270px, Sera Winery 270px, Sera town panorama 270px, Fields in Sera 270px, Ryuge-ji temple in Sera 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 Sera District, Hiroshima Prefecture,

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 15,070 in 6809 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 63 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Sera is located in east-central Hiroshima Prefecture.

Adjoining municipalities

Hiroshima Prefecture * Fuchū *

Higashihiroshima 270px, Sake Brewers in Saijō 270px, Panorama from Saijō Station 270px, Aerial view of Saijō area of Higashihiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,186 in 90,294 households a ...

* Mihara * Miyoshi *

Onomichi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 129,314 in 64055 households and a population density of 450 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Onomichi is loca ...

Climate

Sera 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'') characterized by cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. The average annual temperature in Sera is . The average annual rainfall is with July 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 Sera was on 7 August 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 31 January 1985.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sera in 2020 is 15,125 people. Sera has been conducting censuses since 1960.

History

The area of Sera was part of an ancient

Bingo Province was a province of Japan on the Inland Sea side of western Honshū, comprising what is today the eastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture. It was sometimes grouped together with Bizen and Bitchu Provinces as . The 備 ''bi'' in the names of these ...

. For the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, Sera was an estate and market town centered on the temple of Ryuge-ji, which belonged to the

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

center of

Mount Koya Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

. The need to make shipments of rice to Mount Koya triggered the construction of a port in Onomichi. 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

Hiroshima Domain The was a large domain that owned all of Aki Province and half of Bingo Province. It occupies most of current Hiroshima Prefecture. The domain office was located at Hiroshima Castle in Sato District, Aki Province (renamed Numata District in 1 ...

and developed as a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

on the Iwami Ginzan Highway . 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

Sera District, Hiroshima is a Districts of Japan, district located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. As of 2020, the district has an estimated population of 15,125 and a population density, density of 54.38 persons per km2. The total area is 278.1 km2. Towns and vill ...

with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The villages of Omi, Nishi-Ota, and Higashi-Ota merged to become the town of Sera on January 10, 1955. On October 1, 2004, the towns of Kōzan and Seranishi, both from Sera District, were merged into the expanded town of Sera. After the merger, the former Sera Town Hall officially closed down and the new town hall is now located in the former town of Kōzan.

Government

Sera 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 12 members. Sera, together with the city of Mihara contributes three members to the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Hiroshima 6th 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 Sera is largely agricultural, with

matsutake , ''Tricholoma matsutake'', is a species of choice edible mycorrhizal mushroom that grows in Eurasia and North America. It is prized in Japanese cuisine for its distinct odor. Etymology The common name and specific epithet, ''matsutake'', i ...

mushrooms, pears, tomatoes, and rice as major crops. Although it has a population of less than 20,000, it is also a transportation hub, so it is the center of commerce in the central Bingo region with large supermarkets, home appliance mass retailers, and home centers. In addition, the highlands in the town are relatively cool in the summer, and are attracting attention as a summer resort because of its convenient transportation.

Education

Sera has four public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

(JR West) -

Fukuen Line The is a railway line in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Fukuyama Station in Fukuyama to Miyoshi Station in Miyoshi. Stations Former connecting lines * Sankō Line The ...

Highways

Onomichi Expressway * *

Noted people from Sera

* Kotaka Otsuma, pioneer women's educator

References

External links

*
Sera official website
{{Hiroshima Towns in Hiroshima Prefecture Sera, Hiroshima