Article

20412 ／うるぎむら

Nagano Prefecture 下伊那郡

Urugi Village

About 4 km of path in woods at 1,200 m.

Kotori no Mori, Atebidaira

Photo by Ganzi1008 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Nenbutsu-ko

A memorial tablet in the hall bears the mark "Horeki 10, Koshin."The nenbutsu gathering is said to date from around 1760.

It is said to have begun around 1760 (Horeki 10), when villagers enshrined the Sangai Banrei, the spirits of all the dead, in the Kannon hall after a crop failure and an epidemic. A tablet in the hall carries an inscription recording the Nenbutsu practice there. Today the village's elders chant the Heart Sutra, goeika and wasan; it is a village-designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Said to date from around 1760
Tablet inscribed "Horeki 10, Koshin"
Village Intangible Folk Cultural Property

02 ／ Oiri Weeping Cherry

When the buds of the Oiri cherry turned red,locals say, it was time to sow the rice seed.

This weeping cherry stands at the mouth of the Oiri cave, which gives it its name, and is a village Natural Monument. The village writes that at the foot of the village's lone cherry trees stand stone monuments such as Batō Kannon, telling of a time when horse-keeping thrived. Urugi's cherries are noted for their strong red tint. The land where the trees stand is private.

Red buds were the cue for sowing rice seed
Village Natural Monument
Private land

03 ／ Separation

Urugi Village became independent in July 1948,splitting off from Toyo Village.

The village's own plan records that the area became Toyo Village under the 1889 municipal system and, in July 1948, split off to become Urugi Village. It borders Anan Town to the east and north, Neba and Hiraya Villages to the west, and Toyone Village in Aichi Prefecture to the south. The village office stands at 823 m, and forest covers 88% of the area.

Split off in July 1948
Village office at 823 m
88% of the area is forest

Urugi Village from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot May 2022)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

The village office stands at 823 m, and there is no station.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

Urugi lies at the southern end of Nagano Prefecture and covers 43.43 km². There is no railway station; the gateway is the Urugi Village Office. The village describes a small basin ringed by mountains of 1,000 to 1,300 m and four passes, and its charter pledges respect for nature and ancestors.

People living here: 548people
Area: 43.43km²
Households: 279households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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 4 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Urugi Village in Japan35.271°N 137.711°E

Territory of Urugi Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

8.8km

Nagano Prefecture: Anan Town, Hiraya Village, Neba Village
Aichi Prefecture: Toyone Village

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

Urugi Village isthis kind of town.

01Atebidaira Kotori no Mori is about 60 ha of secondary forest at 1,200 m on the eastern foot of Mount Chausu, designated a "Bird Sanctuary Forest" by Nagano Prefecture in 1980, with a path of about 4 km
02The Nenbutsu-ko at the Kannon hall is a village-designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property said to date from around 1760, and the Oiri Weeping Cherry, whose buds locals say signaled rice sowing, is a village Natural Monument
03The village split from Toyo Village in July 1948; it has no railway station, its gateway is the Urugi Village Office, and it lies at the southern end of Nagano Prefecture, bordering Toyone Village in Aichi Prefecture

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Urugi Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes