Imakane, Hokkaidō
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Imakane 今金町 |
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| Town | |
Imakane Town hall
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 Location of Imakane in Hokkaido (Hiyama Subprefecture) |
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 Imakane
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| Coordinates: 42°25′N 140°01′E / 42.417°N 140.017°ECoordinates: 42°25′N 140°01′E / 42.417°N 140.017°E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Hokkaido |
| Prefecture | Hokkaido (Hiyama Subprefecture) |
| District | Setana |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Hideto Sotozaki |
| Area | |
| • Total | 568.14 km2 (219.36 sq mi) |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 6,258 |
| • Density | 11.53/km2 (29.9/sq mi) |
| Symbols | |
| • Tree | Japanese Yew |
| • Flower | Tulip |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) |
| Website | www |
Imakane (今金町 Imakane-chō?) is a town located in Setana District, Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.
As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 6,258 and a density of 11.53 persons per km². The total area is 568.14 km².
Imakane is located in southern Hokkaido within Setana District, Hiyama Subprefecture. The town is on Route 230 at the junction of the Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu and Toshibetsu-Mena rivers. The main landmark and meeting point in the town center is De Molen, a large windmill.
Imakane, at the time known as Hanaishi, was founded in the Kan'ei period between 1624 and 1643 after gold, silver and manganese were discovered in the upper Shiribetsu River, near Pirika/Hanaishi. Some of the gold mined from the area was used to build Nikkō Tōshō-gū, a Shinto shrine in dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Agate was found in Hanaishi in 1877. Mining was started by Oshima Kanzaemon. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of people arrived in the area to mine existing seams of manganese, gold and silver and by the middle of the Meji era many had settled in the Shiribetsu river area.
The town was granted independent status as the village of Toshibetsu and formed from the neighboring town of Setana in 1897. It was settled by Norioshi Shikata and 15 other families, including the Imamura and Kanamori houses. These families had arrived in the area during the preceding five years and laid out the town into 129 housing sites, a city hall and a police station.
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Wikipedia