Country Japan Prefecture Kōchi Prefecture Local time Saturday 11:03 PM | Region Shikoku Population 35,690 (Nov 2013) | |
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Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) City hall address 4-10 Nakamura Ōhashi-dōri, Shimanto-shi, Kōchi-ken
783-8501 Website www.city.shimanto.lg.jp Weather 7°C, Wind N at 3 km/h, 94% Humidity Points of interest Iwamachinka Bridge, Sadachinka Bridge, Dragonfly Park, Ichijō Shrine, Tosaseinan Large Park | ||
Shimanto (四万十市, Shimanto-shi) is a city in southwestern Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Shimanto was established on April 10, 2005, from the merger of the city of Nakamura, and the village of Nishitosa (from Hata District). It is located on the Shimanto River.
Contents
- Map of Shimanto Kochi Prefecture Japan
- Districts
- Geography and climate
- History
- Tourist spots
- Notable people
- Sister cities
- Domestic
- International
- References
Map of Shimanto, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
As of November 1, 2013, the city has an estimated population of 35,690 and a population density of 56.43 persons per km2. The total area is 632.42 km2.
Districts
Shimanto city is divided into thirteen districts.
The largest district is Nakamura, with a population of 9,352 residents as of November 2013. The smallest is Toyama, with 882 residents.
Geography and climate
Shimanto's population is spread across a large area, broken up by rivers, mountains and uninhabited or sparsely inhabited areas. Both the Shimanto River and the Ushirogawa River run through the city. River levels often rise in summer and autumn due to the rainy season and seasonal typhoons.
Shimanto has a wet subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot humid summers and cool to cold winters. Humidity levels are high during the hot summer months. Snow is rare and occurs only once or twice in a year. Rainfall is significant throughout the year, but heavier during the rainy season in June and July, and also in September, when a large number of typhoons hit Japan.
On August 12, 2013, Shimanto recorded a temperature of 41.0 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded in Japan.
History
In 1468, Norifusa Ichijo, an aristocrat, fled Kyoto with his family to escape the chaos of the Onin War, which devastated the city. He settled in Nakamura, in what is now part of Shimanto. The Ichijo family established a stronghold there, and they modelled Nakamura on Kyoto, giving rise to the nickname of "the little Kyoto of Tosa", Tosa being the former name of Kōchi Prefecture.
Nakamura maintained itself as a small castle town until 1689. In this year, the head of the Nakamura fief was punished for the offence of turning down a post on the Tokugawa Junior Council. The local castle was destroyed, the fief's finances were confiscated, retainers were stripped of their incomes, and the samurai dwellings were destroyed, forcing them to scatter and become farmers or merchants. The Nakamura area lost a great of wealth and independence, and became a minor rural region.
Shimanto was almost entirely destroyed by the 1946 Nankai earthquake. Photographs of the area after the earthquake can be seen in the city museum. The city has since been rebuilt, but very few historical buildings remain.
Tourist spots
Notable people
Sister cities
The following cities were twinned with Nakamura before it became part of Shimanto.