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

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...

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 28,538 in 13964 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 65 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Saito is the 5th largest city in the Miyazaki prefecture. 70% of the city is mountainous, and the Hitotsuse River cuts through the city from northwest to southeast. Many other smaller streams cut through the valleys in Saito. Much of the city is covered by mountains and forest (approximately 80%). *Mountains: , *Rivers: , *Lakes and Marshes: , *Dams:

Neighboring municipalities

* Kijo * Kunitomi * Nango * Sadowara * Shiiba * Shintomi * Takanabe

Climate

Saito 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'') with hot, humid summers and cool winters. The average annual temperature in Saito is . The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Saito was on 31 July 2013; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 27 February 1981.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Saito in 2020 is 28,610 people. Saito has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

The area of Saito was part of ancient

Hyūga Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to modern Miyazaki Prefecture Hyūga bordered on Ōsumi to the south, Higo to the west, and Bungo to the north. Its abbreviated form name was , although it was als ...

. Per the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and the ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'',

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

's grandson Ninigi descended from the heavens to Mount Takachiho, and resided in what is now Saito. The area was densely populated in the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

and has the largest accumulation of ancient

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s in Japan. During the Asuka and

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

s, the Hyūga Provincial Capital and Hyūga Kokubun-ji were located in what is now the center of Saito City. During the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

the Ito clan ruled the area from their stronghold at Tonokōri Castle in the southern part of the city. 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 largely divided between the holdings of Takanabe Domain and Sadowara Domain. 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 area was organized into villages within Koyu District, Miyazaki on May 1, 1889, with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Translated from the Saito Homepage

Government

Saito 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 18 members. Saito and the village of Nishimera collectively contribute one member to the Miyazaki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Miyazaki 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

The city's economy is centered on agriculture. The agricultural products of Saito include green peppers, cucumbers and sweet corn.

Education

Saito has eight public elementary schools, and six public junior high schools operated by the city government, and one five public high school operated by the Miyazaki Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railways

Saito does not have any passenger railway service since the discontinuation of the JNR Tsuma Line on December 1, 1984. The nearest stations are Sadowara Station Hyūga-Shintomi Station, and Takanabe Station, all of which are on the

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Nippō Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Also known as the Fukuhoku Nippo Line, The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, K ...

, and all of which are approximately 30 minutes by car from the city center.

Highways

Higashikyushu Expressway *

Local attractions

* Saitobaru Kofun Cluster, Special National Historic Site,comprising 311 burial mounds which lay on a plateau roughly 4 by 2 km in size, making it one of the largest collections of

burial mounds A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

in Japan. It was designated a Special Historic site by the Japanese government in 1952. * Tonokōri Castle - A castle ruin, Home castle of Itō clan

Festivals and traditions

*Saito City Flower Festival, March 31 - April 8 *Kofun Matsuri, August 27–29

Notable natives

* Toshiro Konishi,

Japanese Peruvian Japanese Peruvians ( or ''nipo-peruano''; , ''Nikkei Perūjin'') are Peruvian citizens of Japanese origin or ancestry. Peru has the second largest ethnic Japanese population in South America after Brazil. This community has made a significan ...

chef, musician and television personality

Sister cities

Luodong Luodong Township (), sometimes spelled Lotung or Lotong, is an Township (Taiwan), urban township in the central part of Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County, Taiwan. Luodong is the smallest township in the county by area. Toponym Its name and forme ...

, Yilan County, Taiwan

References

External links

Saito City official website
(archived)

of places and events in Saito (archived)

* {{Authority control Cities in Miyazaki Prefecture Saito, Miyazaki