Noted people from Sai

* Gōtarō Mikami, physician and Japanese Red Cross supporter during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

References

External links

Official Website

Sai Tourism Website
{{Authority control Villages in Aomori Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan