Ooka [village] - Oooka

Japanese: 大岡[村] - おおおか

A village in Sarashina County, central Nagano Prefecture. Population 1,602 (1995). A mountain village located in the Chikuma Mountains, 70% of the village's area is made up of forests and wilderness. The village area slopes roughly northwest from Mt. Hijiri (1,447m) in the southeast to the valley of the Sai River, which flows north along the western edge, with settlements and cultivated land scattered among the mountains. Agriculture, primarily rice, is the main industry, but since the 1950s, there has been a significant outflow of young labor force, and the farming population has been decreasing. Since the 1960s, tourism development has progressed on the Hijiriyama (Hijigaoka) Plateau, and campsites, ski resorts, and villa areas have been built.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

長野県中部，更級（さらしな）郡の村。人口1602(1995)。筑摩山地に位置する山村で，村面積の7割を山林･原野が占める。村域は南東部の聖（ひじり）山(1447m)から西縁を北流する犀（さい）川の谷までほぼ北西に傾斜し，山間部に集落と耕地が点在する。稲作中心の農業が主産業であるが，昭和30年代から若年労働力の流出が著しく，農家人口は減少している。昭和40年代から聖山(聖ヶ岡)高原の観光開発が進み，キャンプ場，スキー場，別荘地などが造成されている。

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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