Yame

Yame is located in mountainous southern Fukuoka Prefecture bordering Ōita Prefecture and Kumamoto Prefecture. The Yabe River, which flows from Mount Mikuni on the prefectural border, flows through Yabe into the Ariake Sea. The land has a basin-like topography.

Fukuoka Prefecture

• Chikugo
• Hirokawa
• Kurume
• Miyama
• Ukiha

Kumamoto Prefecture

• Nagomi
• Yamaga

Ōita Prefecture

• Hita

Yame has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa). The average annual temperature in Yame is {{convert|15.4|C}}. The average annual rainfall is {{cvt|2058.1|mm}} with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around {{convert|26.7|C}}, and lowest in January, at around {{convert|4.1|C}}. The highest temperature ever recorded in Yame was {{cvt|39.2|C}} on 16 July 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was {{cvt|-7.9|C}} on 25 January 2016.

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|single line = Y

|metric first = Y

|location = Kurogi, Yame (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1977−present)

|Jan record high C = 20.9

|Feb record high C = 23.3

|Mar record high C = 25.2

|Apr record high C = 30.8

|May record high C = 34.8

|Jun record high C = 36.3

|Jul record high C = 39.2

|Aug record high C = 38.7

|Sep record high C = 37.4

|Oct record high C = 32.6

|Nov record high C = 26.5

|Dec record high C = 23.9

|Jan record low C = -7.9

|Feb record low C = -7.4

|Mar record low C = -5.1

|Apr record low C = -2.6

|May record low C = 3.9

|Jun record low C = 7.3

|Jul record low C = 13.5

|Aug record low C = 14.0

|Sep record low C = 6.2

|Oct record low C = 0.9

|Nov record low C = -2.2

|Dec record low C = -5.5

|Jan high C = 9.4

|Feb high C = 11.2

|Mar high C = 14.9

|Apr high C = 20.4

|May high C = 25.2

|Jun high C = 27.4

|Jul high C = 31.0

|Aug high C = 32.4

|Sep high C = 28.9

|Oct high C = 23.7

|Nov high C = 17.7

|Dec high C = 11.6

|Jan mean C = 4.1

|Feb mean C = 5.4

|Mar mean C = 8.8

|Apr mean C = 13.9

|May mean C = 18.7

|Jun mean C = 22.3

|Jul mean C = 26.0

|Aug mean C = 26.7

|Sep mean C = 23.2

|Oct mean C = 17.5

|Nov mean C = 11.7

|Dec mean C = 6.1

|Jan low C = -0.5

|Feb low C = 0.3

|Mar low C = 3.3

|Apr low C = 7.8

|May low C = 12.7

|Jun low C = 18.0

|Jul low C = 22.3

|Aug low C = 22.5

|Sep low C = 18.8

|Oct low C = 12.5

|Nov low C = 6.6

|Dec low C = 1.4

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 59.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 83.3

|Mar precipitation mm = 129.9

|Apr precipitation mm = 151.7

|May precipitation mm = 183.8

|Jun precipitation mm = 388.5

|Jul precipitation mm = 414.3

|Aug precipitation mm = 227.1

|Sep precipitation mm = 182.2

|Oct precipitation mm = 86.7

|Nov precipitation mm = 87.2

|Dec precipitation mm = 64.6

|year precipitation mm = 2058.1

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 8.6

|Feb precipitation days = 8.8

|Mar precipitation days = 11.0

|Apr precipitation days = 10.5

|May precipitation days = 9.7

|Jun precipitation days = 13.9

|Jul precipitation days = 13.7

|Aug precipitation days = 11.1

|Sep precipitation days = 9.8

|Oct precipitation days = 6.7

|Nov precipitation days = 8.1

|Dec precipitation days = 8.3

|Jan sun = 116.8

|Feb sun = 129.7

|Mar sun = 162.0

|Apr sun = 183.1

|May sun = 192.9

|Jun sun = 121.8

|Jul sun = 161.9

|Aug sun = 197.3

|Sep sun = 166.9

|Oct sun = 177.2

|Nov sun = 143.4

|Dec sun = 124.3

|year sun = 1877.4

|source 1 = Japan Meteorological Agency{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=82&block_no=0792&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = May 21, 2022}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=82&block_no=0792&year=&month=&day=&view=h0

|script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）

| publisher = JMA

| access-date = May 21, 2022}}}}

Per Japanese census data, the population of Yame in 2020 is 60,608 people. Yame has been conducting censuses since 1950.

{{Historical populations

| 1950 | 105194

| 1955 | 105820

| 1960 | 101573

| 1965 | 93353

| 1970 | 88888

| 1975 | 85736

| 1980 | 85078

| 1985 | 84556

| 1990 | 81895

| 1995 | 79492

| 2000 | 76689

| 2005 | 73262

| 2010 | 69053

| 2015 | 64408

| 2020 | 60608

|align = none

|col=2

|footnote = Yame population statistics[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/japan/fukuoka/ Yame population statistics]

}}

The area of Yame was part of ancient Chikugo Province. It has been inhabited since ancient times, and many ruins from the Jōmon period to the Yayoi period have been discovered, as well as more than 300 kofun burial mounds from the Kofun period. A powerful ancient state existed in the Yame region, and it was the center of the Iwai Rebellion of 527 AD against the Yamato court. The Iwatoyama Kofun, located in northern Yame, is said to be the tomb of the leader of that rebellion and is the largest keyhole-shaped tumulus in northern Kyushu. During the Edo Period, Fukushima Castle in Yame was one of the largest flatland-style Japanese castles in the region and had a three-story tenshu. It was destroyed in 1615 after the area became part of Kurume Domain, but the jōkamachi survived to be one of the largest merchant towns within Kurume Domain. Many traditional buildings from the Edo period to modern times remain along the streets, mainly lacquered houses. After the Meiji restoration, the town of Fukushima was established on May 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. In 1943, during World War II, Fukushima was proposed as a site for relocating the capital of Japan.

On April 1, 1954 was raised to city status.. Initially, it was planned to name the city "Chikugo-Fukushima," but due to possible confusion with neighbouring Chikugo city, it was decided to name the city "Yame" instead. At that time, there was a strong opposition to the name from the residents of the former Fukushima town.

On October 1, 2006 the town of Jōyō (from Yame District) was merged into Yame. On February 1, 2010, the towns of Kurogi and Tachibana, and the villages of Hoshino and Yabe (all from Yame District) were merged into Yame.

Yame has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Yame, collectively with the town of Hirokawa, contributes three members to the Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Fukuoka 7th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The economy of Yame is overwhelmingly based on agriculture. Yame is a center of traditional craft industries and its total production of traditional crafts is the largest in Kyushu. These include washi paper, and various Chōchin lanterns, Butsudan, and Japanese umbrellas, and Tōrō lantern made from tuff from Mount Aso.

Yame has 13 public elementary schools, eight public junior high schools and two vocational training schools operated by the city government. The city has two public high schools operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one private junior high and two private high schools.

Yame no longer has any passenger railway service. The nearest train stations to the city are JR Kyushu Hainuzuka Station or Nishitetsu Kurume Station, the former of which is about 20 minutes away from Fukushima in the city center by bus. The latter is about 30 minutes by bus.

• File:JP Expressway E3.svg Kyushu Expressway
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|3}}
• {{jct|country=JPN|Route|442}}

• Yame Kofun Cluster

• Yasuyuki Eda, politician
• Takafumi Horie, entrepreneur, founder of Livedoor
• Hitomi Kuroki, actress
• Eisuke Nakazono, novelist
• Akiko Sugimoto, novelist

{{reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [http://www.city.yame.fukuoka.jp Yame City official website] {{in lang|ja}}
• [http://www.bassaro.com/yame_introduction/ Brief introduction of Yame tea] {{in lang|en}}

{{Fukuoka}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Fukuoka Prefecture

Category:1954 establishments in Japan