260px, Daiyuzan Saijoji Temple is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 40,947 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

of 530 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Minamiashigara is located in the mountainous west of Kanagawa Prefecture, with most of the city located within either the

Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in the Kantō region of Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN. The park includes the Tanzawa Mountains, Miyagase Dam and its surrounding forests, Hayato Great Falls, and th ...

or the

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park covers . Rat ...

Surrounding Municipalities

Kanagawa Prefecture *

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

* Kaeisei * Yamakita *

Hakone is a List of towns in Japan, town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many o ...

Shizuoka Prefecture * Oyama

Climate

Minamiashigara has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Minamiashigara is 13.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2221 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.2 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Minamiashigara population statistics
/ref> the population of Minamiashigara peaked around the year 2000 and is now slowly declining.

History

The area that is now known as Minamiashigara was under control of the

later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply Hōjō (北条) but in order to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan with the s ...

in the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, and part of

Odawara Domain 250px, Odawara Castle, Headquarters of the Odawara Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located primarily in western Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture). It was centered on Odawara Castle in what is now the city of Oda ...

during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

. 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 practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the establishment of the modern municipalities system created Minamiashigara, Fukusawa, Okamoto and Kitaashigara villages within Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa Prefecture. The development of the area was spurred by the opening of the Oyama Mountain Railway (present-day Izuhakone Railway Daiyūzan Line) on October 15, 1925. Minamiashigara was elevated in status to that of a town on April 1, 1940, and annexed neighboring Fukusawa, Okamoto and Kitaashigara villages in 1955. It was elevated to city status on April 1, 1972.

Government

Minamiashigara 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, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

city council of 16 members. Minamiashigara, collectively with the municipalities of Ashigarakami District, contributes one member to the Kanagawa Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kanagawa 17th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Minamiashigara is based on forestry and agriculture (primarily green tea and

mikan ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as miyagawa mandarin, unshu mikan, cold hardy mandarin, satsuma mandarin, satsuma orange, naartjie, and tangerine. ''Citrus unshiu'' was named after Unshu (Wenzho ...

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from the ...

and Asahi Breweries have factories in Minamiashigara to make use of its abundant fresh water.

Education

Minamiashigara has six public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has one public high school operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education..

Transportation

Railway

20px Izuhakone Railway - Daiyūzan Line * - - - - -

Bus

*Hakone Tozan Bus **(

Shin-Matsuda Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Matsuda, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. Matsuda Station on the Gotemba Line operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) is locate ...

) - Sekimoto ( Daiyūzan Station) - Jizodo

Highway

Minamiashigara is not located on any national highway. Kanagawa Prefectural Route 74 provided the primary connection with neighboring

and Kanagawa Prefectural Route 78 with the Ōi-Matsuda Interchange on the

Tōmei Expressway The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is designated as E1 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it parallels ...

Sister city relations

* -

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, since June 4, 1989.

Local attractions

*Saijoji Temple, one of many temples and shrines located in an old growth cedar forest. *Maruta no Mori, a park with hiking trails and camp grounds. *Niju Isseki no Mori (21st Century Forest), a park with hiking trails *Yuhi no Taki, a waterfall * Ashigara Pass

Noted people from Minamiashigara

Rina Uchiyama is a Japanese actress and Japanese idol, idol. Career Uchiyama was first discovered in her hometown in Kanagawa Prefecture by the talent agency Sweet Power at the age of 15. She was signed up by the agency, and in 1998, moved to Tokyo to launch ...

, actress

References

External links

Official Website

The Minamiashigaran
{{Authority control Cities in Kanagawa Prefecture