was a

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

located in Higashikamo District, central Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of March 1, 2005, 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 using ...

of 9,699 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 50.25 persons per km². Its total area was 193.00 km². The Kōrankei Gorge in Asuke, home to about 4,000

Japanese maple ''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russi ...

trees, is one of Aichi Prefecture's best-known spots for viewing the brilliant colors of autumn. Asuke Village was created on October 1, 1889. It was elevated to town status on December 17, 1890. The town area was expanded on April 1, 1955, by the annexation of the neighboring villages of Morioka, Kamo, and Azuri. On April 1, 2005, Asuke, along with the town of Fujioka, and village of Obara (both from Nishikamo District), the towns of Asahi and

Inabu was a town located in Higashikamo District, in the mountainous section of north-central Aichi Prefecture, Japan, bordering Gifu Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture. As of the 2005 census the town had a population of 2,928. Its total area was 98 ...

, and the village of Shimoyama (all from Higashikamo District), was merged into the expanded city of

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, and has ceased to exist as an independent

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

See also