Mimata Town

Members kept planting; a canal bloomed.

Tadeike Shibazakura, canal-side

Photo by Sanjo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Ushinotoge Ronsho Site

The domains' border dispute lasted 48 years.A stone pillar stands at the disputed site.

A ronsho is a place where a border dispute took place. The stone pillar at the Ushinotoge ronsho site (牛之峠論所跡) is 2.2m high and 25cm wide, with the words "Kore yori higashi Obi-ryo" (従是東飫肥領, "east of here is Obi domain") carved on three sides. The dispute began in 1627 and lasted 48 years. The town's site noted in September 2019 that entry was prohibited.

Pillar: 2.2m high, 25cm wide
Border dispute: 48 years
Entry prohibited as of Sept. 2019

02 ／ Tani no Taro Odori

The ox suddenly falls ill, and a prayer in songand dance to Hayauma-sama begins.

This dance of the Tani district in Kabayama (樺山) is classed as dengaku (田楽), a rite that acts out field work. During the farming scenes, the ox Bebu (ベブ) falls ill. It is offered on April 28 to 30. Oral tradition says it began around Bunsei 3 (1820), but the town's document notes that the basis for this date is unknown.

Classed as dengaku
Offered April 28–30
Oral tradition: around Bunsei 3 (1820)

03 ／ Kajiyama's Bon Lanterns

The whole district hangs handmade lanternsin a long row along the eaves.

In Kajiyama (梶山), handmade lanterns are displayed in the Bon season. As a district-wide effort, red, blue, green and yellow lanterns hang from the eaves and soothe passersby. The town's site writes, "The spirit of 'yui' (結い, mutual help) is here," and its annual calendar lists August 10 to 15.

Red, blue, green and yellow lanterns
A district-wide effort
Aug. 10–15 (annual calendar)

Living here

Drive Route 33 end to end, and it is under 20km.

about 30,000 people
Rural district town

Ringed by mountains, the town is called a compact town on its tourism site. At Mimata Station on the JR Nippo Main Line is the office of the community bus "Kuimaru" (くいまーる), which circulates within the town. The town's logo is based on the heart-like shape of the town.

People living here: 25,591people
Area: 110.02km²
Households: 10,203households
Rent (average for rentals): 39,628yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 15 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —12 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Mimata Town in Japan31.731°N 131.125°E

Territory of Mimata Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

14.4km

都城市, 日南市, 宮崎市

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Mimata Town isthis kind of town.

01Along an irrigation canal in Tadeike (蓼池), members of the Tadeike Area Green Conservation Association (蓼池地区緑保全会) have kept planting shibazakura (moss phlox) every year, and the town's site says it now stretches about 5.5km. Mt. Kirishima appears in the background.
02The Ushinotoge ronsho site (牛之峠論所跡) is where a stone pillar stands at a disputed border between the Kagoshima and Obi domains. The Taro Odori of Tani (谷の太郎踊り) is a dengaku (田楽) dance, and the town's site tells of 19 stone rice-field deity statues and the custom of "ottoi" (オットイ), borrowing one by taking it.
03Kajiyama has the Nisshu Kajiyama Banshoato (日州梶山番所跡), a town-designated historic site, and Kajiyama Bridge, a stone arch bridge built in 1941 and nicknamed the "Spectacles Bridge." In the Bon season, lanterns also hang from the eaves in Kajiyama.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Mimata Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗