Town in T?hoku, Japan
Hachir?gata Town Hall
Hachir?gata
(
八?潟町
,
Hachir?gata-machi
)
is a
town
located in
Akita
,
Japan
. As of 1 February 2023
[update]
, the town had an estimated
population
of 5603 in 2465 households,
[1]
and a
population density
of 330 persons per km
2
. The total area is 17.00 square kilometres (6.56 sq mi). It is the smallest municipality in Akita Prefecture in terms of surface area.
Geography
[
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]
Hachir?gata is located in the coastal flatlands northeastern
Akita Prefecture
, bordered by the remnant of Lake
Hachir?gata
which lies in the west of the town. Lake Hachir?gata was the second largest lake in Japan until it was drained in a
land reclamation
project from 1957 to 1977.The town is about 30 kilometers north of the prefectural capital at Akita City.
Neighboring municipalities
[
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]
Akita Prefecture
Climate
[
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]
Hachir?gata has a
Humid continental climate
(
Koppen climate classification
Cfa
) with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Hachir?gata is 11.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1612 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.0 °C.
[2]
Demographics
[
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]
Per Japanese census data,
[3]
the population of Hachir?gata peaked at around the year 1950 and has been in steady decline since then.
Historical population
| Year
| Pop.
| ±% p.a.
|
|---|
| 1920
| 5,831
| ?
|
|---|
| 1930
| 6,568
| +1.20%
|
|---|
| 1940
| 7,166
| +0.88%
|
|---|
| 1950
| 8,743
| +2.01%
|
|---|
| 1960
| 8,358
| ?0.45%
|
|---|
| 1970
| 8,180
| ?0.22%
|
|---|
| | Year
| Pop.
| ±% p.a.
|
|---|
| 1980
| 8,228
| +0.06%
|
|---|
| 1990
| 8,153
| ?0.09%
|
|---|
| 2000
| 7,533
| ?0.79%
|
|---|
| 2010
| 6,624
| ?1.28%
|
|---|
| 2020
| 5,583
| ?1.70%
|
|---|
|
|
History
[
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]
The area of present-day Hachir?gata was part of ancient
Dewa Province
, dominated by the
Satake clan
during the
Edo period
, who ruled
Kubota Domain
under the
Tokugawa shogunate
. The village of Omogata was established in 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the town of Hitoichi in 1925. The two merged in 1956 to form the town of Hachir?gata. Efforts to merge the town with neighboring Goj?me and Ikawa failed to pass a referendum in 2005.
Government
[
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]
Hachir?gata has a
mayor-council
form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral
town council of 12 members. Hachir?gata, together with the other municipalities of
Minamiakita District
contributes one member to the Akita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of
Akita 2nd district
of the
lower house
of the
Diet of Japan
.
-
Panoramic view of Hachir?gata and ?gata, from Oga
-
A sunset view of Hachir?gata, from Mikurabana Park
-
Hitoichi Bon dancing festival
-
Tanbo art in Hachirogata
Economy
[
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]
The economy of Hachir?gata is based on agriculture and commercial fishing.
Education
[
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]
Hachir?gata has one public elementary schools and one public middle schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.
Transportation
[
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]
Railway
[
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]
East Japan Railway Company
-
?u Main Line
Highway
[
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]
Notable peoples
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Media related to
Hachirogata, Akita
at Wikimedia Commons