Geographical Features

Tawaramoto is positioned in the center of the Nara Basin, and stretches 5.8 kilometers in an east-west direction and 6.1 kilometers in north-south to make 21.10 square kilometer. The Yamato River runs through the east, the Tera River through the central area, and the Asuka River and the Soga River through the west, all from south to north. The area is flat surrounded by these rivers. Tawaramoto is a garden town where rich nature resides. 　Surrounded by hills and mountains, it shows a typical climate in a basin having hot summer and cold winter. It is rather dry compared with the hilly districts nearby.

History

Tawaramoto is one of the oldest towns even in Yamato which is widely known as a venerable area. It has many cultural assets including famous Karako-Kagi Site in the Yayoi period. 　Rice fields were divided and arranged in squares in ancient times. In the Middle Ages, manors of the Toudai-ji Temple and the Koufuku-ji Temple were established. 　As it is located in the pivotal area for both land and water routes, the central Tawaramoto area was developed as a temple town of the Rakuden-ji Temple in Middle Ages. It expanded as a temple town of the Kyougyou-ji Temple in the latter days. The area became flourish in the Edo era as a camp of Hirano-shi, one of the direct retainer of the shogun, and was called as 'merchant town in Yamato'. 　As a new village organization law was put into effect in 1889, Tawaramoto town was newly born. Yamato Railway (current Kinki Nippon Railway Tawaramoto line) was opened to traffic in 1918 and Daiki Railway (current Kinki Nippon Railway Kashihara line) in 1923. Shopping streets with movie theater and restaurants were formed in front of the stations and it had a large trade area covering nearby towns and villages. 　In 1956, five villages, i.e. Oo, Kawahigashi, Hirano, Miyako and Tawaramoto, were consolidated to become a new Tawaramoto town. It has been developed as a commuter town since around 1965 and currently contains a population of 33,000.