en Misasa, Tottori

Misasa

三朝町
Misasa 三朝町
Town
	Clockwise from top left: Misasa Spa, Sanbutsu Temple in Mount Mitoku, Mitoku River, Place of Team Hall (Jinsho no Yakata in Japanese), Misasa Art Museum
	Flag Emblem
	Location of Misasa in Tottori Prefecture
	Misasa Location in Japan
	Coordinates: 35°25′N 133°52′E / 35.417°N 133.867°E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku; San'in
Prefecture	Tottori
District	Tōhaku
Government
• Mayor	Hiroyuki Matsuura
Area
• Total	233.52 km2 (90.16 sq mi)
Population (December 31, 2022)
• Total	6,056
• Density	26/km2 (67/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	999-2 Ōaza Ōze, Misasa-chō, Tottori-ken 682-0195
Website	Official website
Symbols
Flower	Rhododendron
Tree	Aesculus

Misasa (三朝町, Misasa-chō) is a town located in Tōhaku District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 December 2022^[update], the town had an estimated population of 6,056 in 2520 households and a population density of 26 persons per km².^[1] The total area of the town is 233.52 square kilometres (90.16 sq mi). The name "Misasa" (literally "three mornings") originates from the belief that one who stays to enjoy three mornings in the town's famous hot springs will find all of his ailments cured.

Geography

Misasa is located in central Tottori Prefecture. It is designated as a heavy snowfall area, and much of the area within the town is mountainous. The Tenjin River flows through the town.

Neighboring municipalities

Okayama Prefecture

Tottori Prefecture

Climate

Misasa is classified as a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Misasa is 13.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2097 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.4 °C.^[2]

Demography

Per Japanese census data,^[3] the population of Misasa has been as follows. The population has been declining since the 1960s

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1920	10,423	—
1930	10,164	−2.5%
1940	9,715	−4.4%
1950	11,172	+15.0%
1960	10,951	−2.0%
1970	9,157	−16.4%
1980	8,771	−4.2%
1990	8,700	−0.8%
2000	7,921	−9.0%
2010	7,024	−11.3%

History

As with all of Hōki Province, the area was part of the holdings of a branch of the Ikeda clan, daimyō of Tottori Domain under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. Following the Meiji restoration, the area was organized into villages within Tōhaku District, Tottori Prefecture on April 1, 1896 including the village of Misasa. Misasa was raised to town status on November 1,1953.

Government

Misasa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Misasa, collectively with the other municipalities of Tōhaku District, contributes three members to the Tottori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Tottori 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Misasa is for the most part a spa resort, boasting springs of radium-rich water, exhausting radon, a radioactive gas. Locals believe that bathing one in such waters can be good for one's health, although there is no scientific consensus on whether doing so is detrimental or helpful to one's health (see Radiation hormesis). For this reason, the town of Misasa organizes a yearly Marie Curie festival – Marie Curie discovered radium.

Education

Misasa has one public elementary school and one public junior high schools operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school. The Institute for Planetary Materials Okayama University is located in the town.