is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

located in the western portion of

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. , the town 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 usi ...

of 16,563, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

of 590 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Hinode is located in the foothills of the Okutama Mountains of western Tokyo. The highest point is Mount Hinode at 902 m. The Hirai and Ōguno Rivers drain the town.

Surrounding municipalities

* Ōme *

Akiruno 260px, Akigawa River in the autumn is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,177, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geograph ...

Climate

Hinode has a

Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hinode is 12.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2998 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hinode increased rapidly in the 1970s, but has remained relatively constant for the past 40 years.

History

The area of present-day Hinode was part of ancient

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, ...

. In the post-

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 ...

cadastral reform of July 22, 1878, the area became part of Nishitama District 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 ...

. The villages of Hirai and Ōguno were created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Nishitama District was transferred to the administrative control of Tokyo Metropolis on April 1, 1893. The village of Hinode was formed in 1955 by the merger of Hirai and Ōguno. Hinode was elevated to town status on June 1, 1974. Former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Yasuhiro Nakasone had a cottage, Hinode Sansō in Hinode. In 1983, while he was in office, Nakasone invited US president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

there, and held US-Japan summit in an informal atmosphere to establish friendly personal relations. After his resignation as prime minister, Nakasone also former South Korean president,

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...

, former Soviet general secretary

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...

and many other foreign VIPs, including several US ambassadors at the cottage. Nakasone donated the cottage to the town of Hinode in 2006, and it is now maintained as a public park.

Government

Hinode 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 ...

town council of 14 members. Hinode, collectively with the municipalities of Akiruno, Fussa, Hamura, Mizuho, Hinohara and Okutama, contributes two members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tokyo 25th district of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paral ...

Economy

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

production are important industries.

Cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' ...

and hinoki are economically important. Hinode produces 200,000

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for j ...

s annually, ranking first in Japan.

Education

Hinode has three public elementary schools (Hirai, Honjuku, and Ōguno) and two public junior high schools (Hirai and Ōguno), operated by the town government. * Hirai Junior High School (平井中学校) * Oguno Junior High School (大久野中学校) * Hirai Elementary School (平井小学校) * Honjuku Elementary School (本宿小学校) * Oguno Elementary School (大久野小学校) The town does not have a high school. Asia University has a subsidiary campus located in the town.

Transportation

Railway

*Hinode is directly not served by any passenger railway lines but is very close (500m) to the

Itsukaichi Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Tokyo, Japan. It links Musashi-Itsukaichi Station in the city of Akiruno with Haijima Station in the city of Akishima. From there, some trains travel through to Tach ...

Akiruno, Tokyo 260px, Akigawa River in the autumn is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,177, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geograp ...

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is 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 ar ...

–

* –

Highways

* - Hinode Interchange

References

External links

*
Hinode Town Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Tokyo Western Tokyo Hinode, Tokyo