Gyokutō has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Gyokutō is 16.3°C. The average annual rainfall is 1988mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.9°C, and lowest in January, at around 6.0°C.[2]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Gyokutō is as shown below
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1940
5,782
—
1950
8,365
+44.7%
1960
7,403
−11.5%
1970
6,403
−13.5%
1980
6,315
−1.4%
1990
6,043
−4.3%
2000
5,781
−4.3%
2010
5,554
−3.9%
2020
5,045
−9.2%
History
The area of Gyokutō was part of ancient Higo Province, During the Edo Period it was part of the holdings of Kumamoto Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the villages of Konoha and Yamakita were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The two villages merged on March 1, 1955 to form the village of Gyokutō, which was raised to town status on April 1, 1967.
Government
Gyokutō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 10 members. Gyokutō, collectively with the other municipalities of Tamana District, contributes one member to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Kumamoto 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Economy
The local economy is based on agriculture and horticulture, with mikan oranges and Japanese plums as the predominant crops.
Education
Gyokutō has two public elementary schools and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.
The Hachiman shrine in the town celebrates an annual spring festival on 19 February and an annual autumn festival on 19 November, which involve sumo wrestling, horse chasing, and kagura ritual dances.[3]
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