is a former village

Villages of Japan

A is a local administrative unit in Japan.It is a local public body along with , , and . Geographically, a village's extent is contained within a prefecture....

 located in Awa District

Awa District, Chiba

is a district located in Chiba, Japan.As of August 2010, the district had an estimated population of 8,992 and a density of 198 persons per km². Its total area was 45.16 km².-History:...

, Chiba

Chiba Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. As of March 20, 2006, the village had an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 4,560 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 135 persons per km². The total area was 33.92 km².

Geography

Shirahama was located at southern end of Chiba Prefecture, at the southern extremity of Bōsō Peninsula

Boso Peninsula

thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....

. It was an inland area, without access to the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. The town had a temperate maritime climate with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters.

History

The name Miyoshi appears in Nara period

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

 records, and is believed to be the location of the original provincial capital of ancient Awa Province

Awa Province (Chiba)

was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on the tip of the Boso Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or...

. The area is also part of the setting of the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 epic novel Nansō Satomi Hakkenden

Nanso Satomi Hakkenden

is a Japanese 106 volume epic novel by Kyokutei Bakin. Written over a period of nearly thirty years and published from 1814 to 1842, Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, and the final parts were dictated to his daughter-in-law Michi to be transcribed...

by Kyokutei Bakin

Kyokutei Bakin

was a late Japanese Edo period gesaku author best known for works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki.-Life:He was born as , he wrote under the pen name which is a pun as the kanji may also be read as Kuruwa de Makoto meaning a man who is truly devoted to the courtesans of...

.

The modern village of Miyoshi was created on May 1, 1953 through the merger of the villages of Takuta, Kokufu, and Inamiya.

On March 20, 2006 Miyoshi was merged with the neighboring towns of Tomiyama

Tomiyama, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of March 20, 2006, the town had an estimated population of 5,841 and a density of 145 persons per km². The total area was 40.34 km².-Geography:...

, Wada

Wada, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of March 20, 2006, the town had an estimated population of 5,717 and a density of 176 persons per km². The total area was 32.45 km².-Geography:...

, Chikura

Chikura, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of October 1, 2004, the town had an estimated population of 12,527 and a density of 342 persons per km². The total area was 36.64 km².-Geography:...

, Maruyama

Maruyama, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of August 1, 2004, the town had an estimated population of 5,780 and a density of 131 persons per km². The total area was 44.11 km².-Geography:...

 and Tomiura

Tomiura, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of March 20, 2006, the town had an estimated population of 5,698 and a density of 221 persons per km². The total area was 25.69 km².-Geography:...

, and Shirahama

Shirahama, Chiba

is a former town located in Awa District, Chiba, Japan. As of October 1, 2004, the town had an estimated population of 6,027 and a density of 353 persons per km². The total area was 17.07 km².-Geography:...

, all within Awa District

Awa District, Chiba

is a district located in Chiba, Japan.As of August 2010, the district had an estimated population of 8,992 and a density of 198 persons per km². Its total area was 45.16 km².-History:...

, to form the new city of Minamibōsō

Minamiboso, Chiba

is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010 data, the city had an estimated population of 42,035 and a population density of 183 persons per km²...

.

Economy

The economy of Shirahama was largely based on farming and horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

(primarily oranges).