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 Akita Prefecture, 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 30.715, 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 43 persons per km² in 12.970 households. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Kazuno is located in a valley in the mountains of far northeastern Akita Prefecture, with the

Ōu Mountains The are a mountain range in the Tōhoku region of Honshū, Japan. The range is the longest range in Japan and stretches south from the Natsudomari Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture to the Nasu volcanoes at the northern boundary of the Kantō ...

and Iwate Prefecture on the east. Much of the city is within the borders of the

Towada-Hachimantai National Park is a national park comprising two separate areas of Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, Iwate Prefecture, Iwate, and Akita Prefecture, Akita Prefectures of Japan, Prefectures, Japan. The Towada-Hakkōda area encompasses Lake Towada, Hakkōda Mountains, ...

. Much of the city area is covered in forest. Due to its inland location, the city is noted for its heavy snowfall in winter. It is also known for the wild deer.

Neighboring municipalities

* Akita Prefecture **

Kitaakita is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 31,504 in 14,021 households, and a population density of 27 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kitaakita is located in the mountain ...

Ōdate is a city in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 71,558 in 31,634 households, and a population density of 82 persons per km2 (212 persons per square mile). The total area of the city is . Geography Ōdate is loca ...

** Semboku ** Kosaka * Iwate Prefecture ** Hachimantai * Aomori Prefecture ** Towada **

Takko is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 5,353, and a population density of 22 persons per km2, in 2,142 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Takko occupies the far southeast corn ...

Sannohe is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,814 in 4260 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Sannohe occupies an inland area in sout ...

** Shingō

Climate

Kazuno 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 freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfa'') with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters with heavy snowfalls. The average annual temperature in Kazuno is . The average annual rainfall is with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

History

The area of present-day Kazuno was settled in prehistoric times, and contains major Jōmon period archaeological sites and numerous

burial mounds A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

from the Kofun period. The area was part of ancient Mutsu Province and was ruled by the

Nambu clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji of Kai Pr ...

Morioka Domain 300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, ...

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 start of the

Meiji period The is 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 colonization ...

, the area became briefly part of

Rikuchū Province was an old province in the area of Iwate and Akita Prefectures. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Rikuchū''" in . It was sometimes called , with Rikuzen and Mutsu Provinces. Rikuchu covered most of modern-day Iwate Prefecture: with th ...

before being transferred to Akita Prefecture in 1871. It was organized as part of Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture in 1878 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The city of Kazuno was founded on April 1, 1972 by the merger of the towns of Hanawa, Towada, and Osarizawa and the village of Hachimantai.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kazuno has declined over the past 60 years.

Government

Kazuno 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 legislature of 18 members. The city contributes two members to the Akita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Akita District 2 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The economy of Kazuno is based on agriculture, forestry and seasonal tourism.

Education

Kazuno has nine public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Akita Prefectural Board of Education. Akita Prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company -

Hanawa Line The is a railway line in Japan linking Kōma Station in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture and Ōdate Station in Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The line extends 106.9 km (66.4 mi) with a total of 27 stations. Also known as the , the Hanawa Lin ...

* - - - - - - -

Highway

* * * * * * *

Local attractions

* Chagama Falls – one of the Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls *

Ōyu Stone Circles The is a late Jōmon period (approx. 2,000 – 1,500 BC) archaeological site in the city of Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The remains were designated a Special National Historic Site of Japan in 1956 by t ...

- Jōmon period archaeological site, Special National Historic Site of Japan * former Osarizawa Mine * Hachimantai Onsen * Ōyu Onsen * Yuza Onsen *

Dainichido Bugaku ''Dainichido Bugaku'' ( ja, links=no, 大日堂舞楽, meaning: Vairocana Temple Dance and Entertainment) is a yearly set of nine sacred ritual dances and music, named for the imperial palace ensemble performances, "''bugaku''", and from the pala ...

- Ritual dance and music held on January 2,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Intangible cultural heritage * Alpas Sports Park

International relations

Kazuno is twinned with: *

Sopron Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...

, Hungary (1995) * Liangzhou, China since November 6, 2000

Noted people from Kazuno

Junko Asari is a retired Japanese marathon runner. She won the gold medal at the 1993 World Championships in a time of 2:30:03 hours. In addition she won the Tokyo International Women's Marathon in 1995 and 1998 and the Osaka Ladies Marathon in 1993. ...

, Olympic marathon runner *

Kenichi Takahashi is a male long-distance runner from Japan. Born in Kazuno, Akita, he set his personal best (2:10:51) in the men's marathon event on February 18, 2001, winning the Tokyo International Marathon The Tokyo International Marathon was a marathon fo ...

, Olympic long-distance runner *

Takayuki Matsumiya Takayuki Matsumiya ( ja, 松宮隆行; born 21 February 1980 in Akita) is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in marathon races. He holds the Asian record and Japanese record over 25 km and 30 km. He has a twin brother, Yuk ...

, Olympic long-distance runner *

Yasuhiko Okudera is a Japanese former football player and manager. He is the president of J2 League club Yokohama FC and was formerly the president of English club Plymouth Argyle. Okudera was the first Japanese footballer to play professionally in Europe, as we ...

, professional soccer player * Yuta Kimura, professional baseball player *

Naitō Torajirō , commonly known as , was a Japanese historian and Sinologist. He was the founder of the Kyoto School of historiography, and along with Shiratori Kurakichi (the founder of the Tokyo School), was one of the leading Japanese historians of East A ...

, historian * Tomoefuji Toshihide, sumo wrestler

Media

* Kazuno Kiritanpo FM

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Akita Prefecture