Kumenan

Kumenan 久米南町
Town
Kumenan town hall
Flag Chapter
Location of Kumenan in Okayama Prefecture
Kumenan Location in Japan
Coordinates: 34°55′45″N 133°57′39″E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku San'yō
Prefecture	Okayama
District	Kume
Area
• Total	78.65 km2 (30.37 sq mi)
Population  (January 31, 2023)
• Total	4,483
• Density	57/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	502-1 Shimoyuge, Kumenan-chō, Kume-gun, Okayama-ken 709-3614
Website	Official website
Symbols
Flower	Rhododendron
Tree	Ginkgo biloba

Tanjō-ji

Rice terraces in Kumenan

Kumenan (久米南町, Kumenan-chō) is a town located in Kume District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.As of 31 December 2022, the town had an estimated population of 4,483 in 2192 households and a population density of 57 persons per km². The total area of the town is 78.65 square kilometres (30.37 sq mi). Kumenan is known as the birthplace of Honen, the founder of the Jodo sect of Buddhism.

Geography

Kumenan is located on the Kibi Plateau, in the east-central part of Okayama Prefecture. There are few flatlands, and most of the town is mountain, forests and plateaus.

Neighboring municipalities

Okayama Prefecture

• Akaiwa
• Misaki
• Okayama

Climate

Kumenan has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with moderate snowfall. The average annual temperature in Kumenan is 13.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1501 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around 25.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.9 °C.

Demography

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kumenan has been as follows. The population has been decreasing since the 1950s.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	8,852	—
1930	8,627	−2.5%
1940	8,097	−6.1%
1950	11,015	+36.0%
1960	10,095	−8.4%
1970	7,697	−23.8%
1980	7,257	−5.7%
1990	6,605	−9.0%
2000	6,115	−7.4%
2010	5,298	−13.4%

History

The area of Kumenan was part of ancient Mimasaka Province. The village of Yuge was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on June 1, 1889. It was raised to town status on April 1, 1917. Yuge annexed ten neighboring village of Takigawa on April 1, 1940. On April 1, 1954, Yuge merged with the villages of Kōme, Tatsuyama, and Tanjōji to form the town of Kumenan.

Government

Yuge has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of eight members. Kumenan, collectively with the town of Misaki, contributes one member to the Okayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Okayama 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The main industry in the area is agriculture. The main crops are rice, fruit trees such as pears and grapes, leaf tobacco, and poultry farming.

Education

Kumenan has three public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school. Okayama Prefecture operates one special education school for the handicapped.

Transportation

Railway

JR West (JR West) - Tsuyama Line

• Kōme - Yuge - Tanjōji

Highways

• National Route 53

Local attractions

• Tanjō-ji, Buddhist temple

Noted people from Kumenan

• Sen Katayama, early Japanese Marxist political activist and journalist, co-founder of the Japanese Communist Party.

External links

• Media related to Kumenan, Okayama at Wikimedia Commons
• Town of Kumenan (in Japanese)

• Kumenan travel guide from Wikivoyage