Iwaizumi 岩泉町 | |
|---|---|
 Iwaizumi Town Hall | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Iwaizumi in Iwate Prefecture | |
  Iwaizumi | |
| Coordinates:39°50′35.3″N141°47′47″E / 39.843139°N 141.79639°E /39.843139; 141.79639 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Tōhoku |
| Prefecture | Iwate |
| District | Shimohei |
| Area | |
• Total | 992.36 km2 (383.15 sq mi) |
| Population (March 31, 2020) | |
• Total | 8,987 |
| • Density | 9.056/km2 (23.46/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time) |
| Phone number | 0194-22-2111 |
| Address | Iwaizumi-aze Sohata 59-5, Iwaizumi-chō, Shimohei-gun, Iwate 027-0595 |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | Official website |
| Symbols | |
| Bird | Copper pheasant |
| Flower | Kiri |
| Tree | Japanese red pine |
Iwaizumi (岩泉町,Iwaizumi-chō) is atown located inIwate Prefecture,Japan. As of 29 February 2024[update], the town had a population of 8,006, and a population density of 8.1 persons per km² in 4123 households.[1] The total area of the town is 992.36 square kilometres (383.15 sq mi).
The area of present-day Iwaizumi was part of the ancientMutsu Province, which was dominated by theNambu clan during theEdo period, who ruledMorioka Domain under theTokugawa shogunate.
With theMeiji period establishment of the modern municipalities system, the village of Iwaizumi was created within Kitahei District on April 1, 1889. Kitahei, Nakahei and Higashihei Districts were all merged into Minamihei District on March 29, 1896.
Iwaizumi was elevated to town status on August 1, 1922. On September 30, 1956, Imaizumi annexed the neighboring villages of Akka, Ugei, Okawa and Omoto and on April 1, 1957, annexed the village of Kogawa to reach is present borders.
In August 2016,Typhoon Lionrock hit the town with strong winds and heavy rain that causedlandslides and flooding. 19 people died, including 9 people who drowned in a nursing home after a river burst its banks.
Iwaizumi is in theKitakami Mountains of northeast Iwate prefecture, east of the prefectural capital of Morioka. It has a small coastline on thePacific Ocean to the east. The area has numerouslimestone caves, including theRyūsendō.
Iwate Prefecture
Iwaizumi has ahumid climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Iwaizumi is 9.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1283 mm with September as the wettest month and February as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around −2.0 °C.[2]
| Climate data for Iwaizumi, Iwate (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1976−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.8 (60.4) | 20.5 (68.9) | 24.5 (76.1) | 31.9 (89.4) | 34.8 (94.6) | 36.3 (97.3) | 37.0 (98.6) | 38.5 (101.3) | 35.5 (95.9) | 29.3 (84.7) | 25.7 (78.3) | 22.0 (71.6) | 38.5 (101.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.6 (38.5) | 4.5 (40.1) | 8.8 (47.8) | 15.6 (60.1) | 20.8 (69.4) | 23.3 (73.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 27.7 (81.9) | 24.0 (75.2) | 18.6 (65.5) | 12.8 (55.0) | 6.2 (43.2) | 16.0 (60.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.0 (30.2) | −0.5 (31.1) | 3.0 (37.4) | 8.9 (48.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 17.5 (63.5) | 21.2 (70.2) | 22.3 (72.1) | 18.4 (65.1) | 12.2 (54.0) | 6.4 (43.5) | 1.3 (34.3) | 10.3 (50.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.0 (23.0) | −5.0 (23.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | 2.7 (36.9) | 8.1 (46.6) | 12.5 (54.5) | 17.2 (63.0) | 18.2 (64.8) | 14.1 (57.4) | 7.1 (44.8) | 1.2 (34.2) | −2.8 (27.0) | 5.5 (42.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −16.0 (3.2) | −17.1 (1.2) | −13.1 (8.4) | −6.3 (20.7) | −2.1 (28.2) | 1.2 (34.2) | 6.8 (44.2) | 7.5 (45.5) | 4.3 (39.7) | −3.0 (26.6) | −7.2 (19.0) | −14.2 (6.4) | −17.1 (1.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 51.5 (2.03) | 40.8 (1.61) | 63.7 (2.51) | 70.0 (2.76) | 82.4 (3.24) | 104.6 (4.12) | 151.3 (5.96) | 165.0 (6.50) | 181.0 (7.13) | 129.2 (5.09) | 52.6 (2.07) | 58.1 (2.29) | 1,151.3 (45.33) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 77 (30) | 77 (30) | 45 (18) | 4 (1.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.8) | 33 (13) | 243 (96) |
| Average rainy days | 4.9 | 5.6 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.7 | 8.5 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 102.7 |
| Average snowy days | 10.1 | 9.7 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 4.2 | 29.1 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 134.8 | 138.7 | 174.6 | 186.7 | 190.7 | 161.6 | 132.7 | 146.1 | 131.8 | 143.7 | 133.6 | 124.4 | 1,807.2 |
| Source 1:JMA[3] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:JMA[4] | |||||||||||||
Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Iwaizumi peaked in around the year 1960 and has declined steadily over the past 60 years, and is now less than half of what it was in the year 1970, and less than it was a century ago.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 15,286 | — |
| 1930 | 17,326 | +13.3% |
| 1940 | 22,894 | +32.1% |
| 1950 | 24,751 | +8.1% |
| 1960 | 27,813 | +12.4% |
| 1970 | 22,177 | −20.3% |
| 1980 | 18,267 | −17.6% |
| 1990 | 15,164 | −17.0% |
| 2000 | 12,845 | −15.3% |
| 2010 | 10,804 | −15.9% |
| 2020 | 8,726 | −19.2% |
Iwaizumi has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral village council of 10 members. Iwaizumi, together with the city of Miyako and the villages of Fudai, Tanohata and Yamada, collectively contributes three seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the village is part ofIwate 2nd district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
The local economy is based on agriculture and to a lesser extent oncommercial fishing.
Iwaizumi has five public elementary schools and three public junior high schools operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education.
Sanriku Railway –Kita-Rias Line
TheJR EastIwaizumi Line, which connected Iwaizumi withMoichi Station on theYamada Line suspended operations on 31 July 2010, due to a landslide. The line was officially closed on April 1, 2014, owing to low public demand.
Wisconsin Dells,Wisconsin, USA, sister city since August 1990[6]
Media related toIwaizumi, Iwate at Wikimedia Commons
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