is a rural

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

located in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

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 ...

. As of July 2012, the district has 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 38,332 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 . The total area is . The district's administrative centre is the city hall at Mishima City.

Towns and villages

Tagata District currently is composed of one town. The city of Atami and parts of the cities of Mishima, Izunokuni and Itō were formerly part of the district. * Kannami

History

Tagata District was one of the original districts of

Izu Province was a province of Japan in the area of Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Izu''" in . Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The mainland portion of Izu Province, comprising th ...

, having been separated from

Suruga Province was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and was bordered by the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay to the south. Its abbrev ...

in the

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...

reform of 680 AD, and covered most of central

Izu Peninsula The is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The penins ...

. Modern Tagata District was established in the July 22, 1878 cadastral reforms initiated by the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

with one town ( Nirayama) and 61 villages. In a round of consolidation on April 1, 1889, this was reduced to seven villages, with Nirayama reduced to village status. However, on April 4, 1896, the area of the district was greatly expanded by portions of the former Kimisawa District and Kamo District, to have two towns (Mishima and Atami) and 27 villages. Itō was raised to town status on January 1, 1906. In 1924, Ajiro and Shuzenji were also raised to town status, followed by Izunagaoka in 1936. Atami was elevated to city status on April 10, 1937. The village of Toi was elevated to town status on April 1, 1938, followed by Ōhito on December 10, 1940. Mishima was elevated to city status on April 29, 1941, and Itō on August 10, 1947. On September 30, 1956, Shimokarino Village was merged into Shuzenji Town and Seizu Village merged into Toi Town. On April 1, 1957, Ajiro Town was merged into Atami City. On January 1, 1958 the villages of Shimoomi, Nakaomi, and Kamiomi merged to form the town of Nakaizu, with parts of Kitakarino Village merging separately with Shuzenji Town and Ōhito Town on April 10, 1959. On November 1, 1960, the villages of Nakakarino and Kamikarino merged to form the town of Amagiyugashima. Nirayama Village was elevated back to town status on April 1, 1962. Kannami Village was elevated to town status on April 1, 1963. On April 1, 2004, the towns of Shuzenji, Amagiyugashima, Nakaizu, and Toi merged to form the city of Izu. This was followed by the merger of the towns of Nirayama, Izunagaoka, and Ōhito to form the city of Izunokuni on April 1, 2005. The village of Heda merged into Numazu City on the same day. {{authority control Districts in Shizuoka Prefecture