280px, Soni Plateau 280px, Soni Village 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 Uda District,

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

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 1,272 in 639 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 27 persons per km². The total area of the village is . The village has been designated one of

The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan is a Japanese nonprofit organization of listing some of the most beautiful villages and towns in Japan. The association is active on enhancement and protection of Japanese rural heritage, cultural fairs, and branding and promotion of regional, ...

The Most Beautiful Villages in the World The Most Beautiful Villages in the World is a non-profit private international organization that brings together various territorial associations promoting small inhabited centers of particular historical and landscape interest. Characteristics ...

association.

Geography

Soni is located in the mountains of far eastern Nara Prefecture, sitting right next to the border with

Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...

, The settlements are found mainly on the valley floor plains and gentle mountain slopes along the north-flowing Shorenji River.

Neighboring municipalities

* Uda * Mitsue * Higashiyoshino

* Tsu * Nabari

Climate

Soni 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 ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Soni is 12.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1893 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.7 °C. Soni climate: Average Temperature, weather by month
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Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Soni is as shown below:

History

The area of Soni is part of ancient

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

. It appears in

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 ...

texts such as 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 "Sonui" 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 ...

'' as "Soiyama", and the ''

Wamyō Ruijushō The is a 938 CE Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters. Heian period scholar Minamoto no Shitagō (源順, 911–983 CE) began compilation in 934, at the request of Emperor Daigo's daughter. The title is abbreviated as , and is also spelle ...

'' as "Uda-gun Nuribe-go." It was noted for its

Japanese lacquerware is a Japanese craft with a wide range of fine and decorative arts, as lacquer has been used in ''urushi-e'', woodblock printing in Japan, prints, and on a wide variety of objects from Buddhist art, Buddha statues to ''bento'' boxes for food. ...

production. In modern times, most of the native ''urushi'' trees have been cut down and replaced by ''

Cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L.f.). It is considered to be endemic to Japan, ...

'' and ''hinoki'' cypress trees, but attempts are being made by volunteers to revive the lacquer production. The village of Soni was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

Government

Soni 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. Soni, collectively with the other municipalities of Uda District contributes one member to the Nara Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the

Nara 3rd district Nara 3rd district (奈良県第3区, ''Nara-ken dai-sanku'' or simply 奈良3区, ''Nara-sanku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan located in Nara Prefecture. LDP candidate Taido Tanos ...

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 main economic activity of Soni is agriculture. The area is noted for its

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

Education

Soni has one combined elementary/middle school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railways

Soni has no passenger railway service. The nearest train station is Haibara Station or

Nabari Station is a passenger railway station in located in the city of Nabari, Mie Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway. Lines Nabari Station is served by the Osaka Line, and is located 67.2 rail kilometers from th ...

on the

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as and officially Kinki-Nippon Railway, is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railw ...

Osaka Line The is a railway line in Japan owned by Kintetsu Railway, connecting Osaka and Mie Prefecture via Nara Prefecture. The line is the longest double-tracked railway of non-JR operators. Together with the Nagoya Line, this line forms the route for ...

Highways

Local attractions

* Byōbu-iwa * Koochi Valley * Soni Plateau * Soni Plateau Hot Springs * Ise Hon Kaidō, National Historic Site

References

External links

*
Soni village Official Site
* Villages in Nara Prefecture {{Nara-geo-stub