Azumino, Nagano
Encyclopedia
is a city
Cities of Japan
||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 located in Nagano Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

The city was founded on October 1, 2005, when the town of Akashina
Akashina, Nagano
was a town located in Higashichikuma District, Nagano, Japan.On October 1, 2005 Akashina was merged with the towns of Hotaka and Toyoshina, and the villages of Horigane and Misato, all from Minamiazumi District, to form the new city of Azumino....

, from Higashichikuma District
Higashichikuma District, Nagano
is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2011, the district has an estimated population of 23,044. The total area is 268.42 km²...

, and the towns of Hotaka
Hotaka, Nagano
was a town located in Minamiazumi District, Nagano, Japan.On October 1, 2005 Hotaka was merged with the town of Akashina, from Higashichikuma District, the town of Toyoshina, and the villages of Horigane and Misato, all from Minamiazumi District, to form the new city of Azumino.As of 2003, the town...

 and Toyoshina
Toyoshina, Nagano
was a town located in Minamiazumi District of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.On October 1, 2005 Toyoshina was merged with the town of Akashina, from Higashichikuma District, the town of Hotaka, and the villages of Horigane and Misato, all from Minamiazumi District, to form the new city of Azumino.As of...

, and the villages of Horigane
Horigane, Nagano
was a village located in Minamiazumi District, Nagano, Japan.On October 1, 2005 Horigane was merged with the town of Akashina, from Higashichikuma District, the towns of Hotaka and Toyoshina, and the village of Misato, all from Minamiazumi District, to form the new city of Azumino.As of 2003, the...

 and Misato
Misato, Nagano
was a village located in Minamiazumi District, Nagano, Japan.On October 1, 2005 Misato was merged with the town of Akashina, from Higashichikuma District, the towns of Hotaka and Toyoshina, and the village of Horigane, all from Minamiazumi District, to form the new city of Azumino.As of 2003, the...

, from Minamiazumi District
Minamiazumi District, Nagano
Minamiazumi was a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 99,785 and a density of 117.22 persons per km²...

, merged to form a new city. The city's population is near 100,000 people and it is the 6th most populous in Nagano Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...

.

Etymology of Azumino

Azumino is a combination of two words, "Azumi" and "no". "Azumi" comes from the Azumi people, who are said to have moved to the "no" (plain) in ancient times. The Azumi people originally lived in northern Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

, and were famed for their skills in fishing and navigation. "The Azumi people" can be translated as "the people who live on the sea." The reason why the seafaring people migrated to this mountainous region is a mystery.

Geography

Azumino, named after the plain in which it is located, lies between two mountain ranges to the west and east. The range of mountains on the western border is known as the Northern Alps (Hida Mountains
Hida Mountains
The , or , is a Japanese mountain range which stretches through Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into Niigata Prefecture. William Gowland coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Japan, but he was only referring to the Hida Mountains when...

) and is popular among hikers all over Japan. To the south is the city of Matsumoto, Nagano prefecture's second largest city. To the north lies the city of Ōmachi
Omachi, Nagano
is a city located in Nagano, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 31,079 and the population density of 55 persons per km². The total area is 564.99 km²....

, as well as the village of Hakuba. Hakuba was the site of many of the ski events during the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating...

. (This created a lot of traffic through the Azumino area, spurring a great deal of construction during that period.)

Sister cities

  • Misato, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture
    Saitama Prefecture
    is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

  • Edogawa, Tokyo
    Edogawa, Tokyo
    is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It takes its name from the river that runs from north to south along the eastern edge of the ward. In English, it uses the name Edogawa City....

  • Musashino, Tokyo
    Musashino, Tokyo
    is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 137,222 and a population density of 12,788.63 persons per km². The total area is 10.73 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1947...

  • Manazuru, Kanagawa
    Manazuru, Kanagawa
    is a town located in Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 8,235 and a density of 1,180 persons per km²...

    , Kanagawa Prefecture
    Kanagawa Prefecture
    is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

  • Sangō, Nara
    Sango, Nara
    is a town located in Ikoma District, Nara, Japan.As of October 1, 2007, the town has a population of 23,228 people, 11,079 males and 12,094 females and a density of 2,640 persons per km². There is a total of 9,281 households. The total area is 8.80 km²....

    , Nara Prefecture
    Nara Prefecture
    is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....

  • Higashi-ku, Fukuoka
    Higashi-ku, Fukuoka
    is one of the seven wards of Fukuoka City, Japan. As of 2004, it has a population of 275,652 people and an area of 66.68 sq. km. Its name literally means "east ward".Kashii is in this ward. It is south of neighbouring Shingū, Fukuoka....

    , Fukuoka
    Fukuoka, Fukuoka
    is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...

    , Fukuoka Prefecture
    Fukuoka Prefecture
    is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....

  • Kramsach
    Kramsach
    Kramsach is a municipality in the Kufstein district of Austria, and is located 27 km southwest of Kufstein and 16.5 km west of Wörgl, at the northern side of the Inn River. Its main sources of income are the marble, timber and glass industries, as well as summer tourism. Kramsach is also known as...

    , Austria
    Austria
    Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...


Notable Azumino Natives

  • Keikoku Fujimori (1835–1905), artist & educator
  • Kigenji Iguchi (1870–1938), educator
  • Kiyoshi Kiyosawa (1890–1945), journalist
  • Kei Kumai
    Kei Kumai
    was a Japanese film director from Azumino, Nagano prefecture. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he worked as director's assistant....

     (1930–2007), film director
  • Kyūsaku Matsuzawa (1855–1887), people's rights activist
  • Risaku Mutai (1890–1974), philosopher
  • Rokuzan Ogiwara
    Rokuzan Ogiwara
    , was a sculptor active in Meiji period Japan. His real name was . He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern western-style bronze sculpture in Japan.-Early life:...

     (1879–1910), sculptor
  • Aizō Sōma (1870–1954), founded Nakamuraya
  • Tada Kasuke
    Tada Kasuke
    was a Japanese farmer who led a failed appeal for lowered taxes in Azumidaira, a part of the Matsumoto Domain under the control of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was caught and executed along with twenty-seven farmers without trial...

     (?–1687), executed farmer
  • Setsuro Takahashi (1914–2007), lacquerware artist
  • Etsujirō Uehara (1877–1962), political scientist & politician
  • Yoshimi Usui (1905–1987), editor & writer
  • Masaaki Iinuma
    Masaaki Iinuma
    was a Japanese aviator.Iinuma was born in Toyoshina , and was a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Army flying school at Tokorozawa....

    (1912–1941), pilot & aviation pioneer

External links



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