Asagiri

• Name — Asagiri • Settlement Type — Town • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Japan • Subdivision Type1 — Region • Subdivision Name1 — Kyushu • Subdivision Type2 — Prefecture • Subdivision Name2 — Kumamoto • Subdivision Type3 — District • Subdivision Name3 — Kuma • Extinct Title — Now part of • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Title1 — Vice Mayor • Unit Pref — Metric • Area Total Km2 — 159.56 • Population Total — 14,134 • Population As Of — August 31, 2024 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Timezone1 — JST • Utc Offset1 — +09:00 • Blank Name Sec1 — City hall address • Blank Info Sec1 — 1199 Menda Higashi, Asagiri-cho, Kuma-gun, Kumamoto-ken 868-0408 • Blank Name Sec2 — Climate • Blank Info Sec2 — Cfa • Illustration — Asagiri Town Hall

Asagiri is located in southern Kumamoto Prefecture. It contains Mount Shiragatake, a designated nature reserve. • Mountains: Shiragatake • Rivers: Kuma river

Kumamoto Prefecture • Nishiki • Sagara • Taragi Miyazaki Prefecture • Ebino

Asagiri has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and cool winters. There is significant precipitation throughout the year, especially during June and July. The average annual temperature in Asagiri is 15.5 C. The average annual rainfall is with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 C, and lowest in January, at around 4.1 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Asagiri was on 2 August 2026; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 25 January 2016.

Per Japanese census data, the population of Asagiri in 2020 is 14,676 people. Asagiri has been conducting censuses since 1920.

The area of Asagiri was part of ancient Higo Province, During the Edo Period it was part of the holdings of Hitoyoshi Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the villages of Ue, Minagoe, Menda, Ōkaharu, Sue, and Fukada were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Minagoe was incorporated into Ue village on December 7, 1895, which was elevated to town status on April 1, 1937. On April 1, 2003, villages of Ue, Ōkaharu, Sue, Fukada were merged with town of Menda to create Asagiri. The name was chosen because for the fog that blankets the valley from fall through spring.(Asa – morning, kiri/giri – fog)

Asagiri has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 14 members. Asagiri, collectively with the other municipalities of Kuma District, contributes two members to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Kumamoto 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Agriculture dominates the local economy. Soybeans, strawberries, melons and tobacco and shōchū are produced here.

Asagiri has five public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education.

Kumagawa Railroad - Yunomae Line • Okadome-Kōfuku - - Higashi-Menda

• Route

• Yasushi Kaneko, politician • Kazuaki Kiriya, photographer, video director • Yoshifumi Matsumura, politician

• The village of Sue (now part of Asagiri) was the topic of a 1939 text, Suye Mura, a Japanese Village by John Embree.