Akayu 赤湯町 | |
|---|---|
Former municipality | |
 Cherry blossoms in Eboshiyama Park, Akayu | |
  Akayu Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates:38°03′N140°11′E / 38.050°N 140.183°E /38.050; 140.183 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | (Tōhoku) |
| Prefecture | Yamagata Prefecture |
| District | Higashiokitama District |
| Merged | April 1, 1967 (now part ofNan'yō) |
| Area | |
• Total | 41.10 km2 (15.87 sq mi) |
| Population (1965) | |
• Total | 12,860 |
| • Density | 313/km2 (810/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
Akayu (赤湯町,Akayu-chō) was atown located inHigashiokitama District,Yamagata Prefecture,Japan.
As of 1967, the town had an estimatedpopulation of 12,860 and apopulation density of 313 persons per km2. The total area was 41.10 km2.
On April 1, 1967, Akayu was merged into the expanded city ofNan'yō and thus no longer exists as an independentmunicipality.
The village of Akayu was established on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of the municipalities system. It was raised to town status on December 12, 1895. On June 10, 1955, the village of Nakagawa was annexed by Akayu. On March 21, 1957, the Nakayama neighborhood of Akayu was annexed by the neighboring city ofKaminoyama. On April 1, 1967, the town of Akayu merged with the town ofMiyauchi and the village ofWagō to form the city ofNan'yō.
English travel writerIsabella Bird visited Akayu on her travels in Japan in 1878. InUnbeaten Tracks in Japan she wrote of Akayu:
the frequented watering-place of Akayu in the north, is a perfect garden of Eden, 'tilled with a pencil instead of a plough,' growing in rich profusion rice, cotton, maize, tobacco, hemp, indigo, beans, egg-plants, walnuts, melons, cucumbers, persimmons, apricots, pomegranates; a smiling and plenteous land, an Asiatic Arcadia, prosperous and independent, all its bounteous acres belonging to those who cultivate them, who live under their vines, figs, and pomegranates, free from oppression--a remarkable spectacle under an Asiatic despotism.
Akayu is most famous forAkayu Onsen (赤湯温泉), a series ofryokan famed for their natural hot-springs which are believed to have medicinal properties. The town's name, which is literally translated as "red hot water", derives from a story in 1093. It is said that the feudal chief ofMutsu Province,Minamoto no Yoshitsuna took a wounded soldier to ahot spring bath. His blood immediately turned the water red and the wound closed.
Eboshiyama Park (烏帽子山公園) is regarded as one of the top 100 cherry blossom viewing sites in Japan, and in 2000, an estimated 25,000 people came to the town in April to enjoyhanami ("flower viewing") parties. The district also has an internationally recognised hang-gliding venue, theSky Park, which hosted the Third Women's Hang Gliding Championships in 1993.
Akayu's most famous ex-resident isToyotarō Yūki, a former governor of theBank of Japan, and the town has a museum devoted to his life.