Municipal Timeline

• February 1, 1954-Komoro absorbed the villages of Kawanabe, Kitaoi, and Osato from Kitasaku District
  Kitasaku District, Nagano
  is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.As of December 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 40,041.The district has three towns*Karuizawa*Miyota*Tateshina-District Timeline:...
  
  .
• April 1, 1954-Komoro gained city status after the villages of Minamioi and Mioka from Kitasaku District
  Kitasaku District, Nagano
  is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.As of December 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 40,041.The district has three towns*Karuizawa*Miyota*Tateshina-District Timeline:...
  
   was merged into Komoro.
• April 1, 1959-Parts of the town of Tobu
  Tobu, Nagano
  was a town located in Chiisagata District, Nagano, Japan.As of March 1, 2004, the town had an estimated population of 26,392 and a density of 304.93 persons per km². The total area was 86.55 km2....
  
   (now part of the city of Tomi
  Tomi, Nagano
  is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on April 1, 2004, when the village of Kitamimaki from Kitasaku District and the town of Tōbu from Chiisagata District merged to form a new city....
  
  ) was merged into the city and the city has been unchanged since.

Education

• Komoro-shogyo High School
• Komoro High School

• Ashihara Junior high school
• Komoro-higashi Junior high school

Key Sights

• Kaikoen, a park in the center of Komoro containing the foundations of Komoro castle as well as a museum dedicated to Shimazaki Toson (see below) and a zoo.
• Nunobikki, a temple dating from 1252 located at the top of a ravine. About a 5 minute drive outside of town, walking is possible if you know where to go.
• Mountain hiking in Takamine, close to the active volcano Mt Asama, about a 30 minute drive uphill from Komoro.

Famous Residents

• Shimazaki Toson
  Shimazaki Toson
  is the pen-name of Shimazaki Haruki, a Japanese author, active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of naturalism in Japanese fiction.-Early life:...
  
  , poet and writer. Toson spent a period teaching in Komoro, and is featured in a dedicated museum located within Komoro's Kaikoen park.
• Sodo Yokoyama, a leaf-flute Zen Master who lived as a hermit in Komoro's Kaikoen Park until 1980. Yokoyama was inspired by an earlier resident of Komoro, the poet and writer Shimazaki Toson
  Shimazaki Toson
  is the pen-name of Shimazaki Haruki, a Japanese author, active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of naturalism in Japanese fiction.-Early life:...
  
  . See Arthur Braverman's excellent article for some personal recollections of Yokoyama.
• Tsuchiya, Keiichi
  Keiichi Tsuchiya
  is a professional race car driver. He is also known as the "Drift King" for his nontraditional use of drifting in non-drifting racing events and his role in popularizing drifting as a motorsport...
  
  , Japanese race car driver & D1 pioneer

External links

• Komoro government official website in Japanese
• Komoro sightseeing guide in English and Japanese
• Komoro Tourist Bureau (in Japanese)