people. Toyooka has been conducting censuses since 1950. History The area of Toyooka was the center of ancient Tajima Province in the early 8th century and the location of the provincial capital and the Tajima Kokubun-ji. From the Muromachi period to the end of the Sengoku period, the area was under the stronghold of the powerful Yamana clan. Under the Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate, Toyooka Domain and Izushi Domain existed within the borders of what is now the city of Toyooka. In 1871, following the Meiji restoration, "Toyooka Prefecture" incorporating all of the former feudal territories within Tajima, Tango and Tanba Provinces was created. It was abolished on August 21, 1876, when Hyōgo Prefecture was created. The town of Toyooka was officially established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The 1925 North Tajima earthquake created severe damage in Toyooka, with official government reports, indicating that there were 428 fatalities, 1,016 injuries, 7,863 buildings destroyed, and 45,659 houses damaged by collapse or fire. The city of Toyooka was created on April 1, 1950 by the merger of Toyooka with neighboring Gosho, Nitta, and Nakasuji villages. The city expanded on April 1, 1955 by annexing Nasa and Minato villages. On April 1, 2005, the towns of Kinosaki, Hidaka and Takeno (all from Kinosaki District) and the towns of Izushi and Tantō (both from Izushi District) were merged into Toyooka. Government Toyooka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 24 members. Toyooka contributes one member to the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Economy Toyooka has mostly a rural economy based on agriculture and commercial fishing. Education Toyooka has 26 public elementary schools and nine public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. There is also one private middle school and one private high school. The Toyooka Junior College and the Professional College of Arts and Tourism are also located in the city. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped. Transportation Railway The Sanin Main Line provides a JR rail connection to Kyoto, and direct trains to Osaka are available via Fukuchiyama. Direct Express trains take about 2.5 hours from Osaka