Shikama, Miyagi

Shikama 色麻町
town
Haiden of Idate Jinja in Shikama
Flag Seal
Location of Shikama in Miyagi Prefecture
Shikama
Coordinates: 38°32′51.6″N 140°50′59.6″E
Country	Japan
Region	Tōhoku
Prefecture	Miyagi
District	Kami
Area
• Total	109.28 km2 (42.19 sq mi)
Population  (May 31, 2017)
• Total	7,059
• Density	64.6/km2 (167/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Tree	Sakura
Phone number	0229-65-2111
Address	41 Yotsugama Kitatani, Shikama-chō, Kami-gun, Miyagi-ken 981-4122
Website	Official website

Shikama Town Hall

Shikama (色麻町, Shikama-chō) is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. As of 31 May 2017, the town had an estimated population of 7,059 and a population density of 64.6 persons per km² in 2091 households. The total area of the town was 109.28 square kilometres (42.19 sq mi).

Geography

Shikama is located in west-central Miyagi Prefecture, bordered by the Ōu Mountains to the west. Parts of the town are within the borders of the Funagata Renpō Prefectural Natural Park. The town has a climate characterized by cool summers and cold winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Shikama is 11.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1342 mm with September as the wettest month.The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.2 °C.

Neighboring municipalities

• Miyagi Prefecture
  • Sendai
  • Ōsaki
  • Kami
  • Taiwa
  • Ōhira
• Yamagata Prefecture
  • Obanazawa

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shikama has declined over the past 40 years.

Census Year	Population
1970	8,836
1980	8,865
1990	8,717
2000	8,162
2010	7,431

History

The area of present-day Shikama was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period by the Emishi people. Per the Shoku Nihongi, following a huge earthquake in the year 715 AD, a large number of people migrated to this area from the southern Kantō region, forming numerous fortified settlements. The name of “Shikama-saku” appears in Nara period records as one of these settlements. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested by various samurai clans before the area came under the control of the Date clan of Sendai Domain during the Edo period, under the Tokugawa shogunate.

The village of Shikama was created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Shikama was raised to town status on April 1, 1978. A motion to merger with the neighboring three towns of Miyazaki, Nakaniida, and Onoda, all from Kami District, was defeated by a local referendum in April 2003.

Economy

The economy of Shikama is largely based on agriculture, primarily the cultivation of rice and Egoma.

Education

Shikama has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

• Shikama is not currently served by any passenger railway lines.

Highway

• National Route 457

Noted people from Shikama

• Susumu Ojima – entrepreneur

External links

• Official website Template:Ja icon