was a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Kawanabe District,

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of 2003, the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 15,121 and the

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 118.74 persons per km². The total area was 127.35 km². On December 1, 2007, Kawanabe, along with the town of Ei (from Ibusuki District), and the town of Chiran (also from Kawanabe District), was merged to form the new city of

Minamikyūshū file:Minamikyusyu City Hall.jpg, 290px, Minamikyūshū City Hall file:Chiran Fumoto 01.JPG, 290px, Chiran Historical Preservation District file:Route226 ja Ei 01.JPG, 290px, Japan National Route 226 in Ei is a Cities of Japan, city in Kagoshim ...

Travel

Prefecture road 16 is in front of Kawanabe high school. It joins national highway 225. Highway 225 continues straight to Kagoshima city. It is about 53 km from Kawanabe.

Kawanabe High School

Kawanabe high school is located at the center of the city. It has about 350 students. Many of the students choose to enter university. One of the characteristics of this school is the spirit of "Jingaryo". "Jingaryo" is the name of the hill in the school. Many school events are named after this spirit. For example, at the school festival called "Jingaryo festival", students create exhibitions related to school history. Graduates are proud of this spirit well after they leave school. Each year of graduates plants a tree and plaque to commemorate their time at Kawanabe. In school there are some clubs and students are eager to do various activities. For example, there is a symphonic band in the school. It has about 40 members. It got gold prizes 13 times continuously in Kagoshima prefectural contest. In 2011, four percussion players got silver prize in an ensemble contest in Kagoshima.

Life

People in Kawanabe always separate garbage before they dump it, even what it is small. For example, they separate combustible garbage, incombustible garbage, plastic garbage, empty cans and empty bottles. So students in Kawanabe high school also separate garbage in their school days. Also in Kawanabe, the bricks used to make the sidewalk are made from the ash of burned garbage. Kawanabe is an environmentally friendly city.

Food

Sweet potatoes are famously grown in and around Kawanabe, as in the rest of the Satsuma Peninsula in

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

. There is a shop on Hirayama road in Kawanabe that makes sweet potato ice cream. Kurobuta (かごしま黒豚, lit. Kagoshima black pig) pork is also produced in Kawanabe.

Buddhism

In the middle of the Kamakura period, family Buddhist altars became popular. They are called 仏壇 (butsudan) in Japanese. Early in the nineteenth century, these Buddhist altars the industry of making these altars started and became popular later. Today, it has become the base of Kawanabe Buddhist altar industry. Now there are many shops which sell Kawanabe Buddhist altars in Kawanabe.

Festivals

Kawanabe Futsukaichi, a very famous festival in Kagoshima, has a history of about 230 years. On this day, many people visit. The main road in Kawanabe is closed to cars on festival days. Many street shops are opened during the festival. Buddhist altars are sold and there are many events.

Notable residents

* Nijiro Tokuda - Japan's oldest man from July 2005 until June 2006.

References

External links

Minamikyūshū official website
{{Authority control Dissolved municipalities of Kagoshima Prefecture Minamikyūshū