Tenryū, Nagano

This article is about village on Nagano Prefecture. For the adjacent ward of Hamamatsu, see Tenryū Ward.

Tenryū (天龍村, Tenryū-mura) is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 April 2019, the village had an estimated population of 1,275 in 712 households, and a population density of 12.1 persons per km². The total area of the village is 109.44 square kilometres (42.26 sq mi).

Tenryū 天龍村
Village
Tenryū Village Hall
Flag Seal
Location of Tenryū in Nagano Prefecture
Tenryū
Coordinates: 35°16′34.9″N 137°51′15.2″E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Kōshin'etsu)
Prefecture	Nagano
District	Shimoina
Area
• Total	109.44 km2 (42.26 sq mi)
Population  (April 2019)
• Total	1,275
• Density	12/km2 (30/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Symbols
• Tree	Trachycarpus
• Flower	Lilium auratum
• Bird	Dollarbird
Phone number	0260-26-2111
Address	878 Hiraoka Tenryū-mura, Shimoina-gun, Nagano-ken 399-1201
Website	Official website

Yubeshi, a local specialty of Tenryū

Geography

Tenryū is located in mountainous far south of Nagano Prefecture on its border with Aichi Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture. The Tenryū River runs through the village, which is over 90% covered in mountains and forest. Hiraoka Dam is located within Tenryū.

Surrounding municipalities

• Aichi Prefecture
  • Toyone
• Nagano Prefecture
  • Anan
  • IIda
  • Yasuoka
• Shizuoka Prefecture
  • Hamamatsu

Climate

The town has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cold winters (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The average annual temperature in Tenryū is 13.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1964 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.9 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tenryū has dropped rapidly over the past 70 years.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1940	5,763	—
1950	8,337	+44.7%
1960	5,792	−30.5%
1970	4,222	−27.1%
1980	3,389	−19.7%
1990	2,822	−16.7%
2000	2,239	−20.7%
2010	1,657	−26.0%
2020	1,178	−28.9%

History

The area of present-day Tenryū was part of ancient Shinano Province. The village was established on September 30, 1956 by the merger of the villages of Hiraoka and Kamihara.

Education

Tenryū has one public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the village government, and one private elementary school and one private middle school. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

• JR Tōkai – Iida Line
  • Nakaisamurai - Ina-Kozawa - Ugusu - Hiraoka - Shiteguri

Highway

• National Route 418

External links

• Media related to Tenryū, Nagano at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Website (in Japanese)