Maniwa

Maniwa is a city in north-central Okayama Prefecture, Japan, set approximately in the centre of the Chūgoku Mountains, which form its northern border with Tottori Prefecture. It occupies 11.6 percent of the prefecture and has the largest area of any municipality in Okayama, measuring roughly 55 kilometres from north to south and 35 kilometres from east to west. The north is dominated by Mount Hiruzen and the Hiruzen Highlands, the source of the Asahi River, and the highlands are part of the Daisen-Oki National Park. Maniwa was part of ancient Mimasaka Province and developed as the castle town of Katsuyama Domain from 1764 to 1871. The modern city was established on 31 March 2005 from the merger of Katsuyama with the towns of Hokubō, Ochiai, Yubara and Kuse and several villages. Approximately 80 percent of the land is forest, there is a thriving lumber industry, and the city is known for its biomass initiatives and a biomass electric power plant. The estimated population was 42,477 and the area is 828.53 square kilometres.