Otaki [Village] - Otaki

Japanese: 大滝[村] - おおたき

A village in Usu District, Iburi Subprefecture, southwest Hokkaido. In 1915, it was separated from Sobetsu Village and called Tokushunbetsu Village, but in 1950, it was renamed Otaki Village. Population: 2,216 (1995). Rivers such as the Osaru River cut valleys between volcanic mountains, and scattered settlements are formed on the terraces. Most of the village area is forest distributed in high snowfall areas at an altitude of 300 to 700 meters, and agricultural land area is less than 5%. There were settlers after 1895, but in 1940, the Nippon Steel Tokushunbetsu Mine started operation, and the Iburi Line (now a bus route) between Date Monbetsu was opened in the same year, and iron ore was sent to Muroran, becoming the village's important industry.

Otaki [Otaki village]

A village in Chichibu County, on the western edge of Saitama Prefecture. Population 1,857 (1995). Bordering Tokyo, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Gunma Prefectures. Occupying the mountainous region at the uppermost reaches of the Arakawa River, the area is home to a series of 2,000m-high mountains, including Mount Kobushigatake and Mount Kumotori. Passes such as the Karisaka Pass (Koshu Ura Kaido) and the Jumonji Pass (Shinshu Okan) were used as important transportation routes until the Edo period, and a checkpoint was set up at Tochimoto, where the two rivers meet. Deep in the Nakatsugawa River, a tributary of the Arakawa River, is the Chichibu Mine, said to have been discovered by Hiraga Gennai. Since the early Showa period, iron ore, zinc, lead, copper, and other minerals have been extracted here, but today, only limestone and silica sand remain.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

北海道南西部，胆振（いぶり）支庁有珠郡の村。1915年壮瞥村より分村し徳舜瞥村と称していたが，50年大滝村と改めた。人口2216(1995)。火山性山地の間を長流（おさる）川などが河谷を刻み，その段丘上に点在集落が形成されている。村域の大部分は標高300～700mの高冷積雪地に分布する森林で，農用地面積は5％に満たない。1895年以降入植者があったが，1940年日鉄徳舜瞥鉱山の操業が開始され，この年伊達紋別との間の胆振線(現，バス路線)が開通して鉄鉱石を室蘭に送り，この村の重要産業となった。

おおたき【大滝[村]】

埼玉県西端，秩父郡の村。人口1857(1995)。東京都，山梨県，長野県，群馬県と接する。荒川最上流域の山地を占め，甲武信ヶ岳（こぶしがたけ），雲取山はじめ標高2000m級の山々が連なる。雁坂峠(甲州裏街道)，十文字峠(信州往還)などの峠は江戸時代までは重要な交通路として使われ，その合流点の栃本には関所が置かれていた。荒川の支流中津川の奥には平賀源内が発見したといわれる秩父鉱山があり，昭和初期から鉄鉱石を中心に亜鉛，鉛，銅などを採掘してきたが，現在は石灰岩とケイ砂のみである。

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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