Atsumi, Aichi

Atsumi (渥美町, Atsumi-chō) is a former town located in Atsumi District, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of July 31, 2005, the town had an estimated population of 22,472 and a population density of 436.77 persons per km². Its total area was 82.18 km².

Geography

Atsumi was located in southest Aichi Prefecture, at the extreme tip of the Atsumi Peninsula. The town was surrounded by the ocean on three sides, with Mikawa Bay to the north and west, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Parts of the town was within the borders of the Mikawa Wan Quasi-National Park

History

The area around Atsumi has been settled since prehistoric times, and numerous Jomon period remains have been found in the area, including shell middens. Pottery from the Heian period and Kamakura periods have also been found. In the Edo period, the part of the area was under the control of Tahara Domain, and part was administered as tenryō directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. The modern town of Atsumi waa created on April 15, 1955 by the merger of the former town of Fukue with the villages of Izumi and Iragomisaki. The area was unable to support commercial agriculture until the completion of large-scale irrigation projects in the 1960s.

On October 1, 2005, Atsumi merged with the neighboring town of Tahara to form the new city of Tahara and thus Atsumi ceased to exist as an independent administrative division.