is a town

Towns of Japan

A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...

 in Hiyama District

Hiyama District, Hokkaido

is a district located in Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan.As of 2004, the district has an estimated population of 21,896 and a density of 19.59 persons per km². The total area is 1,117.57 km².-Towns and villages:*Assabu*Esashi*Kaminokuni...

, Hiyama Subprefecture

Hiyama Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan located on the Oshima Peninsula on the Sea of Japan side. It includes Okushiri Island. It was established in 1897.-Towns and villages by district:* Hiyama District** Assabu** Esashi ** Kaminokuni* Kudō District...

, Hokkaidō, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is the capital of the subprefecture.

One of the oldest towns in Hokkaidō, the name Esashi comes from the Ainu

Ainu language

Ainu is one of the Ainu languages, spoken by members of the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō....

 word for konbu, a type of edible kelp

Kelp

Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....

 well known in Japan. It is the birthplace of a folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 tradition called Esashi oiwake

Esashi oiwake music

Esashi oiwake music（江差追分） is a kind of folk music from the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. It started in the town of Esashi in Hiyama Subprefecture.An Eashi Oiwake song consists of three sections:* Maeuta ;* Hon-uta...

.

Geography

Esashi is a district and port town located on the western seaboard of Hokkaidō on the Assabugawa river, facing the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

. Its eastern part is mountainous. The town is bordered by the municipalities of Kaminokuni

Kaminokuni, Hokkaido

is a town located in Hiyama District, Hiyama, Hokkaidō, Japan.In 2008, the town had an estimated population of 6,379 and a density of 12.25 per km²...

, Assabu

Assabu, Hokkaido

is a small town located in Hiyama District, Hiyama, Hokkaidō.Assabu is situated in the Oshima Peninsula of southern Hokkaidō near the Japan Sea. Assabu is around an hour's drive by car from Hakodate and 15 minutes to Esashi...

 and Otobe

Otobe, Hokkaido

is a town located in Nishi District, Hiyama, Hokkaidō, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 4,665 and a density of 29.96 persons per km². The total area is 162.55 km².-External links:* in Japanese...

. It has a rail-link; Esashi Station

Esashi Station

is a railway station on the JR Hokkaido Esashi Line. It is located in Esashi, Hokkaidō, Japan.-Station structure:* 1-way, 1-track, above-ground station.Platforms...

 is the terminus of Esashi-sen train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

 line; and a ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 connection to Okushiri

Okushiri, Hokkaido

is a town encompassing all of Okushiri Island, located in Okushiri District, Hiyama, Hokkaidō, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 3,442 and a density of 24.5 persons per km²...

 island.

The district has a Honshū-type humid subtropical climate

Humid subtropical climate

A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

 (Köppen climate classification

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

) with far less snow in winter than elsewhere in Hokkaidō due to the influence of the warming tsushima-kairyo ocean current

Ocean current

An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...

.

Kamome Island

Kamome Island

is an island in the Sea of Japan just off the coast of the town of Esashi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The island serves as a breakwater for the Esashi port. It has several historical sites and is protected as a part of the Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park. Every July, there is a two-day festival that attracts...

 in the town is part of Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park

Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park

is a prefectural natural park of Hokkaidō, Japan. The park encompasses over , including all of Okushiri Island and parts of the following towns of Hiyama Subprefecture:*Esashi*Kaminokuni*Otobe*TaiseiThe park also includes Kamome Island in Esashi....

.

Culture

The area is home to Esashi Oiwake, a traditional Japanese folk music derived from mago-uta verses from Shinshu which spread throughout Japan during the Edo era and have become an Esashi art form. The district holds a national oiwake convention each September. The oiwake musician 青坂満 comes from Esashi.

The ubagami-daijingu dogyo festival, based around the ubagami-daijingu shrine, is celebrated in August.

Esashi was the subject of the 1992 single Esashi love-song by Yuka Õne.

The town also has a celebrated historical dance: Doba Shishimai. The dance's three acts include a Shinto ritual dance of three fawns, a pestle-swinging dance and a dance of hinds quarreling over a fawn.

Esashi has an official sister town, Notogawa

Notogawa, Shiga

was a town located in Kanzaki District, Shiga, Japan. It touches the Lake Biwa on the northeast.On January 1, 2006 Notogawa, along with the town of Gamō, from Gamō District, was merged into the expanded city of Higashiōmi....

 (now part of Higashiõmi city

Higashiomi, Shiga

is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 117,557 and the density of 303 persons per km². The total area is 388.58 km²....

) in Shiga prefecture

Shiga Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...

. It also has official friendship status with Suzu city

Suzu, Ishikawa

is a city located at the northeasternmost tip of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa, Japan. The city is the proposed site of the Suzu Nuclear Power Plant; however, in 2003 the proposal was "frozen" until further notice....

 in Ishikawa prefecture

Ishikawa Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...

.

History

In the Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

 period, Esashi grew wealthy as a herring fishing town. The town's prosperity coined a saying, "Even Edo is not as busy as Esashi in May" and visitors to the town described the quantity of herring being so great that it turned the color of the sea white.

Several Meiji-era

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

residences of those who grew wealthy on the trade are preserved in the town today, including the Sekikawa family country house and the Nakamura family house. The majority of Esashi's historic buildings are located on Esashi Inishie Road.

The fisheries failed around the turn of end of the 19th century and the town tried to replace its major industry with tourism. The town advertised itself using the Min'yo classical Japanese folk song, the main part of which was originally from the village of Oiwake in central Japan, but became known as Esashi Oiwake as the town's version gained renown.

External links

• Official website in Japanese