Yamatsuri, Fukushima

Yamatsuri

矢祭町
Yamatsuri 矢祭町
Town
	Yamatsuri Town Hall
	Flag Seal
	Location of Yamatsuri in Fukushima Prefecture
	Yamatsuri
	Coordinates: 36°52′16.8″N 140°25′29″E / 36.871333°N 140.42472°E
Country	Japan
Region	Tōhoku
Prefecture	Fukushima
District	Higashishirakawa
Government
• Mayor	Makoto Kobari
Area
• Total	118.27 km2 (45.66 sq mi)
Population (March 2020)
• Total	5,702
• Density	48/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Japanese Red Pine
- Flower	Azalea
- Bird	Oriental turtle dove
Phone number	0247-46-3131
Address	66 Tatemoto, Higashitate, Yamatsuri-machi, Higashishirakawa-gun, Fukushima-ken 963-5118
Website	Official website

Yamatsuri (矢祭町, Yamatsuri-machi) is a town located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 March 2020^[update], the town had an estimated population of 5,702 across 2,095 households,^[1] and a population density of 48 persons per km². The total area of the town was 118.27 square kilometres (45.7 sq mi).

Geography

Yamatsuri is located in the southernmost portion of Fukushima prefecture, bordering on Ibaraki Prefecture to the south and Tochigi Prefecture to the west. Mt. Yamatsuri is in the center of the town, and the Kuji River flows from north to south. To the east of the town are the Abukuma Mountains.

Mountains: Yamatsuriyama (382.7 m), Yamizosan (1021.8 m)
Rivers: Kuji River, Yamatsurigawa

Neighboring municipalities

Fukushima Prefecture
- Hanawa
- Tanagura
Ibaraki Prefecture
- Daigo
- Hitachiōta

Climate

Yamatsuri has a humid climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Yamatsuri is 11.7 °C (53.1 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,428 mm (56.2 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.3 °C (77.5 °F), and lowest in Yamatsuri, at around −0.9 °C (30.4 °F).^[2]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,^[3] the population of Yamatsuri has been declining over the past 60 years.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1960	11,704	—
1970	9,211	−21.3%
1980	8,074	−12.3%
1990	7,596	−5.9%
2000	7,062	−7.0%
2010	6,348	−10.1%
2020	5,392	−15.1%

History

The area of present-day Yamatsuri was part of ancient Mutsu Province. The area formed part of the holdings of Tanagura Domain, in the early Edo period, but mostly became tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa Shogunate after 1729. After the Meiji Restoration, it was organized as part of Higashishirakawa District within the Nakadōri region of Iwaki Province. The villages of Toyosato, Takagi and Ishii were created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On March 31, 1955, Toyosato and a portion of the village of Takagi merged to form the village of Yamatsuri. It was elevated to town status on January 1, 1963.