Kazuno, Akita

Kazuno is located in a valley in the mountains of far northeastern Akita Prefecture, with the Ōu Mountains and Iwate Prefecture on the east. Much of the city is within the borders of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Much of the city area is covered in forest. Due to its inland location, the city is noted for its heavy snowfall in winter. It is also known for the wild deer.

Per Japanese census data,[2] the population of Kazuno has declined over the past 40 years.

Kazuno has a Humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters with heavy snowfalls. The average annual temperature in Kazuno is 8.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1464 mm with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.8 °C, and lowest in January, at around -3.3 °C.[3]

The area of present-day Kazuno was settled in prehistoric times, and contains major Jōmon period archaeological sites and numerous burial mounds from the Kofun period. The area was part of ancient Mutsu Province and was ruled by the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain during the Edo period. After the start of the Meiji period, the area became briefly part of Rikuchū Province before being transferred to Akita Prefecture in 1871. It was organized as part of Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture in 1878 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.

The city of Kazuno was founded on April 1, 1972 by the merger of the towns of Hanawa, Towada, and Osarizawa and the village of Hachimantai.

Kazuno has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members. The city contributes two members to the Akita Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Akita District 2 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The economy of Kazuno is based on agriculture, forestry and seasonal tourism.

Kazuno has nine public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Akita Prefectural Board of Education. Akita Prefecture also operates one special education school for the hanicapped.

• Chagama Falls – one of the Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls
• Ōyu Stone Circles - Jōmon period archaeological site, Special National Historic Site of Japan
• former Osarizawa Mine
• Hachimantai Onsen
• Ōyu Onsen
• Yuza Onsen
• Dainichido Bugaku - Ritual dance and music held on January 2, UNESCO Intangible cultural heritage[6]

Kazuno is twinned with:

• Sopron, Hungary [7] (1995)
• Liangzhou, China [7] since November 6, 2000

• Junko Asari, Olympic marathon runner
• Kenichi Takahashi, Olympic long-distance runner
• Takayuki Matsumiya, Olympic long-distance runner
• Yasuhiko Okudera, professional soccer player
• Yuta Kimura, professional baseball player
• Naitō Torajirō, historian
• Tomoefuji Toshihide, sumo wrestler

• Kazuno Kiritanpo FM

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kazuno, Akita.

• Official Website (in Japanese)