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. , 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 12,719 in 4926 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 61 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Yuza is located in the extreme northwest of Yamagata Prefecture, bordering on

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

to the north and 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 ...

on the west. It is situated at the northern end of the Shōnai Plain, with the Gekkō River running across the town.

Mount Chōkai is an active volcano located on the border of Akita and Yamagata in the Tōhoku region of Japan, and is tall. Because of its (roughly) symmetrical shape and massive size, it is also variously known as , or depending on the location of the vi ...

, which has the second highest elevation in the Tohoku region, is on the northern border. Sandy beaches stretch along the coastline in the southern part of the town, whereas the northern coastline is more rugged due to reefs formed by lava flows from Mt. Chōkai. Part of the town is within the borders of the Chōkai Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

Akita Prefecture * Nikaho *

Yurihonjō is a Cities of Japan, city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 72,550 in 30,750 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Yurihonjō is located in southwest ...

Yamagata Prefecture * Sakata

Climate

Nakayama 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 ...

''Cfa'') 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. The average annual temperature in Nakayama is 11.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1906 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Yuza peaked around the year 1950 and has been declining steadily since. It is now less than it was a century ago.

History

The area of present-day Yuza 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 ...

. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and the

Koyamazaki Site The is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a Jōmon period settlement located in what is now the Nanamagarihigashi, Fukiura neighborhood of the town of Yuza, Yamagata in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The site was designated a ...

containing the traces of a Jomon period settlement dating to more than 7500 years ago is a National Historic Site. During the late

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 ...

, the area was the location of Yuza-sō, a ''

shōen A was a field or Manorialism, manor in Japan. The Japanese language, Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese language, Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to th ...

'' landed estate, and during the

Nanboku-chō period The , also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336-1392 CE, during the formative years of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. Ideologically, the two courts fought for 50 ...

, Yuza clan were vassals of the

Hatakeyama clan The was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim to political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in batt ...

and served as ''

shugodai were officials during feudal Japan. Shugodai were representatives of provincial shugo when the shugo could not virtually exercise his power, being often away from his province. Unlike shugo, who were appointed from the central power of the sa ...

'' in a number of provinces. 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 ...

, the area became part of the domains of the

Sakai clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Nitta clan, Nitta branch of the Minamoto clan, who were in turn descendants of Emperor Seiwa. Serata (Nitta) Arichika, a samurai of the 14th century, was the common a ...

Shōnai Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tsuruoka Castle in what is now the city of Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture, and was t ...

. 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 Akumi District, Yamagata Prefecture. The village of Yuza was established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. It was elevated to town status on April 1, 1941. On August 1, 1954, it absorbed the neighboring villages of Inagawa, Nishi-Yuza, Warabioka, Fukura, and Takase. In 2003, it joined discussions with regards to a possible merger with the neighboring city of Sakata; however, the merger discussions were closed on October 6, 2004 with Yuza electing to remain independent.

Economy

The economy of Yuza is based 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 ...

Education

Yuza has one public elementary school, one public middle school operated by the town government and one public high school operated by the Yamagata Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

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 ...

Uetsu Main Line The is a railway line in the Tohoku and Chubu regions of Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) system, it connects Niitsu Station in the city of Niigata, Niigata, Niigata and Akita Station in Akita, Akita, Akita. The name "Uet ...

* - -

Highway

* – Yuza Interchange * *

Local attractions

* Chokaizan Omoimi Jinja * Jūroku Rakan Iwa *

, National Historic Site

International relations

Sister cities

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

, Hungary

Notes

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Yamagata Prefecture Yuza