Nirasaki (韮崎市, Nirasaki-shi) is a city in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2020[update], the city had an estimated population of 28,150 in 12831 households,[1] and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area is 132.69 square kilometres (51.23 sq mi).[2]
The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (Köppen climate classificationCfa). The average annual temperature in Nirasaki is 13/0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1278 mm with September as the wettest month.[3]
Climate data for Nirasaki (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1977−present)
Per Japanese census data,[6] the population of Nirasaki has remained relatively steady in recent decades.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1940
25,804
—
1950
33,469
+29.7%
1960
30,244
−9.6%
1970
27,267
−9.8%
1980
27,343
+0.3%
1990
29,766
+8.9%
2000
32,707
+9.9%
2010
32,477
−0.7%
2020
29,067
−10.5%
History
The area around present-day Nirasaki was the ancestral homeland of the Takeda clan, which dominated Kai Province in the Sengoku period. During the Edo period, the area was tenryō territory under the direct administration of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the village of Niirasaki was a post town on the Kōshū Kaidō highway. During the early Meiji period, the area was organized into 14 villages under Kitakoma District, Yamanashi. Nirasaki was elevated to town status on September 20, 1892. Modern Nirasaki City was founded by merger of Nirasaki with ten surrounding villages on October 10, 1954.[7]
Government
Nirasaki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members.
Economy
The economy of Nirasaki is primarily agricultural.
Education
Nirasaki has five public elementary schools and two public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Yamanashi Prefectural Board of Education.
^"International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.