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 Minamitakaki District

Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki

was a district located in Nagasaki, Japan. The district was dissolved on March 31, 2006.The district was equivalent to the cities of Shimabara, Unzen, and Minamishimabara....

, Nagasaki

Nagasaki Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. The capital is the city of Nagasaki.- History :Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki...

, 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...

.

On March 31, 2006 Minamiarima was merged with the towns of Arie

Arie, Nagasaki

was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki, Japan.On March 31, 2006 Arie was merged with the towns of Fukae, Futsu, Kazusa, Kitaarima, Kuchinotsu, Minamiarima and Nishiarie, all from Minamitakaki District, to form the new city of Minamishimabara....

, Fukae

Fukae, Nagasaki

was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki, Japan.On March 31, 2006 Fukae was merged with the towns of Arie, Futsu, Kazusa, Kitaarima, Kuchinotsu, Minamiarima and Nishiarie, all from Minamitakaki District, to form the new city of Minamishimabara....

, Futsu

Futsu, Nagasaki

was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki, Japan.On March 31, 2006 Futsu was merged with the towns of Arie, Fukae, Kazusa, Kitaarima, Kuchinotsu, Minamiarima and Nishiarie, all from Minamitakaki District, to form the new city of Minamishimabara....

, Kazusa

Kazusa, Nagasaki

was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki, Japan.On March 31, 2006 Kazusa was merged with the towns of Arie, Fukae, Futsu, Kitaarima, Kuchinotsu, Minamiarima and Nishiarie, all from Minamitakaki District, to form the new city of Minamishimabara....

, Kitaarima

Kitaarima, Nagasaki

was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki, Japan.On March 31, 2006 Kitaarima was merged with the towns of Arie, Fukae, Futsu, Kazusa, Kuchinotsu, Minamiarima and Nishiarie, all from Minamitakaki District, to form the new city of Minamishimabara....

, Kuchinotsu

Kuchinotsu, Nagasaki

was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki, Japan.On March 31, 2006 Kuchinotsu was merged with the towns of Arie, Fukae, Futsu, Kazusa, Kitaarima, Minamiarima and Nishiarie, all from Minamitakaki District, to form the new city of Minamishimabara....

 and Nishiarie

Nishiarie, Nagasaki

was a town located in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki, Japan.On March 31, 2006 Nishiarie was merged with the towns of Arie, Fukae, Futsu, Kazusa, Kitaarima, Kuchinotsu and Minamiarima, all from Minamitakaki District, to form the new city of Minamishimabara....

, all from Minamitakaki District

Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki

was a district located in Nagasaki, Japan. The district was dissolved on March 31, 2006.The district was equivalent to the cities of Shimabara, Unzen, and Minamishimabara....

, to form the new city of Minamishimabara

Minamishimabara, Nagasaki

is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It occupies the southern tip of Shimabara Peninsula.Minamishimabara city was founded on March 31, 2006 upon the merger of the towns of Arie, Fukae, Futsu, Kazusa, Kitaarima, Kuchinotsu, Minami-Arima and Nishi-Arie, all from Minamitakaki District, which was...

.

As of 2003, 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 6,023 and a 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 259.05 persons per km². The total area was 23.25 km². Minamiarima is the site of Hara Castle

Hara Castle

is a castle in Hizen Province. During the Shimabara Rebellion , the rebellious peasants were besieged there.As a result of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637, the Shogunate decided to expel the Portuguese from Japan...

. The fortress was destroyed following the deaths of 37,000 rebels and their leader, Amakusa Shiro

Amakusa Shiro

also known as was the teenage leader of the Shimabara Rebellion.- Biography :The son of former Konishi clan retainer , Shirō was born in modern-day Kami-Amakusa, Kumamoto in a Catholic family...

, at the hands of Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 forces in the final battle of the Shimabara Rebellion

Shimabara Rebellion

The was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637–1638 during the Edo period.It was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule...

(1637-1638).