Goshogawara

Goshogawara occupies two discontinuous areas on Tsugaru Peninsula in western Aomori Prefecture. The Iwaki River flows through the city. The larger section is landlocked, and is in the middle of the peninsula. It contains the original town of Goshogawara, and is the population centre of the city. The smaller exclave to the north is on the Sea of Japan coast. Parts of the city are within the borders of the Tsugaru Quasi-National Park.

The city has a cold humid continental climate (Köppen Cfb) characterized by warm short summers and long cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Goshogawara is 10.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1281 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.4 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.5 °C.[2]

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

The area of Goshogawara was part of the holdings of the Tsugaru clan of Hirosaki Domain in the Edo period. With the post-Meiji restoration establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the area became part of Kitatsugaru District, Aomori, and was divided into the villages of Goshogawara, Sakae, Miyoshi, Nakagawa, Nagahashi, Nanawa, Matsushima and Itayanagi on April 1, 1889. On July 1, 1898, Goshogawara was elevated to town status. On October 1, 1954. Goshogawara absorbed the villages of Sakae, Nakagawa, Nagahashi, Matsushima and Iizume to create the city of Goshogawara. On April 1, 1958, Goshogawara absorbed a portion of the town of Kizukuri.

On March 28, 2005, the town of Kanagi, and the village of Shiura were merged into Goshogawara.

Goshogawara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 26 members. Goshogawara, together with the town of Nakadomari contribute three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aomori 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The economy of Goshogawara is mixed. The city serves as a regional commercial center. Agricultural produce includes rice and apples, and commercial fishing includes clams. The Aomori Technopolis High-Tech Industrial Park is located in the city.[4]

Goshogawara has 11 public elementary schools and six public junior high schools operated by the city government. The city has schools and five public high schools operated by the Aomori prefectural Board of Education. The city also has two private high schools.

Goshogawara Tachineputa

• Tachineputa Museum - Goshogawara is famous for its Tachineputa Festival, held annually from August 4 to August 8. The tachineputa floats are much taller than their counterparts in Aomori and Hirosaki, reaching heights of up to 23 meters.[5]
• Osamu Dazai Memorial Museum
• Lake Jūsan
• Ashino Chishōgun Prefectural Natural Park
• Goshogawara Sue Pottery Kiln Site, a National Historic Site[6]
• Sannobō Site, a National Historic Site[7]
• Tosaminato ruins, a National Historic Site[8]

• Osamu Dazai, novelist
• Bunji Tsushima, politician
• Ikuzo Yoshi, Enka singer-songwriter
• Shimizugawa Motokichi, sumo wrestler
• Kashiwado Risuke, sumo wrestler
• Kōji Hirayama, politician
• Daichi Shimoyama, basketball player

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Goshogawara, Aomori.

• Official website (in Japanese)