Chizu, Tottori

Chizu (智頭町, Chizu-chō) is a town located in Yazu District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 December 2022, the town had an estimated population of 6,438 in 2699 households and a population density of 29 persons per km².[1] The total area of the town is 199.18 square kilometres (76.90 sq mi).

Chizu
智頭町
Town
View of Chizu-shuku [ja]
View of Chizu-shuku
Flag of Chizu
Flag
Official seal of Chizu
Emblem
Location of Chizu in Tottori Prefecture
Location of Chizu
Chizu is located in Japan
Chizu
Chizu
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 35°16′N 134°14′E
CountryJapan
RegionChūgoku
San'in
PrefectureTottori
DistrictYazu
Area
 • Total224.70 km2 (86.76 sq mi)
Population
 (December 1, 2022)
 • Total6,438
 • Density29/km2 (74/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address2072-1 Chizu, Chizu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori-ken 689-1402
ClimateCfa
WebsiteOfficial website
Chizu Town Hall
Katsumi Nishikawa Film Museum

Geography

Located in the southeastern part of Tottori Prefecture, mountains and forests occupy 93% of the town area, and it is designated as a heavy snowfall area.

Neighboring municipalities

Tottori Prefecture

Okayama Prefecture

Climate

Chizu has a humid climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Chizu is 13.1 °C (55.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,972.2 mm (77.65 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.2 °C (77.4 °F), and lowest in January, at around 1.6 °C (34.9 °F).[2] Its record high is 38.9 °C (102.0 °F), reached on 5 August 2018, and its record low is −12.7 °C (9.1 °F), reached on 31 January 2011.[3]

Climate data for Chizu (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1978−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.8
(62.2)		 20.9
(69.6)		 23.7
(74.7)		 31.4
(88.5)		 33.5
(92.3)		 35.9
(96.6)		 38.2
(100.8)		 38.9
(102.0)		 36.9
(98.4)		 30.7
(87.3)		 25.4
(77.7)		 20.3
(68.5)		 38.9
(102.0)
Average high °C (°F) 6.1
(43.0)		 7.1
(44.8)		 11.7
(53.1)		 18.1
(64.6)		 23.2
(73.8)		 26.2
(79.2)		 29.9
(85.8)		 31.3
(88.3)		 26.4
(79.5)		 20.9
(69.6)		 15.2
(59.4)		 9.1
(48.4)		 18.8
(65.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.6
(34.9)		 2.1
(35.8)		 5.7
(42.3)		 11.3
(52.3)		 16.5
(61.7)		 20.5
(68.9)		 24.5
(76.1)		 25.2
(77.4)		 21.0
(69.8)		 15.0
(59.0)		 9.3
(48.7)		 4.1
(39.4)		 13.1
(55.5)
Average low °C (°F) −1.8
(28.8)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 0.6
(33.1)		 5.0
(41.0)		 10.5
(50.9)		 15.9
(60.6)		 20.6
(69.1)		 21.1
(70.0)		 16.9
(62.4)		 10.3
(50.5)		 4.7
(40.5)		 0.3
(32.5)		 8.5
(47.3)
Record low °C (°F) −12.7
(9.1)		 −12.3
(9.9)		 −8.5
(16.7)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 0.3
(32.5)		 5.2
(41.4)		 11.6
(52.9)		 13.3
(55.9)		 5.7
(42.3)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −8.8
(16.2)		 −12.7
(9.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 159.5
(6.28)		 143.3
(5.64)		 164.6
(6.48)		 130.9
(5.15)		 146.1
(5.75)		 168.9
(6.65)		 227.7
(8.96)		 172.8
(6.80)		 244.2
(9.61)		 158.6
(6.24)		 112.7
(4.44)		 143.0
(5.63)		 1,972.2
(77.65)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 112
(44)		 117
(46)		 25
(9.8)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 40
(16)		 285
(112)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 17.2 16.4 15.6 11.7 10.9 12.7 13.9 11.2 12.8 11.2 12.3 15.2 161.1
Average snowy days (≥ 3 cm) 10.3 9.8 2.6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.4 26.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 75.4 82.2 131.5 173.7 191.3 133.2 133.1 169.7 124.9 141.0 112.3 84.6 1,552.7
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[3][2]

Demography

Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Chizu has been as follows. The population has been steadily declining since the 1950s

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 12,014—    
1930 12,973+8.0%
1940 12,512−3.6%
1950 14,472+15.7%
1960 14,390−0.6%
1970 12,392−13.9%
1980 11,504−7.2%
1990 10,670−7.2%
2000 9,383−12.1%
2010 7,719−17.7%

History

Chizu is part of ancient Inaba Province. The temple of Gokuraku-ji was founded in 646 AD. During the Edo period, the area was part of the holdings of Tottori Domain ruled by a branch of the Ikeda clan from their seat at Tottori Castle. Yazu District, Tottori was established after the Meiji restoration and the village of Chizu was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1,1889. It was elevated to town status on June 1, 1914. Chizu annexed the neighboring villages of Yamagata, Nagi and Haji on February 20, 1935, Tomizawa on February 26, 1936 and Yamago on June , 1954.

Government

Chizu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Chizu, collectively with the other municipalities of Yazu District, contributes two members to the Tottori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tottori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The main industry in the area is logging, woodworking, tourism, and brewing.

Education

Chizu has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR West - Inbi Line

Wakasa Railway - Wakasa Line

Highways

Sister city relations

Local attractions

Noted people from Chizu

References
  1. "Chizu town official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  3. 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  4. Chizu population statistics
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