Ōe, Yamagata
Geography. Ōe is located in mountainous central Yamagata. Like many small towns in Japan, Ōe is a collection of smaller hamlets. Elevation rises and populations decrease from east to west. The easternmost hamlet is Aterazawa, and contains about 4/5 of the town's population. The town extends from the west end of the central part of the Yamagata basin to the Asahi Mountains. In addition, it has several enclaves in Sagae city and Nakayama town, bordering the east. Administratively, the town area is divided from the east into the Sazawa, Hongo, and Shichiken districts. The Mogami River forms  the eastern border of the town. Climate. Ōe has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification "Cfa") 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 Ōe is . The average annual rainfall is with July 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 Ōe peaked around 1950, and has been steadily decreasing  since. The population is now much less than it was a hundred years ago. History. The area of present-day Ōe was part of ancient Dewa Province. During the Kamakura period it was controlled by the Ōe clan. During the early Edo period, it was the site of a castle and center of the briefly-lived Aterazawa Domain (12,000 "koku"), which was absorbed into Tsuruoka Domain. After the start of the Meiji period, the area became part of Nishimurayama District, Yamagata Prefecture. The village of Aterizawa was established on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system . The town of Ōe was established on August 20, 1959 by the merger of the town of Aterazawa and the village of Urushikawa. Economy. The economy of Ōe is based on agriculture. Education. Ōe has two public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the Town government and one public high schools operated by the Yamagata Prefectural Board of Education. Transportation. Railway. East Japan Railway Company - Aterazawa Line