Kawanishi, Yamagata Prefecture, Tōhoku Region, Japan

🇯🇵 Kawanishi (川西町, Kawanishi-machi) is a town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 January 2020, the town had an estimated population density of 90 persons per km². The total area of the town is 166.46 square km (64 sq mi).

Geography Kawanishi is located in the south-west of the Yonezawa Basin. There are two major rivers, the Mogami River and the Omonogawa River, running along the town's borders. The literal meaning of Kawanishi is "west of the river", which refers to its location west of the Mogami River. Also, there are two minor rivers, the Inukawa and the Kurokawa, running through the town.

Neighboring municipalities

• Yamagata Prefecture ◦ Nagai; ◦ Nan'yō; ◦ Takahata; ◦ Yonezawa; ◦ Iide.

Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Kawanishi peaked around the year 1950 and has declined steadily since then. It is now considerably less than it was a hundred years ago.

History The area of present-day Kawanishi was part of ancient Dewa Province. After the start of the Meiji period, the area became part of Higashiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture. The nineteenth-century English traveler, Isabella Bird, stayed in the town, and noted the Yonezawa Basin area "as a 'Garden of Eden,' ground that smiles fruitfully, and Arcadia in Asia". The town of Kawanishi was established on January 1, 1955 by the merger of the villages of Otsuka, Inukawa, Komatsu and Chugun from Meiji period, the area became part of Higashiokitama District and the village of Tamaniwa from Minamiokitama District. The village of Yoshijima from Higashiokitama District joined the town on February 1, 1955.

Economy The abundance of water makes the town ideal for farming, mostly rice. The town also produces the famous Yonezawa beef since the Meiji era.

Education Kawanishi has six public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Yamagata Prefectural Board of Education.

Transport: Rail East Japan Railway Company - Yonesaka Line • Chūgun - Uzen-Komatsu - Inukawa

Yamagata Railway - Flower Nagai Line • Nishi-Ōtsuka

Transport: Road • National Route 113 • National Route 287

Local attractions • Kawanishi Dahlia Park.