Kotohira, Kagawa
Encyclopedia
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 Nakatado District
Nakatado District, Kagawa
is a district located in Kagawa Prefecture.Due to the district government enforcement in 1899, the district was formed when the Naka and Tado Districts merged.The district contains 3 towns.*Kotohira*Tadotsu*Mannō-Timeline:...
, Kagawa
Kagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is Takamatsu.- History :Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province.For a brief period between August 1876 and December 1888, Kagawa was made a part of Ehime Prefecture.-Battle of Yashima:...
, 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...
. The town is best known as the site of Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
's largest shrine complex, the Kotohira Shrine
Kotohira Shrine
is a Shintō shrine in the town of Kotohira in Nakatado District of Kagawa Prefecture, Japan....
(popularly known as Kompira-san).
As of May 1, 2011 the town has 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 9,888, with a household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
number of 3,842 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 1,168.79 persons per km². The total area is 8.46 km².
Kotohira also features Japan's oldest surviving Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
playhouse, Kanamaru-za.
Its average temperature is 16.7 degrees Celsius with an average annual rainfall of 817.5 mm. The town tree is the Rhodoleia
Rhodoleia
Rhodoleia is a genus of plant in family Hamamelidaceae. Together with its sister genus Exbucklandia, Rhodoleia forms the sister clade to the other 25 genera of Hamamelidaceae. Flowers of Rhodoleia are bird-pollinated...
, and the town flower is the blossom of the cherry tree. The mayor is Masaomi Yamashita, and the town was named after an ancient marine god named Kotohiragu. A grand festival is held every year on October 10.