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 southern

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama 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 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 36,499 in 15,934 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 290 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Setouchi is located in southeastern Okayama Prefecture(called the Tobi region) to the east of the prefectural capital of Okayama city. It faces 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 ...

to the south, and the coastline is intricate and forms part of the

Setonaikai National Park is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering Prefectures of Japan, prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, know ...

. Inhabited islands such as Nagashima and the Ushimado Islands and within the city limits.The western part forms part of the Okayama Plain across the Yoshii River and is called the Sencho Plain. Most of the area is mountain forest at an elevation of 100 to 300 meters.

Adjoining municipalities

* Bizen *

Higashi-ku, Okayama is one of four wards of Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The ward has an area of 160.28 km2 and a population of 96,718. The population density is 603 per km2. The name means "East Ward." The wards of Okayama were established when Oka ...

Climate

Setouchi 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''). The average annual temperature in Setouchi 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 Setouchi was on 30 July 2004; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 27 February 1981.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Setouchi in 2020 is 36,048 people. Setouchi has been conducting censuses since 1950.

History

The area Setouchi was part of ancient

Bizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is eastern Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of western Japan.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mimasaka no Kuni''" in . Bizen bordered Bitchū Province, ...

. Port Ushimado was a famous port till the early modern era. It served messengers from Korea to the Imperial Court and later to the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. The port is today a good spot for sightseeing and sailing. Osafune was famous for the production of ''

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

'' in the 12th century under the name of ''Bizen Osafune''. Fukuoka District, which flourished as a trade center and later a political center along the Seto Inland Sea until the beginning of 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 ...

, served by the Yoshii River and the Seto Inland Sea, is also included as a part of the city. The Fukuoka Market (''Fukuoka no Ichi'') was recorded in the scroll ''Ippen Shonin Emaki'', drawn in the 13th century. At the end of the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

a castle was built in Fukuoka. In the middle

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 ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' who governed Bizen province took this castle as their site, rebuilt and fortified it more than before. Because the Yoshii River changed its course and most of Fukuoka including the castle sank under the river, the castle was abandoned. 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

Okayama Domain 270px, Ikeda Akimasa 270px, Auditorium of the Shizutani School 270px, Kōraku-en was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Okayama Prefecture on the island of Honshu. It controlled all of B ...

. 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 was organized into villages, including the village of Oku within Oku District, Okayama on June 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. Oku was raised to town status on April 1, 1952 after merging with five neighboring villages. The city of Setouchi was founded on November 1, 2004, by the merger of Oku with the towns of Osafune and Ushimado (all from Oku District). Its city hall is the former town hall of Oku.

Government

Setouchi 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. Setouchi contributes one member to the Okayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Okayama 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

Setouchi has a mixed economy, based on agriculture, (rice, pumpkins, cabbage, mushrooms, olives), commercial fishing (

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

of oysters) and industry. Historically, the area was noted for its production of sea salt and production of

Japanese sword A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1,000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794–1185) to the ...

Education

Setouchi has nine public elementary schools and three public junior high schools, and one public high school operated by the Okayama 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) -

Akō Line is a railway line owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Aioi, Hyōgo to Okayama, Okayama in Japan. A loop line off the Sanyō Main Line, the Akō Line commences at Aioi, is situated south of the main line approximately parallel ...

* - -

Highways

* *

Sister cities

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(1982) * Horokanai, Hokkaidō,

(1989) *

Tsushima, Nagasaki is an island Cities of Japan, city grouped in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the only city of Tsushima Subprefecture and it encompasses all of Tsushima Island, which lies in the Tsushima Strait north of Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Nagasaki on the west ...

(1996)

Local attractions

* Bizen Osafune Japanese sword Museum * Honren-ji, National Historic Site *

Kadota Shell Mound 270px, A cross section of the shell mound is on display at Setouchi Civic Library Momiwa Square The is an archaeological site in the Oku neighborhood of the city of Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture, in the San'yō region of western Japan. It conta ...

, National Historic Site * Yumeji Art Museum

Noted people from Setouchi

Yōichi Amano is a Japanese manga artist from Setouchi in Okayama Prefecture. Works * ''Akaboshi: Ibun Suikoden'' - part of anthology ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' * ''Cross Beat'' * ''Live Alive'' * ''Over Time'' - part of anthology ''Weekly Shōnen Jump ...

, manga artist *

Yumeji Takehisa was a Japanese poet and painter. He is known foremost for his ''Nihonga'' illustrations of '' bijin'', beautiful women and girls, though he also produced a wide variety of works including book covers, serial newspaper illustrations, ''furoshiki ...

, artist

References

External links

Setouchi City official website
{{Authority control Cities in Okayama Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Setouchi, Okayama