Minamikawara [village] - Minamikawara

Japanese: 南河原[村] - みなみかわら

A village in Kitasaitama County in northern Saitama Prefecture. Population 4,257 (1995). It is located in the lowlands between the Tone River and the Arakawa River, and is surrounded by the cities of Kumagaya and Gyoda. It was formerly known as Kawarago. Most of the cultivated land is rice paddies, but because the scale of management is small, footwear manufacturing and peddling have been carried out here since before World War II. Slipper production became popular in the mid-1950s, and by the late 1960s it had become a national production area. Although there is no railroad service, bus transportation is well developed, and since the late 1970s there has been an increase in the number of people commuting to surrounding areas such as Kumagaya and Gyoda.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

埼玉県北部，北埼玉郡の村。人口4257(1995)。利根川と荒川にはさまれた低地にあり，熊谷市と行田市に囲まれている。古くは河原郷とよばれた。耕地のほとんどは水田であるが，経営規模が零細なため第2次大戦前から履物の生産や行商が行われてきた。1950年代半ばからスリッパの生産が盛んとなり，60年代後半には全国的産地となった。鉄道は通じないがバス交通が発達しているので，70年代後半からは熊谷市，行田市など周辺地域への通勤者が増えている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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