Tsuwano 津和野町 | |
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 Scenery of Tsuwano | |
 Flag  Emblem | |
 Location of Tsuwano in Shimane Prefecture | |
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  Tsuwano Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates:34°32′31″N131°50′07″E / 34.54194°N 131.83528°E /34.54194; 131.83528 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Chūgoku San'in |
| Prefecture | Shimane |
| District | Kanoashi |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Hiroyuki Shitamori |
| Area | |
• Total | 307.03 km2 (118.54 sq mi) |
| Population (June 30, 2023) | |
• Total | 6,657 |
| • Density | 22/km2 (56/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| City hall address | 54-25 Nichihara, Tsuwano-chō, Kanoashi-gun, Shimane-ken 699-5292 |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | www |
| Symbols | |
| Bird | Egret |
| Flower | Farfugium japonicum |
| Tree | Camphor Laurel |
Tsuwano (津和野町,Tsuwano-chō) is atown located inKanoashi District,Shimane Prefecture,Japan. As of 30 June 2023[update], the town had an estimatedpopulation of 6,657 in 3352 households and apopulation 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 withEdo period buildings and Koi ponds. Its annualYabusame festival on the second Sunday of April is a large tourist draw for theSan'in region.
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.
Shimane Prefecture
Yamaguchi Prefecture
Tsuwano has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) 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 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) on 21 August 2024; 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) | |||||||||||||
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| 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) | 28.1 (82.6) | 30.5 (86.9) | 35.1 (95.2) | 35.8 (96.4) | 37.9 (100.2) | 38.9 (102.0) | 37.4 (99.3) | 32.6 (90.7) | 28.1 (82.6) | 23.4 (74.1) | 38.9 (102.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °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) |
| Mean daily minimum °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) |
| Averageprecipitation 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 monthlysunshine 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] | |||||||||||||
Per Japanese census data, the population of Tsuwano in 2020 is 6,875 people.[4] Tsuwano has been conducting censuses since 1920.
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| Tsuwano population statistics[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The area of Tsuwano was part of ancientIwami Province. During theEdo Period, the town developed as thejōkamachi ofTsuwano Domain, which was ruled by theKamei clan for most of its history. In 1868, it was the site of particular gruesome persecutions ofKakure Kirishitan, who had been exiled to this location after their discovery and arrest in theUrakami Yoban Kuzure. After theMeiji restoration, the town of Tsuwano was established on withinKanoashi District, Shimane on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.
On September 25, 2005 the town ofNichihara was merged into Tsuwano.
Tsuwano has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral 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 theShimane 2nd district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
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 visitHagi on theSea of Japan and Yamaguchi at the same time, and Tsuwano is often mistaken as being in Yamaguchi prefecture.
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.
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JR West (JR West) -Yamaguchi Line
A populartourist destination, Tsuwano is served by thesteam locomotiveYamaguchi-gō, which runs once daily on weekends, national holidays, and certain other days between March and November (daily in August) on theYamaguchi Line betweenShin-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 D51 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 directorMasahiro Shinoda’sSpy Sorge, a 2003 movie aboutSoviet spyRichard Sorge, was shot on the train for period effect.
Media related toTsuwano, Shimane at Wikimedia Commons
Tsuwano travel guide from Wikivoyage| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Academics | |
