Shingō, Aomori

Shingō
新郷村
Village
Shingō Village Office

Flag
Seal

Location of Shingō in Aomori Prefecture
Shingō
 
Coordinates: 40°27′49.19″N 141°10′27.53″E / 40.4636639°N 141.1743139°E / 40.4636639; 141.1743139Coordinates: 40°27′49.19″N 141°10′27.53″E / 40.4636639°N 141.1743139°E / 40.4636639; 141.1743139
Country Japan
Region Tōhoku
Prefecture Aomori Prefecture
District Sannohe
Area
 • Total 150.77 km2 (58.21 sq mi)
Population (October 2016)
 • Total 2,495
 • Density 16.5/km2 (43/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree Aesculus
- Flower Asian skunk cabbage
Phone number 0178-78-2111
Address
039-0801
Website www.vill.shingo.aomori.jp

Shingō (新郷村, Shingō-mura) is a village located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2016, the village has an estimated population of 2,495, and a population density of 16.5 persons per km². Its total area of the village is 150.77 square kilometres (58.21 sq mi).[1]

Geography

Shingō is in south-central Aomori Prefecture, east of Lake Towada. Much of the village is mountainous, rising to over 1000 meters in altitude near the border with Akita Prefecture. The village has a cold Humid continental climate characterized by cool short summers and long cold winters with very heavy snowfall (Köppen climate classification Dfa). The average annual temperature in Shingō is 8.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1342 mm, with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.7 °C.[2]

Neighboring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture

Akita Prefecture

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Shingō has declined over the past 40 years.

Census Year Population
1970 4,754
1980 4,332
1990 3,724
2000 3,343
2010 2,851

History

The area around Shingō was controlled by the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain during the Edo period. During the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, Herai Village and neighboring Nozawa Village were formed. On July 29, 1955 the western portion of Nozawa Village merged into Herai, which was then renamed Shingō.

Education

Shingō has two public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Economy

The economy of Shingō is heavily dependent on agriculture. Notable crops include edible chrysanthemum, Japanese yam and tobacco. Traditionally a horse breeding area, Shingō is also known for its cattle ranches.

Transportation

Railway

  • The village has no passenger railway service.

Highway

Local attractions

Shingō village is the location of what is purported to be the last resting place of Jesus, located in the "Tomb of Jesus" (Kirisuto no haka), and the residence of Jesus' last descendants, the family of Sajiro Sawaguchi.[4] According to the Sawaguchi family's claims, Jesus Christ did not die on the cross at Golgotha. Instead his brother, Isukiri,[5] took his place on the cross, while Jesus fled across Siberia to Mutsu Province, in northern Japan. Once in Japan, he became a rice farmer, married, and raised a family with three daughters near what is now Shingō. While in Japan, it is asserted that he traveled, learned, and eventually died at the age of 106. His body was exposed on a hilltop for four years. According to the customs of the time, Jesus' bones were collected, bundled, and buried in the mound purported to be the grave of Jesus Christ.[6][7]

Another mound near the alleged grave of Jesus is said to contain an ear of the brother of Jesus and a lock of hair from Mary, the mother of Jesus, the only relics of his family Jesus could carry when he fled Judaea.[8] The claims started in 1933 after the discovery of supposed "ancient Hebrew documents detailing Jesus' life and death in Japan" [9] that was supposedly the testament of Jesus. These documents were allegedly seized by the Japanese authorities and taken to Tokyo shortly before World War II, and have not been seen since.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "詳細データ 青森県青森県新郷村". 市町村の姿 グラフと統計でみる農林水産業 (in Japanese). Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Shingō climate data
  3. ↑ Shingō population statistics
  4. ↑ "From Japanese text of the sign included in this article".
  5. ↑ "Japan Travel: Jesus in Japan". Metropolis. Archived from the original on 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  6. ↑ "The Japanese Jesus Trail". BBC. September 9, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  7. ↑ "Land of the Rising Son". Fortean Times. May 1998. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  8. ↑ Bird, Winifred, "Behold! Christ's grave in Shingo, Aomori Prefecture", Japan Times, 25 December 2011, p. 10.
  9. ↑ "The Japanese Jesus Trail". BBC. September 9, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  10. ↑ "Land of the Rising Son". Fortean Times. May 1998. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2006-12-13.

Media related to Shingō, Aomori at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.