Chikuma, 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
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...

.

As of June 1, 2006, the city has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 63,829. The total area is 119.84 km².

Description

Chikuma City is located in the valley of the Chikuma River, south of Nagano City, at the junction of the Joshin-etsu Expressway
Joshin-etsu Expressway
The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.-Naming: is a kanji acronym consisting of 3 characters, each representing the former names of the prefectures that the route traverses...

 and the Nagano Expressway
Nagano Expressway
The is a 4-laned national expressway in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company and Central Nippon Expressway Company.-Naming:The expressway is officially referred to as the Chūō Expressway Nagano Route...

. Its most famous attraction is Anzu no Sato (杏の里), or "Apricot Village", a collection of adjacent valleys containing numerous groves of apricot trees. It is also the location of the Mori Shogunzuka Burial Chamber (森将軍塚古墳)
Mori Shogunzuka Burial Chamber
The Mori Shogunzuka Burial Chamber is a late Kofun period keyhole tomb located in Chikuma, Nagano, Japan. One of several ancient hilltop tombs in Central Honshū, the Mori Shogunzuka tomb is the only one in the area that has been restored to its former glory...

, a mountaintop keyhole tomb dating from near the end of the Kofun period
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...

. In the southern part of the city is Togura Kamiyamada Onsen (戸倉上山田温泉), a popular hot spring area.

Municipal Timeline

The city was founded on September 1, 2003 by the merger of the former city of Koshoku and the towns of Kamiyamada, from Sarashina District
Sarashina District, Nagano
Sarashina was a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 1,467 and a density of 31.99 persons per km²...

, and Togura, from Hanishina District
Hanishina District, Nagano
Hanishina is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.As of December 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 16,742...

.

Former city of Koshoku

Koshoku (更埴) is the largest of the three municipaities that were joined to form the current Chikuma City. Spanning the Chikuma River and bordering Nagano City to the south, it entends from the apricot fields of Anzu no Sato in the east to the highland area Hijiri Kogen in the west.

Koshoku's history dates back to the Kofun Period
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from this era. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period...

, and several major archealogical sites remain, most notably the Mori Shogunzuka Burial Chamber (森将軍塚古墳)
Mori Shogunzuka Burial Chamber
The Mori Shogunzuka Burial Chamber is a late Kofun period keyhole tomb located in Chikuma, Nagano, Japan. One of several ancient hilltop tombs in Central Honshū, the Mori Shogunzuka tomb is the only one in the area that has been restored to its former glory...

. Later, in the Meiji Period, the inns located in Inariyama became a popular stopover for pilgrims en route to Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City.

Former town of Kamiyamada

Kamiyamada (上山田) lies on the western bank of the Chikuma River, just north of the town of Sakaki. A popular hot spring village dating back to the 19th century, the town was one of many places of lodging on the pilgrimage route to Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City.

Former town of Togura

Togura lies on the east bank of the Chikuma River, across from Kamiyamada Onsen. With a history similar to that of Kamiyamada, it contains some hot spring bath facilities as well as the area's only railway station.

External links

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