Gunma Prefecture Shōwa has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

The area of present-day Shōwa was part of the tenryō holdings in Kōzuke Province administered directly by the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period.

On April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system after the Meiji Restoration, Kuroho and Itonose villages were established within Kitaseta District, Gunma.

Shōwa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral village council of 12 members.

In terms of national politics, the town is part of Gunma 1st district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.