Chizu, Tottori
Template:Nihongo is a town located in Yazu District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. Template:As of, the town had an estimated population of 5,906 in 2681 households and a population density of 26.67 persons per km2.<ref name="Chizu-hp">Template:Cite web</ref> The total area of the town is Template:Convert.
Geography
Chizu is located in the southeastern part of Tottori Prefecture, near the border with Okayama Prefecture. Mountains and forests occupy 93% of the town area, and it is designated as a heavy snowfall area.
Neighboring municipalities
Okayama Prefecture
Tottori Prefecture
Climate
Chizu has a humid climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Chizu is Template:Convert. The average annual rainfall is Template:Cvt with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around Template:Convert, and lowest in January, at around Template:Convert.<ref name ="normals"/> Its record high is Template:Cvt, reached on 5 August 2018, and its record low is Template:Cvt, reached on 31 January 2011.<ref name = "extremes"/>
Demography
Per Japanese census data, the population of Chizu has been as follows.<ref>Chizu population statistics</ref> The population has been steadily declining since the 1950s.
Template:Historical populations
History
Chizu is part of ancient Inaba Province. The temple of Gokuraku-ji was founded in 646 AD. During the Edo period, the area was part of the holdings of Tottori Domain ruled by a branch of the Ikeda clan from their seat at Tottori Castle. Yazu District, Tottori was established after the Meiji restoration and the village of Chizu was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on October 1,1889. It was elevated to town status on June 1, 1914. Chizu annexed the neighboring villages of Yamagata, Nagi and Haji on February 20, 1935, Tomizawa on February 26, 1936 and Yamago in June 1954.
Government
Chizu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Chizu, collectively with the other municipalities of Yazu District, contributes two members to the Tottori Prefectural Assembly. The town is part of Tottori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Economy
The main industries of the area are logging, woodworking, tourism, and brewing. Chizu's forestry industry centers around a 300-year-old grove of cedar trees in the town center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These trees, once used to create wine barrels, are now typically harvested for construction and interior design.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
Chizu has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Tottori Prefectural Board of Education.
Transportation
Railway
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Highways
Sister cities
- Template:Flagicon Yanggu County, Gangwon, South Korea, since October 10, 1999.
- Template:Flag icon Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, is collaborating with Chizu and several other municipalities on a carbon offsets program with the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chizu also provided cedar wood for the construction of an information center at Kanda Station in Tokyo in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Local attractions
- Ishitani Residence, a mansion owned by a family of forestry magnates which was named an Important Cultural Property in 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Katsumi Nishikawa Film Museum
- Itaibara Village, which has Shōwa era buildings.
- Mitaki Dam
- Mount Nagi
- Suwa Shrine
Noted people from Chizu
- Katsumi Nishikawa, movie director