thumb|right|[[Wakasa Station]]
thumb|right|Wakasa Town Hall
thumb|right|Fudōin Iwaya-dō, built by [[Minamoto no Yoritomo in the early Kamakura period]]
is a town located in Yazu District, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 2,852 in 1,285 households and a population density of 14 persons per km<sup>2</sup>. The total area of the town is .
Wakasa, located deep in the Chūgoku Mountains, is 95% mountainous. The population of Wakasa is primarily located in mountain villages in a line from the southeast to northwest of the town. Most of the population is located along the Hattō River or its small tributaries.
Bordering municipalities
Wakasa, while located in Tottori Prefecture, borders Hyōgo and Okayama prefectures.
Hyōgo Prefecture
- Kami
- Shinonsen
- Shisō
- Yabu
Okayama Prefecture
- Nishiawakura
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Wakasa has been as follows:
History
Early history
The mountainous areas of Wakasa do not appear to have supported a population in early Japanese history. No remains from the Jōmon (14,000 – 300 BCE) or Yayoi (300 BCE – 250 CE) periods have been found in Wakasa.
Later history
Wakasa, located in a richly forested area of the Chūgoku Mountains, was a source of lumber and lumber products from early times. The production of raw timber, planks, charcoal, and firewood is noted as early as the Kamakura period. These products, as well as rice, were transported on the Hattō River for export to other parts of Japan via the Japan Sea. At the beginning of the Edo period (1603–1868) the Tokugawa shogunate developed land for rice paddies in Wakasa as part of a nationwide effort to increase rice production in Japan. The mountainous areas of Wakasa provided extensive irrigation for rice-producing areas in the flatlands of the lower Sendai River, but Wakasa suffered frequent flooding from the Hattō River, notably in 1815 and 1888.