is a 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...

 located in Chiba Prefecture

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, 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...

. As of 2010 data, the city had an estimated population of 42,035 and a population 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 183 persons per km². The total area was 230.22 km².

Geography

Minamibōsō is in the southern portion of Chiba Prefecture, near the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula

Boso Peninsula

thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....

, facing the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 to the east and south, and the entrance to Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

 on the west. The area has a warm maritime climate with hot summers and mild winters.

History

The area of present-day Minamibōsō was part of ancient Awa Province

Awa Province (Chiba)

was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on the tip of the Boso Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or...

, dominated by the Satomi clan

Satomi clan

The Satomi clan was a clan of samurai which claimed descent from Nitta Yoshishige , whose son Yoshitoshi took 'Satomi' as his surname. The Satomi moved from Kōzuke province to Awa province in the mid-15th century, and remained there into the Edo Period. During the Sengoku period, the Satomi were...

 during the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

, and mostly tenryō territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, with portions under the control of various minor feudal domains. The area was divided into numerous towns and villages in the Meiji period

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 :...

, all within Awa District

Awa District, Chiba

is a district located in Chiba, Japan.As of August 2010, the district had an estimated population of 8,992 and a density of 198 persons per km². Its total area was 45.16 km².-History:...

 of Chiba Prefecture.

The modern city of Minamibōsō was formed from the merger

Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

Municipal mergers and dissolutions carried out in Japan can take place within one municipality or between multiple municipalities and are required to be based upon consensus.- Merger policy:...

 on March 20, 2006 of the towns of Chikura

Chikura, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of October 1, 2004, the town had an estimated population of 12,527 and a density of 342 persons per km². The total area was 36.64 km².-Geography:...

, Maruyama

Maruyama, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of August 1, 2004, the town had an estimated population of 5,780 and a density of 131 persons per km². The total area was 44.11 km².-Geography:...

, Shirahama

Shirahama, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of October 1, 2004, the town had an estimated population of 6,027 and a density of 353 persons per km². The total area was 17.07 km².-Geography:...

, Tomiura

Tomiura, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of March 20, 2006, the town had an estimated population of 5,698 and a density of 221 persons per km². The total area was 25.69 km².-Geography:...

, Tomiyama

Tomiyama, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of March 20, 2006, the town had an estimated population of 5,841 and a density of 145 persons per km². The total area was 40.34 km².-Geography:...

 and Wada

Wada, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of March 20, 2006, the town had an estimated population of 5,717 and a density of 176 persons per km². The total area was 32.45 km².-Geography:...

, and the village of Miyoshi

Miyoshi, Chiba

is a former village located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of March 20, 2006, the village had an estimated population of 4,560 and a density of 135 persons per km². The total area was 33.92 km².-Geography:...

.

Economy

Minamibōsō serves as a commercial center for the surrounding region of southern Chiba Prefecture. The primary industry is commercial fishing

Commercial fishing

Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...

 and agriculture (horticulture and flowers). The tourist industry is a growing component of the local economy, with attracted to the areas beaches and hot spring resorts

Onsen

An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...

.

Railway

• JR East
  East Japan Railway Company
  is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
  
   – Uchibō Line

} – – – – –

Notable places in Minamibōsō

• Cape Taibu
• Cape Nojima
• Ishidō-ji
• Daishō-in
• Megane Bridge
• Mount Karasuba
  Mount Karasuba
  is a mountain on the border of thecities of Minamibōsō and Kamogawa in ChibaPrefecture, Japan with an altitude of . It is one of themountains of the Minaoka Mountain District of the Bōsō Hill Range. The kanji for Mount Karasuba, 烏 and 場, mean 'crow' and 'place' respectively. The mountain is popular...
  
  
• Mount Atago (Minamibōsō, Chiba), home to a JASDF
  Japan Air Self-Defense Force
  The , or JASDF, is the aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems...
  
   radar
  Radar
  Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
  
   station
• Mount Tomi
• Mount Takazuka
• Mounta Iyogatake

Noted people from Minamibōsō

• Ai Aoki
  Ai Aoki
  is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet . A native of Tokyo and graduate of Chiba University, she was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007 after running unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in...
  
   – politician, former singer
• Sessue Hayakawa
  Sessue Hayakawa
  was a Japanese and American Issei actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors...
  
  - actor