Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi

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Kamikuishiki (上九一色村 (lit. up-nine-one-color); -mura) was a village located in Nishiyatsushiro District, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2006, the village had an estimated population of 1,501 and a density of 17 persons per km². The total area was 86.59 km².

Kamikuishiki achieved nationwide fame in Japan as a major center of the notorious cult religion Aum Shinrikyo which built its religious center and several facilities there, including a production center for nerve gases which were used in attacks on the Tokyo subway and in Matsumoto. It was in one of these buildings that the leader of the cult Shoko Asahara was arrested on May 16, 1995[1].

On March 1, 2006, the northern part of Kamikuishiki (Furuseki, Kakehashi) merged into the city of Kofu, the southern part (Fujigane, Motosu, Shoji) merged into the town of Fujikawaguchiko in Minamitsuru District. The village officially ceased to exist.

According to the last mayor Makoto Kobayashi, "financial reasons" made the decision inevitable. Economic decline make the villagers leave for larger areas where jobs are more readily available. Reduced tax collections and aging population also played their role.

[edit] Miscellaneous topics

Shojiko and Motosuko, two of the famous Fuji Five Lakes, are in Kamikuishiki. The place is historically known for beautiful views, unspoiled by byproducts of advancing industrial civilization and calm, traditionally relaxed general attitude of inhabitants towards life, typical for Japan's countryside.