Asagiri, Kumamoto


[file:Asagiri List of towns in Japan|town hall.JPG|right|thumb|190px|Asagiri Town Hall]
Asagiri is a town located in Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan., the town had an estimated population of 14,134 in 5774 households, and a population density of 89 persons per km2. The total area of the town is. The word "asagiri" translates as "morning mist".
WWW town.asagiri.lg.jp

Geography

Asagiri is located in southern Kumamoto Prefecture. It contains Mount Shiragatake, a designated nature reserve.
  • Mountains: Shiragatake
  • Rivers: Kuma river

Adjacent municipalities

Kumamoto Prefecture
Miyazaki Prefecture
  • Ebino

Climate

Asagiri has a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and cool winters. There is significant precipitation throughout the year, especially during June and July. The average annual temperature in Asagiri is. The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around, and lowest in January, at around. The highest temperature ever recorded in Asagiri was on 17 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 25 January 2016.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Asagiri in 2020 is 14,676 people. Asagiri has been conducting censuses since 1920.

History

The area of Asagiri was part of ancient Higo Province, During the Edo Period it was part of the holdings of Hitoyoshi Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the villages of Ue, Minagoe, Menda, Ōkaharu, Sue, and Fukada were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Minagoe was incorporated into Ue village on December 7, 1895, which was elevated to town status on April 1, 1937. On April 1, 2003 villages of Ue, Ōkaharu, Sue, Fukada were merged with town of Menda to create Asagiri. The name was chosen because for the fog that blankets the valley from fall through spring.

Government

Asagiri has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 14 members. Asagiri, collectively with the other municipalities of Kuma District, contributes two members to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Kumamoto 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Agriculture dominates the local economy. Soybeans, strawberries, melons and tobacco and shōchū are produced here.

Education

Asagiri has five public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railways

Kumagawa Railroad - Yunomae Line
  • - -

Notable people from Asagiri

In popular culture

  • The village of Sue was the topic of a 1939 text, Suye Mura, a Japanese Village by John Embree.