Higashitagawa District, Yamagata

Higashitagawa District (東田川郡, Higashitagawa-gun) is a rural district located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. As of October 2013, the district has an estimated population of 29,957 and an area of 282.47 km². Much of the city of Tsuruoka and a portion of the city of Sakata was formerly part of Higashitagawa District.

Map showing original extent of Higashitagawa District in Yamagata Prefecture

yellow & green area=original extent in Meiji period; green=present area. 1=Mikawa, 2=Shōnai

Towns and villages

History

Tagawa County was an ancient place name in part of Dewa Province. It was divided into Higashitagawa District and Nishitagawa District after the Meiji restoration. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, much of the area of both districts were ruled as part of Tsuruoka Domain. The area became part of Yamagata Prefecture in 1876. At that time, Higashitagawa District consisted of 259 villages.

Historic Map of Higashitagawa District:

Ōizumi
Hongō
Yamazoe
Kogane
Itsuki
Azuma
Kurokawa
Hirose
Izumi
Watamae
Yokoyama
Oshikiri
Naganuma
Yaejima
Fujishima
Tōei
Toge
Tachiyazawa
Karikawa
Izaai
Yamato
Shōman
Amarume
Niibori
Sakae
Hirono

Purple=Tsuruoka City
Pink=Sakata City
Red=Shōnai Town
Orange=Mikawa Town

With the establishment of the municipality system on April 1, 1889, the district was consolidated into 26 villages.

On May 5, 1918, Amarume was raised to town status
On May 19, 1922, Fujishima was raised to town status
On April 1, 1937, Karikawa was raised to town status
On October 1, 1954, Karikawa merged with the neighboring villages of Kiyokawa and Tachiyazawa to become the town of Tachikawa

On February 1, 1955, the villages of Izumi, Hirose and Toge merged to form the town of Haguro.

On December 1, 1966, Kushibiki was raised to town status
On June 1, 1968, Mikawa was raised to town status
On July 1, 2005 the towns of Amarume and Tachikawa merged to form the new town of Shōnai.
On October 1, 2005 the city of Tsuruoka, the towns of Fujishima, Haguro and Kushibiki and the village of Asahi, and the town of Atsumi from Nishitagawa District merged into Tsuruoka.^[1]^[2]

References

^ 住民基本台帳人口移動報告年報 [Annual Report on Population Movement in the Basic Resident Register] (in Japanese). 総務庁統計局. 2005. p. 136.
^ 名寄市役所. "北海道名寄市｜姉妹都市「山形県鶴岡市」との交流事業". 北海道名寄市 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-02-07. 平成17年10月1日に、鶴岡市・羽黒町・櫛引町・朝日村・温海町と藤島町が合併し、新「鶴岡市」となりました。

38°47′06″N 139°57′58″E / 38.785°N 139.966°E / 38.785; 139.966

[1] 住民基本台帳人口移動報告年報 [Annual Report on Population Movement in the Basic Resident Register] (in Japanese). 総務庁統計局. 2005. p. 136.

[2] 名寄市役所. "北海道名寄市｜姉妹都市「山形県鶴岡市」との交流事業". 北海道名寄市 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-02-07. 平成17年10月1日に、鶴岡市・羽黒町・櫛引町・朝日村・温海町と藤島町が合併し、新「鶴岡市」となりました。

[1]