Akitakata, Hiroshima

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Map showing location of Akitakata in Hiroshima Prefecture (as of 2006).

Akitakata, Hiroshima (安芸高田市; -shi) is a city located in north-central Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

The city has a population of 34,160 and an area of 538.17km². It was founded on March 1, 2004 with the merger of six towns in Takata District (Koda town, Midori town,Mukaihara town, Yachiyo town, Yoshida town, Takamiya town), thereby dissolving the district. It is a mountainous farming area known for many traditional events as well as certain food products.

One such food product is Ebisu tea, a sweet fragrant tea, that comes from Mukaihara Town. Another is "Yuzu juice", (柚子じゅうす), a product of the Kawane (川根）area of Takamiya town (高宮町) in the northeastern part of the city.

The city also lays claim to be the legendary birthplace and hometown of Mori Motonari (毛利元就), the famous "Warring States" era daimyo of the 16th century.

Kagura, an ancient traditional form of Shinto dance and music, is still very much alive there today. The towns of Midori and Takamiya practice the "new dance" style, which is not actually new at all, just a later emergent performance style compared to the "old style". (There is a Kagura village in Midori town called [Kaguramonzentojimura] (神楽門前湯治村)where various Kagura performances and competitions begin in August and lasts until December.)

Akitakata city is in the countryside, and still maintains many traditional local festivals. One such is Hanadaue, or rice-planting festival where men play flutes and taiko while women sing and plant rice. There are also new traditions, one in particular started by a participant in the JET program 10 years ago, called mud volleyball, in which locals and foreigners have an informal "soft-volleyball" competition in rice paddies.