is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 34,937, and a population density of 160 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 223.08 km2.
Geography
Shinjō is located in a mountain basin in northeast Yamagata Prefecture, north of Yamagata City. The Mogami River runs through the southwestern portion of city and the Masugata River flows through the city center. To the east of the city center is the Kamuro Mountain Range.
Neighboring municipalities
Yamagata Prefecture
Kaneyama
Mamurogawa
Sakegawa
Tozawa
Mogami
Okura
Funagata
Akita Prefecture
Yuzawa
Climate
Shinjō has a Humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Shinjō is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Shinjō has declined in recent decades.
History
The rivers and deciduous forests around Shinjo have provided sufficient game and edible plants for human habitation since prehistoric times. Fragments of pottery and flints from the Jomon Period (12,000 BC-400 BC) continue to be found on building sites.
Two notable earthenware Jomon figures that are Nationally Designated Cultural Properties were found near Shinjo. One is a 4,500 year-old clay figure of a woman (45 cm) referred to as the Venus of the Jomon Period (縄文時代の女神), excavated in Funagata Town. The other is the approximately 3,000 year-old Keppatsu Dogou 結髪土偶 (23.4 cm) found in Kamebuchi, Mamurogawa.
During the Yayoi Period (400 BC-300 AD) rice cultivation spread to the area now called Yamagata.
In 712, when Nara became the capital of Japan, the Dewa district was separated from Echigo Province to establish the Dewa Province. Later, the districts of Mogami (present day Mogami and Murayama) and the Okitama district of Mutsu Province were incorporated into Dewa Province.
Dewa Province had roughly the same borders as present-day Yamagata Prefecture, plus much of present-day Akita Prefecture, and Kinowanosaku Castle in Sakata City is believed to have been the center of the Dewa Province government.
Several important temples in Yamagata were founded during this period, including religious centers established by mountain ascetics on the three sacred mountains known as the Dewa Sanzan.
From the Asuka Period (538-710) through the Heian Period (794-1192), Yamagata had been shifting towards inclusion in the centralized government located in Kyoto and Nara. However, near the end of the Heian Period, conflict arose and Yamagata was recognized as being under the rule of the Oshu Fujiwara Clan. Legends about the famous warrior, Minamoto Yoshitsune, have been passed down in the Shonai and Mogami regions of Yamagata ever since.
At the start of the Kamakura Period (1192-1333), the Oshu Fujiwara Clan were defeated by the Kanto Bushi warriors. This led to the Oe Clan (including the Sagae Clan and Nagai Clan) controlling the regions of Murayama and Okitama, and the Mutou Clan (including the Daihoji Clan) controlling the Shonai region.
At the start of the Muromachi Period (1338-1573), during the era of conflict between the Northern and Southern Imperial Courts, the Shiba Clan, based in what is now northern Miyagi Prefecture, ruled the Oshu region. In 1356, they dispatched Shiba Kaneyori to govern the Ushu area of Yamagata. The Shiba Clan established its base in Mogami (now Yamagata City). They changed the clan name from Shiba to Mogami and expanded control over the region. During the Warring States Period (15th–17th centuries), Mogami Yoshiaki (最上義光) moved his forces northward and expanded the Mogami Clan's territory to include the Murayama, Mogami, and Shonai regions.
The decisive battle of Sekigahara (1600) resulted in the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the final feudal regime to rule over Japan. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, most of Yamagata was controlled by the great feudal lord Mogami Yoshiaki. The Mogami fief became the fifth largest in Japan, excluding lands held by the Tokugawa. Mogami Yoshiaki developed flood control of the Mogami River to allow for safer navigation and for irrigation to increase rice farming. He also reconstructed and expanded Yamagata Castle and the surrounding castle town.