In one corner of this town, for a short while, the capital of Japan was once placed. In antiquity the capital was moved to this land from Heijo-kyo, and this land bears the history of having been the center of the country for a few years. But what now moves this town most greatly is not the ancient memory. Much of the urban district is incorporated into a new science-research city, advanced research facilities stand, and as a place to live for those commuting to Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, the population has suddenly increased. The trace of an ancient capital, and a new research city — two "capitals," separated by more than a thousand years, overlap within the same city area. A land where a capital was placed in antiquity, this town bundled three towns and is now increasing its population. Kizugawa’s numbers are the record of a town inscribed with the history of a science-research city and the merger of three towns.
A city opening on a land in the southern part of Kyoto Prefecture, much of whose urban district is included in the Kansai Science City. This city was formed in 2007 when three towns were bundled into one. Its post-founding population has increased from 69,761 in 2010 toward 77,907 in 2020. What I (Atlas) want to read here is not the sign "the science city," but the causal thread: how the history — a science-research city and the merger of three towns — is translated into today’s population and finances.
01 · Seeing the present Kizugawa in its numbers
In the latest Population Census the population is about 78,000 (77,907 in 2020). Because this city was formed in 2007 when three towns were bundled into one, the statistics treat the period after the founding. The post-founding population has increased from 69,761 in 2010, through 72,840 in 2015, to 77,907 in 2020 — about eight thousand over ten years.
Looking inside, the figure of a city increasing its population, holding young households, appears. The share aged 65 and over rose from 18.6% in 2010 to 22.9% in 2015 and 24.6% in 2020, but stays at a level held down compared with many cities in the prefecture. The household-with-children share is high, at 29.8% in 2020, and the crude birth rate is 8.1 per thousand in 2020. The Childcare Waitlist is zero in both 2024 and 2025. The Fiscal Capacity Index was 0.60 in fiscal 2023, a level able to cover six-tenths of expenditure with its own tax revenue. The figure of a land where a capital was placed in antiquity, increasing its population while bundling three towns and holding young households, appears in the numbers. Why it takes this shape cannot be read without going back over the history of the ancient capital’s trace, the science-research city, and the merger of three towns.
Source: Population Census (Statistics Bureau, MIC) / Local Government Finance Survey, Fiscal Capacity Index (MIC) / Childcare Facility Status Report (Children and Families Agency) / Real Estate Information Library (MLIT)
02 · The ancient capital’s trace, the science-research city, the bedroom-town turn, the merger of three towns — the history behind the numbers
This town’s skeleton is set by the history of the ancient capital’s trace, and by the science-research city, the bedroom-town turn, and the merger of three towns. The beginning layer is the ancient capital’s trace. This land, in the southern part of Kyoto Prefecture, was in antiquity the place where the capital was moved to one corner of it from Heijo-kyo and became the center of the country for a few years. The capital eventually moved to another land, but its memory remained on this land. The ancient capital’s trace was this town’s old foundation.
But what now moves this town most greatly is the new layer. From the end of the Showa era on, much of the urban district was incorporated into a science-research city, and advanced research facilities stood one after another. A high-quality urban space was laid out, and as a place to live for those commuting to Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara, the population suddenly increased. The ancient capital’s trace and the new research city overlapped within the same city area. The road to becoming a city mirrors this town too. In 2007, three towns were bundled into one and became the present city. The ancient capital’s trace, the science-research city, the bedroom-town turn, and the merger of three towns — this town’s shape stands upon the history of a land where a capital was placed in antiquity, which held a new science-research city and bundled three towns.
Source: Kizugawa City / Kuni-kyo and the ancient capital (in southern Kyoto Prefecture, the place where Emperor Shomu moved the capital from Heijo-kyo to Kuni-kyo in the former Kamo district in 740, which served as the capital of Japan for five years; the site of an ancient capital — overview) / Kizugawa City / the Kansai Science City (much of the urban district is included in the Kansai Science City, and the population surged with the siting of research facilities and the bedroom-town development serving Kyoto, Osaka and Nara — overview) / Kizugawa City (formed on 2007-3-12 by the new merger of three towns — Kizu, Yamashiro and Kamo of Soraku County; the statistics treat the period from 2010 on, after the founding — overview)
03 · In a land where a capital was placed in antiquity, increasing its population while bundling three towns
What characterizes Kizugawa is that, while many cities in the prefecture shed population, it is increasing its population after bundling three towns. From 69,761 in 2010, after the founding, to 77,907 in 2020, about eight thousand increased over ten years. One can read that the laying-out of the science-research city and the convenience of commuting to Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara overlapped, and young households moved to this land. That the household-with-children share is high, at 29.8% in 2020, and the crude birth rate, at 8.1 per thousand in 2020, is on the higher side even within the prefecture, is its expression.
On the other hand, the share aged 65 and over is 24.6% in 2020, staying at a level held down compared with many cities in the prefecture. The Childcare Waitlist is zero in both 2024 and 2025. The Fiscal Capacity Index of 0.60 is a level able to cover six-tenths of expenditure with its own tax revenue. While many cities in the prefecture shed population, this town increased by about eight thousand over ten years, and the household-with-children share reaches three in ten. A land where the center of the country was placed in antiquity now, more than a thousand years apart, draws in a new hub of knowledge. One can read that two "capitals" resound together on the same land.
Source: Population Census (Statistics Bureau, MIC) / Local Government Finance Survey, Fiscal Capacity Index (MIC) / Childcare Facility Status Report (Children and Families Agency)
04 · A land where a capital was placed in antiquity held a new science-research city, and bundled three towns
Kizugawa holds several functions of its own. One is the history of the ancient capital’s trace, on the land to which the capital was moved from Heijo-kyo for a few years in antiquity. Another is its character of a science-research city, where much of the urban district is incorporated into a science-research city and advanced research facilities stand. And it holds the face of the bedroom-town turn, gathering young households through the convenience of commuting to Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara. Upon the ancient capital’s trace a new science-research city overlapped, gathering young households commuting to Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara.
Yet the present youthfulness is not the end point. The generation that moved in all at once will eventually age together — the numbers of the prefecture’s preceding residential towns show that ahead of time. Whether one reads this town’s youthfulness as a point in the middle of a flow, or as the present point of arrival, changes how it appears.
Source: Kizugawa City / Kuni-kyo and the ancient capital (in southern Kyoto Prefecture, the place where Emperor Shomu moved the capital from Heijo-kyo to Kuni-kyo in the former Kamo district in 740, which served as the capital of Japan for five years; the site of an ancient capital — overview) / Kizugawa City / the Kansai Science City (much of the urban district is included in the Kansai Science City, and the population surged with the siting of research facilities and the bedroom-town development serving Kyoto, Osaka and Nara — overview) / Kizugawa City (formed on 2007-3-12 by the new merger of three towns — Kizu, Yamashiro and Kamo of Soraku County; the statistics treat the period from 2010 on, after the founding — overview)
05 · Atlas’s note — the present youthfulness is also the reverse side of the wave of age to come
What most stands out in Kizugawa’s numbers is that, while many cities in the prefecture shed population, this town increased its population by about eight thousand over ten years and, with a household-with-children share of 29.8% and a crude birth rate of 8.1, holds young households thickly. Behind it lies the overlap of two "capitals" separated by more than a thousand years — a land where a capital was placed in antiquity now holds a new science-research city. A land where the center of the country was placed in an old age, after a long time, draws in a new hub of knowledge again. The weight of history and the present function resound together on the same land. The interest of geography as a study, I think, lies in being able to witness such a response that spans time.
One more thing I want to pause over here is the prospect that, even for this town that increases its population, a wave of age will eventually come. Now young households are thick, and the aging rate is held down within the prefecture. That a town swollen suddenly as a residential town has received, after some decades, a wave of aging is shown by the numbers of the prefecture’s preceding cities. The present youthfulness is also the reverse side of the future wave of age. The generation that moved in all at once will eventually age together — the numbers of the preceding residential towns show that ahead of time. To read the rise and fall of population within the flow of time, this town’s youthfulness is not the end point but a point in the middle. A land where a capital was placed in antiquity draws in, more than a thousand years apart, a new science-research city, and holds a household-with-children share of twenty-nine percent. But that youthfulness is not the end point but a point in the middle, and that the generation which moved in all at once will eventually age together is shown ahead of time by the prefecture’s preceding residential towns.
Source: Population Census (Statistics Bureau, MIC) / Kizugawa City / Kuni-kyo and the ancient capital (in southern Kyoto Prefecture, the place where Emperor Shomu moved the capital from Heijo-kyo to Kuni-kyo in the former Kamo district in 740, which served as the capital of Japan for five years; the site of an ancient capital — overview) / Kizugawa City / the Kansai Science City (much of the urban district is included in the Kansai Science City, and the population surged with the siting of research facilities and the bedroom-town development serving Kyoto, Osaka and Nara — overview) / Kizugawa City (formed on 2007-3-12 by the new merger of three towns — Kizu, Yamashiro and Kamo of Soraku County; the statistics treat the period from 2010 on, after the founding — overview)
Editor’s note: all figures and sources are drawn from official statistics. The prose follows Atlas’s voice, and AI (atlas-handcrafted-reverse-v1 (wave36-kinki 2026-06-05)) handled the shaping of the text. Evaluative or predictive language (such as “a good buy” or “attractive”) is intentionally left out. Revision id: wave36k_