Esashi, Hokkaidō (Hiyama)

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This article is about the town in Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan. There is another town in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaidō and a city in Iwate Prefecture with the same name, see Esashi.

**Esashi**
**江差町**
Esashi's location in Hokkaidō, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaidō
Prefecture	Hokkaidō
District	Hiyama
Physical characteristics
Area	109.57 km² (42.31 sq mi)
Population (as of March, 2008)
Total	9,570
Density	92.63 /km² (240 /sq mi)
Location	41°52′N, 140°8′E
Symbols
Tree	Thujopsis
Flower	Japanese Rose
Flag
Esashi Government Office
Address	〒043-8560 193-1 Aza-Nakauta-chō, Esashi-chō, Hiyama-gun, Hokkaidō
Phone number	0139-52-1020
Official website: Town of Esashi

Esashi (江差町, Esahi-chō^?) is a town in Hiyama District, Hiyama, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture.

One of the oldest towns in Hokkaidō, the name Esashi comes from the Ainu word for konbu, a type of edible kelp well known in Japan. It is the birthplace of a folk music tradition called Esashi oiwake.

1 Geography
2 Culture
3 History
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Esashi is a district and port town located on the western seaboard of Hokkaidō on the Assabugawa river, facing the Sea of Japan. Its eastern part is mountainous. The town is bordered by the municipalities of Kaminokuni, Assabu and Otobe. It has a rail-link; Esashi Station is the terminus of Esashi-sen train line; and a ferry connection to Okushiri island.

The district has a Honshu-type humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification) with far less snow in winter than elsewhere in Hokkaidō due to the influence of the warming tsushima-kairyo ocean current.

[edit] Culture

The area is home to Esashi Oiwake, a traditional Japanese folk music derived from mago-uta verses from Shinshu which spread throughout Japan during the Edo era and have become an Esashi artform.^[1] The district holds a national oiwake convention each September. The oiwake musician 青坂満 comes from Esashi.

The ubagami-daijingu dogyo festival, based around the ubagami-daijingu shrine, is celebrated in August.

Esashi was the subject of the 1992 single Esashi love-song by Yuka Õne.

The town also has a celebrated historical dance: Doba Shishimai. The dance's three acts include a Shinto ritual dance of three fawns, a pestle-swinging dance and a dance of hinds quarreling over a fawn.^[2]

Esashi has an official sister town, Notogawa (now part of Higashiõmi city) in Shiga prefecture. It also has official friendship status with Suzu city in Ishikawa prefecture.

[edit] History

In the Edo period, Esashi grew wealthy as a herring fishing town. The town's prosperity coined a saying, "Even Edo is not as busy as Esashi in May" and visitors to the town described the quantity of herring being so great that it turned the color of the sea white.

Several Meiji-era residences of those who grew wealthy on the trade are preserved in the town today, including the Sekikawa family country house and the Nakamura family house. The majority of Esashi's historic buildings are located on Esashi Inishie Road.

The fisheries failed around the turn of end of the 19th century and the town tried to replace its major industry with tourism. The town advertised itself using the Min'yo classical Japanese folk song, the main part of which was originally from the village of Oiwake in central Japan, but became known as Esashi Oiwake as the town's version gained renown.^[3]