Ōsato, Miyagi

Ōsato
大郷町
Town
Ōsato Town hall

Flag
Seal

Location of Ōsato in Miyagi Prefecture
Ōsato
 
Coordinates: 38°25′27.3″N 141°0′15.9″E / 38.424250°N 141.004417°E / 38.424250; 141.004417Coordinates: 38°25′27.3″N 141°0′15.9″E / 38.424250°N 141.004417°E / 38.424250; 141.004417
Country Japan
Region Tōhoku
Prefecture Miyagi
District Kurokawa
Area
 • Total 82.01 km2 (31.66 sq mi)
Population (May 2017)
 • Total 8,317
 • Density 101.4/km2 (263/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree Pine
- Flower Azalea
- Bird Common cuckoo
Phone number 0229-43-2111
Address 5-8 Kasukawa Nishinagasaki, Ōsato-chō, Kurokawa-gun, Miyagi-ken 981-3592
Website http://www.town.miyagi-osato.lg.jp/
Ōsato road station

Ōsato (大郷町, Ōsato-chō) is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. As of 30 April 2017, the town had an estimated population of 8,317, and a population density of 101.4 persons per km² in 2754 households.[1] The total area of the town is 82.01 square kilometres (31.66 sq mi).

Geography

Ōsato is located in central Miyagi Prefecture. The town has a climate characterized by cool summers and long cold winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Ōsato is 11.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1225 mm with September as the wettest month.The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 0.4 °C.[2]

Neighboring municipalities

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Ōsato has declined rapidly over the past 20 years.

Census Year Population
1970 10,072
1980 10,172
1990 10,426
2000 9,768
2010 8,927

History

The area of present-day Ōsato was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period by the Emishi people and a number of shell middens from that era have been found. A number of kofun burial mounds from the Kofun period also exist in the area. During later portion of the Heian period, the area was ruled by the Northern Fujiwara. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested by various samurai clans before the area came under the control of the Date clan of Sendai Domain during the Edo period, under the Tokugawa shogunate.

Ōsato Village was established on July 1, 1954 with the merger of the villages of Ōya, Ōmatsuzawa and Kasukawa. Ōsato was raised to town status on April 1, 1959.

Economy

The economy of Ōsato is largely based on agriculture, primarily the cultivation of rice and jute.

Education

Ōsato has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Ōsato is not serviced by any passenger rail lines. The nearest train station is Atago Station on the Tōhoku Main Line in the neighboring town of Matsushima. Likewise, Ōsato is not on the national highway network.

Local attractions

  • Tsunenaga Hasekura memorial park
  • Site of Okubo Castle
  • Site of Suwa Castle
  • Omatsuzawa Shell Mound

Noted people from Ōsato

References

  1. ↑ Ōsato official home page (in Japanese)
  2. ↑ Ōsato climate data
  3. ↑ Ōsato population statistics

Media related to Ōsato, Miyagi at Wikimedia Commons

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