  is a town located in arida district, wakayama prefecture, japan. as of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 8,221 and a density of 125.80 persons per kmÂ². the total area is 65.35 kmÂ². ==history== thanks to the story called inamura no hi: the burning rice fields" by tsunezo nakai (translated and published in english by sara cone bryant) and lafcadio hearn's gleanings in buddha-fields(1897), hirogawa (then hiro-mura) is often referred to the home of "a living god" : goryo hamaguchi (1820-1885). in 1854, goryo hamaguchi saved many lives from the tsunami struck the kii peninsula following the big earthquake. he set fires to rice sheaves (inamura) to help guide those in great danger to safety on the hilltop. he also devoted himself to help fellow villagers find jobs (hiring them) and build confidence by constructing a huge sea wall along the shore. goryo hamaguchi and others established a private academy called "taikyu-sha" (current taikyu junior/high school) to give the villagers the opportunity to learn. (according to the school record, they are not teaching the way to be successful or be famous but to be practical in many ways, such as farming and ironing.) in 1907, mr. george trumbull ladd, assisting marquis ito (hirofumi), visited the school and later published his journal "rare days in japan" (1910) in the u.s. ==references== mr. george trumbull ladd briefly described his visit in his another book "in korea with marquis ito" (1908) as follows: we had taken a trip to the village of hiro mura, where formerly lived hamaguchi goryo, the benevolent patron of his village, whose act of self-sacrifice in burning his rice straw in order to guide the bewildered villagers to a place of safety when  were being overwhelmed by a tidal wave in the darkness of midnight, has been made the theme of one of lafcadio hearnâs interesting tales. mr. hearn, it appears, had never visited the locality; and, indeed, we were 
Towns_in_Wakayama_Prefecture