[2] During the Edo period, the area of present-day Nanmoku was largely part of the tenryō territory held directly by Tokugawa shogunate within Kōzuke Province.

Nanmoku has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of eight members.

In terms of national politics, the town is part of Gunma 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

During the postwar decades Nanmoku had a thriving economy anchored by sericulture, konjac cultivation and forestry.

[citation needed] The village is located in the valley of a small mountain range, where there are excellent hiking opportunities.

Arahune, is home to a park with a campsite, including a large multipurpose recreational area that has tennis, water sports, and fishing facilities.

The village is particularly famous for hitoboshi (火とぼし), the two-day local fire festival, the largest in the prefecture.

[7] During the festival, villagers take turns standing on a bridge and twirling burning bales of hay over the edge.