32441 ／ かわもとまち
Shimane Prefecture 邑智郡From an Iwami castle, a sea of clouds.
Maruyamajō, Ogasawara's castle01 ／ Izumo Kobaimo Habitat
Izumo kobaimo (イズモコバイモ), a rare lily-family plant, grows wild only in Shimane Prefecture. The colony (921m²) in Kawamoto's Yato (谷戸) district was named a town natural monument in 2005. Local groups still tend it, and a kobaimo festival is held every March.
02 ／ Gateway to Iwami Ginzan
Kawamoto prospered through trade on the Gōnokawa (江の川) river, once serving as a gateway to the Iwami Ginzan (石見銀山) silver mine and growing as a post town. From the Edo to Meiji eras it also yielded iron and copper, building a commerce-centered town. A railway, the Sankō Line (三江線), reached it in 1934 and closed in 2018, though the old station building is still used for events.
03 ／ Kidani Stone Pagoda
The stone pagoda in Kidani (木谷), surveyed in 1979 after 1972 flood-recovery work, was found to date from 1358 (Enbun 3). The town calls it the oldest San'in stone pagoda with a clear construction date. Sutra stones carved with Sanskrit characters were found beneath it. It now stands missing one of its original tiers.
Living here
Kawamoto is a hilly town where forest covers about 81% of its area, and it has never merged with another municipality. It hosts a prefectural government branch (the Seibu Kenmin Center's Kawamoto office) and Shimane Chūō High School, which took over the site of the former Kawamoto High School. It is also known for the Egawa Taiko (江川太鼓) drum troupe and the Shōrenji (正蓮寺) tower gate, called one of Iwami's three great gates.
−5.6% since 2015
5,099 → 3,248
16.77km² of it habitable
2024
2.3 people per household
2020
9.2 per 10,000 people
2023
These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.
Shape
North to south
13.0km
Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.
If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.
Similar towns
Two gardens, said to be made by Sesshū.
Manpuku-ji and Ikō-ji gardensA castle, A river runs through, Mountains
Named for a gorge like Kyoto's Arashiyama.
Musashi Ranzan gorgeA castle, A river runs through, Mountains
Hōjō castle ruins above the Ara River.
Hachigata Castle ruinsA castle, A river runs through, Mountains
