270px, Mogami River in Shirataka 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

Yamagata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...

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 13,482 in 4730 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 85 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Shirataka is located in southern Yamagata Prefecture, with the

Mogami River The is a river in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Description and history The river is 224 km long and has a watershed of 7,040 km2. It is regarded as one of the three most rapid rivers of Japan (along with the Fuji River and the Kuma R ...

running through the center of town. The Asahi Mountains border the town to the east and west.

Neighboring municipalities

*Yamagata Prefecture **

Asahi Asahi (Japanese 朝日, 旭, or あさひ 'morning sun') may refer to: Places in Japan Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi ...

** Nagai ** Nan'yō ** Yamanobe

Climate

Shirataka has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

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 ...

''Dfa'') with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Shirataka population statistics
/ref> the population of Shirataka has declined over the past 60 years.

History

The area of present-day Shirataka was part of ancient

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

. After the start of the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, the area became part of Nishiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture. The village of Shirataka was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was elevated to town status on October 1, 1954 by merger with the neighboring town of Arata and villages of Higashine, Ayukai, Jūō, and Koguwa.

Economy

The economy of Shirataka is based on agriculture, with

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

as a major cash crop.

Education

Shirataka has four public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the city government and one public high school operated by the Yamagata Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

Yamagata Railway Company The is a Japanese railway line in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It connects Akayu Station in Nanyō to Arato Station in Shirataka. The Flower Nagai Line is the only line operated by , a third-sector railway company which took over the former ...

Flower Nagai Line The is a Japanese railway line in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It connects Akayu Station in Nanyō to Arato Station in Shirataka. The Flower Nagai Line is the only line operated by , a third-sector railway company which took over the former ...

* - - -

Highway

* *

Local attractions

*Kannon-ji Kannon-do (Important Cultural Property)

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Yamagata Prefecture