Asagiri (あさぎり町, Asagiri-chō) is a town located in Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 August 2024, the town had an estimated population of 14,134 in 5774 households, and a population density of 89 persons per km. The total area of the town is 159.56 km (61.61 sq mi). The word "asagiri" translates as "morning mist".

Asagiri is located in southern Kumamoto Prefecture. It contains Mount Shiragatake, a designated nature reserve.

• Mountains: Shiragatake
• Rivers: Kuma river

Kumamoto Prefecture

• Nishiki
• Sagara
• Taragi

Miyazaki Prefecture

• Ebino

Asagiri has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot, humid summers and cool winters. There is significant precipitation throughout the year, especially during June and July. The average annual temperature in Asagiri is 15.5 °C (59.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 2,496.8 mm (98.30 in) with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.4 °C (79.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.1 °C (39.4 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Asagiri was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F) on 17 August 2020; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 25 January 2016.

Per Japanese census data, the population of Asagiri in 2020 is 14,676 people. Asagiri has been conducting censuses since 1920.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1920 15,365 —     1925 15,868 +3.3% 1930 16,788 +5.8% 1935 17,407 +3.7% 1940 16,986 −2.4% 1945 22,353 +31.6% 1950 23,299 +4.2% 1955 24,161 +3.7% 1960 23,856 −1.3% 1965 21,760 −8.8% 1970 19,910 −8.5%	Year Pop. ±% 1975 19,141 −3.9% 1980 19,524 +2.0% 1985 19,535 +0.1% 1990 18,968 −2.9% 1995 18,533 −2.3% 2000 17,751 −4.2% 2005 17,300 −2.5% 2010 16,644 −3.8% 2015 15,523 −6.7% 2020 14,676 −5.5%
Asagiri population statistics

The area of Asagiri was part of ancient Higo Province, During the Edo Period it was part of the holdings of Hitoyoshi Domain. After the Meiji restoration, the villages of Ue, Minagoe, Menda, Ōkaharu, Sue, and Fukada were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Minagoe was incorporated into Ue village on December 7, 1895, which was elevated to town status on April 1, 1937. On April 1, 2003 villages of Ue, Ōkaharu, Sue, Fukada were merged with town of Menda to create Asagiri. The name was chosen because for the fog that blankets the valley from fall through spring.(Asa – morning, kiri/giri – fog)

Asagiri has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 14 members. Asagiri, collectively with the other municipalities of Kuma District, contributes two members to the Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Kumamoto 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Agriculture dominates the local economy. Soybeans, strawberries, melons and tobacco and shōchū are produced here.

Asagiri has five public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education.

Kumagawa Railroad - Yunomae Line

• Okadome-Kōfuku - Asagiri - Higashi-Menda

• National Route 219

• Yasushi Kaneko, politician
• Kazuaki Kiriya, photographer, video director
• Yoshifumi Matsumura, politician

• The village of Sue (now part of Asagiri) was the topic of a 1939 text, Suye Mura, a Japanese Village by John Embree.

• Media related to Asagiri, Kumamoto at Wikimedia Commons
• Geographic data related to Asagiri, Kumamoto at OpenStreetMap
• Official website (in Japanese) updated: February 2019