is one of the five towns incorporated into Date City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, along with the former towns of Date, Hobara, Tsukidate, and Yanagawa. It was formerly an independent town located in Date District. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 9,491 and a density of 108.68 persons per km². The total area is 87.33 km². History The town of Ryōzen was formed with the January 31, 1955 merger of the town of and the villages of , and . In anticipation of the town's 10th anniversary after the 1955 merger, the town symbol was established in 1964. It includes a representation of the hiragana character "ri" (り), as in "ryouzen," with the image of a mountain in the center. In 1975, the town's official tree, flower, and bird were established as the Japanese red pine, the gentiana scabra, and the varied tit, respectively. On January 1, 2006, Ryōzen was merged with the former towns of Date, Hobara, Tsukidate, and Yanagawa to create Date City. Local attractions Historic Sites Mount Ryozen and Kitabatake Akiie Mount Ryōzen is a mountain on the border of Soma City that stands at 825 meters. During the Heian Period, the original Ryōzen Temple (or Ryōzen-ji; not to be confused with Ryōzen Shrine, which was founded in 1881) was constructed on Mount Ryōzen, where it flourished as a center of Buddhist learning in the North for hundreds of years. During the War of the Northern and Southern Courts, otherwise known as the Nanboku-cho War, then governor of the province of Mutsu, Kitabatake Akiie had Ryozen Castle constructed within the temple grounds and stayed there for a number of months between military campaigns. Having left Ryōzen to pursue Ashikaga Takauji, Akiie died in battle at the young age of twenty-one. A statue of Akiie stands at the foot of Mount Ryōzen, at one entrance to Ryōzen Shrine, where he is enshrined with his father, Kitabatake Chikafusa. Mount Chausu and Princess Gozen Mount Chausu is a mountain standing at 252.5 meters in the former town of Kakeda, that is thought to have been the site of Kakeda Castle. Kakeda Castle was destroyed by Kakeda Yoshimune during the Tenbun Revolt, a civil war within the Date Clan that began in the eleventh year of the Tenbun Era (1542), when the 14th lord of the clan, Date Tanemune had a falling out with his son, Date Harumune,