was 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...

 located in Aso District

Aso District, Kumamoto

is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.As of the Aso and Yamato mergers but with 2003 population data, the district has an estimated population of 40,841 and a density of 58.1 persons per square kilometer...

, Kumamoto

Kumamoto Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...

, 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...

.

On February 11, 2005 Ichinomiya was merged with the town of Aso

Aso, Kumamoto

is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.The city was formed on February 11, 2005 from the merger of the former town of Aso with the town of Ichinomiya, and the village of Namino, all from Aso District....

 (old), and the village of Namino

Namino, Kumamoto

Namino was a village located in Aso District, Kumamoto, Japan.On February 11, 2005 Nanimo was merged with the towns of Aso and Ichinomiya, all from Aso District, to form the new city of Aso and no longer exists as an independent municipality.As of 2003, the village had an estimated population of...

, all from Aso District

Aso District, Kumamoto

is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.As of the Aso and Yamato mergers but with 2003 population data, the district has an estimated population of 40,841 and a density of 58.1 persons per square kilometer...

, to form the new city

Cities of Japan

||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 of Aso

Aso, Kumamoto

is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.The city was formed on February 11, 2005 from the merger of the former town of Aso with the town of Ichinomiya, and the village of Namino, all from Aso District....

 and no longer exists as an independent municipality

Municipalities of Japan

Japan has three levels of government: national, prefectural, and municipal. The nation is divided into 47 prefectures. Each prefecture consists of numerous municipalities. There are four types of municipalities in Japan: cities, towns, villages and special wards...

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Ichinomiya literally means "the first shrine" of the province. In case of this town, it referred to the Aso Shrine

Aso Shrine

is a Shinto Shrine in Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, Aso is one of the oldest and most prominent shrines in Japan. This shrine holds several Important Cultural Properties, such as Ichi-no-shinden （一の神殿）, Ni-no-shinden （二の神殿）, Rōmon （楼門） etc....

 of the Higo Province

Higo Province

Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces....

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As of 2003, the town had an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 9,977 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

of 94.54 persons per km². The total area was 105.53 km².