Tsuwano, Shimane

Tsuwano (津和野町, Tsuwano-chō) is a town located in Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. As of 30 June 2023, the town had an estimated population of 6,657 in 3352 households and a population density of 22 persons per km².[1] The total area of the town is 307.03 square kilometres (118.54 sq mi). Popularly called the "Little Kyoto of San'in," Tsuwano is known for its picturesque main street, "Tono-machi," which is an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Building lined with Edo period buildings and Koi ponds. Its annual Yabusame festival on the second Sunday of April is a large tourist draw for the San'in region.

Tsuwano
津和野町
Scenery of Tsuwano
Scenery of Tsuwano
Flag of Tsuwano
Official logo of Tsuwano
Location of Tsuwano in Shimane Prefecture
Location of Tsuwano
Tsuwano is located in Japan
Tsuwano
Tsuwano
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 34°32′31″N 131°50′07″E
CountryJapan
RegionChūgoku
San'in
PrefectureShimane
DistrictKanoashi
Government
  MayorHiroyuki Shitamori
Area
  Total307.03 km2 (118.54 sq mi)
Population
 (June 30, 2023)
  Total6,657
  Density22/km2 (56/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address54-25 Nichihara, Tsuwano-chō, Kanoashi-gun, Shimane-ken 699-5292
ClimateCfa
Websitewww.town.tsuwano.lg.jp
Symbols
BirdEgret
FlowerFarfugium japonicum
TreeCamphor Laurel
A street lined with historical buildings in Tsuwano
Tsuwano Catholic Church
Santa Maria Chapel at Otome Pass

Geography

Tsuwano is located in southwest Shimane Prefecture. The townscape that spreads out in a small basin between the mountains on a narrow flat land along the Tsuwano River.

Neighboring municipalities

Shimane Prefecture

Yamaguchi Prefecture

Climate

Tsuwano has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and cool winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year. The average annual temperature in Tsuwano is 14.3 °C (57.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,908.3 mm (75.13 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.3 °C (79.3 °F), and lowest in January, at around 3.0 °C (37.4 °F).[2] The highest temperature ever recorded in Tsuwano was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) on 14 August 2018; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −13.1 °C (8.4 °F) on 28 February 1981.[3]

Climate data for Tsuwano (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1978−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.6
(65.5)
21.8
(71.2)
24.6
(76.3)
30.5
(86.9)
35.1
(95.2)
35.2
(95.4)
37.9
(100.2)
38.2
(100.8)
37.4
(99.3)
32.6
(90.7)
27.3
(81.1)
23.4
(74.1)
38.2
(100.8)
Average high °C (°F) 7.8
(46.0)
9.4
(48.9)
13.7
(56.7)
19.7
(67.5)
24.7
(76.5)
27.4
(81.3)
30.8
(87.4)
32.2
(90.0)
27.8
(82.0)
22.4
(72.3)
16.6
(61.9)
10.4
(50.7)
20.2
(68.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4)
3.9
(39.0)
7.4
(45.3)
12.8
(55.0)
17.8
(64.0)
21.5
(70.7)
25.5
(77.9)
26.3
(79.3)
21.9
(71.4)
15.8
(60.4)
10.2
(50.4)
5.1
(41.2)
14.3
(57.7)
Average low °C (°F) −0.6
(30.9)
−0.5
(31.1)
2.0
(35.6)
6.6
(43.9)
11.8
(53.2)
17.0
(62.6)
21.5
(70.7)
22.1
(71.8)
17.7
(63.9)
10.9
(51.6)
5.3
(41.5)
1.0
(33.8)
9.6
(49.2)
Record low °C (°F) −7.9
(17.8)
−13.1
(8.4)
−4.6
(23.7)
−2.7
(27.1)
1.5
(34.7)
6.2
(43.2)
13.0
(55.4)
14.7
(58.5)
4.1
(39.4)
0.2
(32.4)
−2.3
(27.9)
−4.9
(23.2)
−13.1
(8.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 127.4
(5.02)
103.7
(4.08)
148.3
(5.84)
127.7
(5.03)
141.0
(5.55)
211.2
(8.31)
309.8
(12.20)
188.9
(7.44)
209.4
(8.24)
120.0
(4.72)
102.2
(4.02)
120.5
(4.74)
1,908.3
(75.13)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 15.8 13.3 13.8 11.3 9.8 12.6 12.8 10.7 11.4 9.2 10.7 14.5 145.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours 70.2 87.5 138.3 178.6 200.4 136.0 150.7 180.4 137.4 148.4 114.1 76.8 1,619.2
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[3][2]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tsuwano in 2020 is 6,875 people.[4] Tsuwano has been conducting censuses since 1920.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 20,285    
1925 19,205−5.3%
1930 20,171+5.0%
1935 19,189−4.9%
1940 18,872−1.7%
1945 22,570+19.6%
1950 22,499−0.3%
1955 23,224+3.2%
1960 21,157−8.9%
1965 18,037−14.7%
1970 15,412−14.6%
YearPop.±%
1975 13,957−9.4%
1980 13,423−3.8%
1985 13,002−3.1%
1990 12,131−6.7%
1995 11,389−6.1%
2000 10,628−6.7%
2005 9,515−10.5%
2010 8,434−11.4%
2015 7,653−9.3%
2020 6,875−10.2%
Tsuwano population statistics[4]

History

The area of Tsuwano was part of ancient Iwami Province. During the Edo Period, the town developed as the jōkamachi of Tsuwano Domain, which was ruled by the Kamei clan for most of its history. In 1868, it was the site of particular gruesome persecutions of Kakure Kirishitan, who had been exiled to this location after their discovery and arrest in the Urakami Yoban Kuzure. After the Meiji restoration, the town of Tsuwano was established on within Kanoashi District, Shimane on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

On September 25, 2005 the town of Nichihara was merged into Tsuwano.

Government

Tsuwano has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Tsuwano, collectively with the town of Yoshika, contributes one member to the Shimane Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Shimane 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Tsuwano is a very rural area, with an economy based on agriculture and forestry. Tourism also plays a very important factor in the local economy. As it is close to Yamaguchi Prefecture, many tourists who come to Tsuwano also visit Hagi on the Sea of Japan and Yamaguchi at the same time, and Tsuwano is often mistaken as being in Yamaguchi prefecture.

Education

Tsuwano has four public elementary school and two public junior high schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Shimane Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

JR West (JR West) - Yamaguchi Line

Highways

Sister city relations

Local attractions

  • Tsuwano Castle ruins, a National Historic Site
  • Taikodani Inari Jinja, with its "1000 vermilion torii
  • Otometoge Maria Seido, dedicated in 1951 and is part of a memorial for 37 Japanese Christians persecuted and tortured in Tsuwano by the government during the Edo and Meiji periods.[5]

Yamaguchi-gō steam locomotive

The Yamaguchi-gō steam engine

A popular tourist destination, Tsuwano is served by the steam locomotive Yamaguchi-gō, which runs once daily on weekends, national holidays, and certain other days between March and November (daily in August) on the Yamaguchi Line between Shin-Yamaguchi Station to Tsuwano.[6] It stops for about three hours in Tsuwano before returning to Shin-Yamaguchi station. The train is usually pulled by a C57 locomotive, but a C56 does the job on several weekdays between July and September, and both engines are linked in a double-header configuration on weekends in August. Carriages are decorated in the styles of three Japanese eras—Meiji, Taisho, and Showa—as well as in European style, and the rearmost carriage has an outdoor observation deck. A scene in director Masahiro Shinoda’s Spy Sorge, a 2003 movie about Soviet spy Richard Sorge, was shot on the train for period effect.

Notable people from Tsuwano

References

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