was a town

Towns of Japan

A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...

 located in Kaijō District

Kaijo District, Chiba

Kaijō was a district located in Chiba, Japan.As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 21,982 and a density of 469.10 persons per km²...

, Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, 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...

.

Iioka was a noted port town in the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, and prospered greatly in the aftermath of the Great Fire of Meireki

Great Fire of Meireki

The , also known as the Furisode Fire, destroyed 60-70% of the Japanese capital city of Edo on March 2, 1657, this is the third year of the Meireki Imperial era...

 in 1657, as a transshipment center for timber and building materials to Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

.
Modern Iioka was formed on April 1, 1889. On March 31, 1954 it expanded through annexation of the villages of Sangawa and a part of Toyooka. On July 1, 2005 Iioka, along with the town of Hikata

Hikata, Chiba

was a town located in Katori District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.Hikata was formed on April 10, 1954. through the merger of the villages of Kojo, Chowa, and Manzai...

, from Katori District

Katori District, Chiba

is a district located in Chiba, Japan.Since there is no population data since 2003, the post-Katori-Narita creation district had an estimated population of 40,260...

, and the town of Unakami

Unakami, Chiba

was a town located in Kaijō District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.Unikami was formed on March 31, 1954. through the merger of the villages of Takisato, Oumei, and Tsurumaki...

, also from Kaijō District, was merged

Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

Municipal mergers and dissolutions carried out in Japan can take place within one municipality or between multiple municipalities and are required to be based upon consensus.- Merger policy:...

 into the expanded city of Asahi

Asahi, Chiba

is a city located in northern Chiba, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 69,000 and a population density of 531 persons per km². The total area was 129.91 km².-Geography:...

, and thus no longer exists as an independent municipality.

In April 2005 (the last data available before its merger into Asahi), the town had 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 8,042 and a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

of 600 persons per km². Its total area was 18.27 km².

External links

• Iioka official website in Japanese