is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located in

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

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 ...

. , the village 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 9,546 in 3,999 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

of 28 persons per km². The total area of the village is .

Geography

Tsumagoi is situated on the northwestern corner of

, touching

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

to the north, south, and west. Because of its elevated location and the ash deposits of

Mount Asama is an active complex volcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands above sea level on the border of Gunma prefecture ...

, Tsumagoi is well known for growing

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

s. Parts of the village are within the borders of then

Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of the main island of Honshū, Japan formed around several active and dormant volcanoes. It spans the mountainous areas of Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Nagano Prefecture, Nagano, and Niigata Prefecture, Niiga ...

. * Mountains:

(2568m), Mount Motoshirane (2171m),

Mount Kusatsu-Shirane is a active volcano, stratovolcano in Kusatsu, Gunma, Japan. It is called Kusatsu Shirane to differentiate it from the Mount Nikkō-Shirane on the other side of Gunma Prefecture. The summit of Kusatsu-Shirane volcano, located immediately north ...

(2160m), Mount Azumaya (2354m) * Rivers: Agatsuma River * Lakes: Lake Baragi, Lake Tashiro

Surrounding municipalities

* Kusatsu * Naganohara

* Karuizawa * Komoro * Miyota * Suzaka * Takayama * Tōmi * Ueda

Climate

Tsumagoi 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 cold ...

(Köppen ''Dfb'') characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, due to the high elevation. Winters are cold, with a January 24-hour average temperature of , while summers are warm and wet, with a July 24-hour average temperature of . The average annual rainfall is 1345 mm with September as the wettest month.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tsumagoi has recently decreased after several decades of relative stability. Tsumagoi has been recognized by Japan's Office for the Promotion of Regional Revitalization ( Kishida Cabinet Secretariat), which promotes the development of new technologies to combat depopulation, for meeting a "high standard" (高水準) of

digital transformation Digital transformation (DT) is the process of adoption and implementation of digital technology by an organization in order to create new or modify existing products, services and operations by the means of translating business processes into a d ...

telework Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of working at or from one's home or another space rather than from an office or workplace. The pract ...

infrastructure. Related projects have been awarded over ¥7.0M in government grants.

History

Numerous

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

remains have been found in Tsumagoi, although later

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

artifacts are almost non-existent, as the area is not suitable for rice cultivation. During the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the area around Tsumagoi was part of the

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...

-administered territory within

Kōzuke Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today Gunma Prefecture. Kōzuke bordered Echigo Province, Echigo, Shinano Province, Shinano, Musashi Province, Musashi and Shimotsuke Province, Shimotsuke Provinces. Its abb ...

. Kanbara area (鎌原村) was severely damaged by the Tenmei eruption of Mt. Asama in 1783 (477 people died). With the creation of the modern municipalities system after the

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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

on April 1, 1889, the village of Tsumagoi was created within Agatsuma District of Gunma Prefecture.

Government

Tsumagoi 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

village council of 12 members. Tsumagoi collectively with the other municipalities in Agatsuma District, contributes two members to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the village is part of Gunma 5th district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Tsumagoi cabbage field and Mount Asama The economy of Tsumagoi is primarily agricultural, with cabbage forming the most noted local crop. Seasonal tourism primarily in connection with its

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

hot spring resorts and ski resorts are also major contributors to the local economy.

Education

Tsumagoi has two public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Gunma Prefectural Board of Education.

Senior high schools

* Tsumagoi High School

Junior high schools

* Tsumagoi Junior High School

Elementary schools

* Higashi Elementary School * Nishi Elementary School

Transportation

Railway

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

– Agatsuma Line * - -

Highway

* * * *

Local attractions

The main draw of tourists to Tsumagoi are the ''

'' (natural hot spring) resorts, some of which are also associated with ski resorts. There are two major hot spring resort areas within the town. *Handeki Onsen *Kazawa Onsen and ski resort *Manza Onsen and ski resort *Palcall Tsumagoi Mountain Resort *Tsumagoi Onsen

Noted people from Tsumagoi

* Masato Kobayashi, professional baseball player * Akira Kuroiwa, Olympic gold medalist speed skater * Toshiyuki Kuroiwa, Olympic silver medalist speed skater

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Villages in Gunma Prefecture Tsumagoi, Gunma