Jōmon period ''Dogū'' statue found in Tsugaru">Dogū.html" ;"title="Jōmon period ''Dogū">Jōmon period ''Dogū'' statue found in Tsugaru file:Takayama Inari Shrine.JPG">250px, Takayama Inari Shrine 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

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

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 30,128 in 13487 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 120 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city's name is atypical for a Japanese place, in that it is written in ''

hiragana is a Japanese language, Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' means "common" or "plain" kana (originally also "easy", ...

'' rather than ''

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

'' (see '' hiragana cities'').

Geography

Tsugaru is located on the west coast of Tsugaru Peninsula, facing the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

. The Iwaki River flows through the city. Parts of the city are within the borders of Tsugaru Quasi-National Park.

Neighbouring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture * Ajigasawa *

Goshogawara file:Goshogawara city center area Aerial photograph.1975.jpg, Aerial View of Goshogawara city center is a Cities of Japan, city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 51,578 in 25,615 households, and a popul ...

Hirosaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,639 in 71,044 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a jōkamachi, ca ...

* Nakadomari * Tsuruta

Climate

The city has a cold

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 Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tsugaru is 10.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1298 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.9 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tsugaru has decreased steadily over the past 60 years.

History

The area of Tsugaru was part of the holdings of the

Tsugaru clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, ...

Hirosaki Domain file:Hirosakijo.jpg, Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a ''tozama'' Han (Japan), feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Muts ...

in 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 ...

. 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 organised into Nishitsugaru District, Aomori. With the post-

establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the area became part of Nishitsugaru District, Aomori on April 1, 1889. The village of Kizukuri was raised to town status on May 1, 1901. Kizuki expanded by merging with the neighboring villages of Koshimizu, Shibata, Kawayoke, Shussei, Tateoka and part of Narusawa on March 30, 1955. The city of Tsugaru was established on February 11, 2005, from the merger of the town of Kizukuri, and the villages of Inagaki, Kashiwa, Morita and Shariki (all from Nishitsugaru District).

Government

Tsugaru 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 legislature of 20 members. Tsugaru contributes one member to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aomori 3rd 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 Tsugaru is heavily dependent on agriculture and

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

. The city serves as a minor regional commercial center. Agricultural produce includes rice, apples, melons, watermelons, and Brasenia.

Education

Tsugaru has seven public elementary schools and five public junior high schools which is operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transport

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East) - Gonō Line * - - -

Highway

* Tsugaru Expressway *

Local attractions

* Kamegaoka Stone Age Site, a National Historic Site * Lake Jūsan * Tagoyano Shell Mound, a National Historic Site * Takayama Inari Shrine

Sister cities

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bath is included in the Brunswick, Maine, Brunswick Micropolitan statistical area, micropolitan area. Bath has a 2024 population of 8,870. It is also the county seat of Sagadahoc County ...

, United States – friendship city since 2006 *

Kashiwa, Chiba is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 435,578 in 199,926 households and a population density of 3800 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The name of the city is w ...

, Japan – since 1994 *

Shiraoi, Hokkaido is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Iburi Subprefecture, Iburi, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the town had a population of 17,759. It was established in 1867 by the feudal lords of Sendai Domain, Sendai. Most of the area of the ...

, Japan – since 2005

Noted people from Tsugaru

Nitta Hachirō (October 14, 1908 – July 3, 1989) was a Japanese singer of ''ryūkōka'', ''gunka'', and opera. Biography Nitta was born in the village of Shussei (today part of Tsugaru), Nishitsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture in 1908. His father, an ele ...

, singer of popular and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

Rio Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, model and singer. She has had a prolific career in television drama series since the mid-1990s and since 2003 has also been in several films. She was formerly known as Megumi Matsumoto (松本恵). Acting career Televis ...

, actress *Shunkichi Takeuchi, politician, former Aomori governor *Gento Uehara, songwriter *Kenroku Uehara, songwriter The town has produced many top

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestlers over the years. Among them are: * Wakanohana Kanji I,

yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...

* Asahifuji Seiya, yokozuna * Wakanosato Shinobu, sekiwake *

Takanosato Toshihide , real name , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Namioka, Aomori. He was the sport's 59th ''yokozuna'' from 1983 to 1986 and won four top division tournament championships. After retirement he established Naruto stable which he ran f ...

, yokozuna

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Aomori Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan 2005 establishments in Japan