right|thumb|290px|Nishiki Town Hall

is a town located in Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 10,046 in 3975 households, and a population density of 49 persons per km<sup>2</sup>. The total area of the town is . The town's name is the Japanese word for "brocade", and is used as a name for more than one town in Japan.

Geography

Nishiki is located in the southern part of Kumamoto prefecture, approximately 70 kilometers south-southeast of the prefectural capital at Kumamoto, Kumamoto. The northern portion of the town lies in flat terrain that forms part of the Hitoyoshi Basin; the Kuma River borders the town to the east and west. The southern reaches of the Kyushu Mountains adjoins one corner of the town limits. The southernmost corner of the townsland meets the prefectural border with Miyazaki Prefecture.

Neighboring municipalities

Kumamoto Prefecture

  • Asagiri
  • Hitoyoshi
  • Sagara

Miyazaki Prefecture

  • Ebino

Climate

Nishiki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Nishiki is 14.7&nbsp;°C. The average annual rainfall is 2328&nbsp;mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0&nbsp;°C, and lowest in January, at around 3.7&nbsp;°C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Nishiki is as shown below

History

The area of Nishiki 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 Ichibu, Nishi and Kinoue were established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. The three villages were merged on July 1, 1955, to form the village of Nishiki, which was elevated to town status on April 1, 1965.

World War II

During the closing years of the Second World War, a major base of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Hitoyoshi Naval Air Group was located near the town. Relatively little is currently known about the base and its operations due to a loss of records and institutional memory both during and after the war. The remains of the base extend over of land, and houses underground facilities in more than 10 locations, including an operations room and a large torpedo preparation area. The flag is green with a town emblem in the center. The emblem is a stylized katakana ニNi of Nishiki. The circle "symbolizes a reconciliation and the mountain, the river and the sun do the town located in the center of Kuma Basin which is expanding to the future".