Kenroku-en Landscape Garden in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The pine trees are covered by the yukitsuri, preventing them from falling in winter when it snows heavily.
Ishikawa was formed in 1872 from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province, with the seat of the government being located in Mikawa.[6] The political center of Ishikawa was moved to Kanazawa in 1873.[7]
The Kioizaka Incident
The newly formed Ishikawa Prefecture came to be regarded with caution by the national government following the Kioizaka Incident[ja] in 1878, in which 6 shizoku (士族), dissatisfied by the Meiji government's "maladministration, suppression of civil rights, and misuse of government property", assassinated Japanese statesman Ōkubo Toshimichi.[8] Concerned about the possibility of a Hokuriku bloc forming in support of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, and thus wanting to weaken the influence of the former Kaga lords, the national government made the decision to divide the prefecture. This took place in two stages, beginning in 1881, when Fukui Prefecture was formed, and ending in 1883 with the formation of Toyama Prefecture.[9]
2024 earthquake
On 1 January 2024, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture, specifically the Noto Peninsula. In Ishikawa, a total of 508 people were killed and 2 people are currently reported missing as a result of the earthquake.[10] Overall it is estimated that 1,200 people were injured across different prefectures.
In September 2024, severe rainfall in the prefecture led to deadly floods and landslides, causing at least six deaths and widespread damage. Thousands were evacuated as rivers overflowed, while recovery from a prior earthquake complicated relief efforts. Emergency warnings remain in place.[11]
Geography
Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast. The northern part of the prefecture consists of the narrow Noto Peninsula, while the southern part is wider and consists mostly of mountains with the prefecture's chief city, Kanazawa, located in the coastal plain. The prefecture also has some islands, including Notojima, Mitsukejima, Hegurajima.
Ishikawa's industry is dominated by the textile industry, particularly artificial fabrics, and the machine industry, particularly construction machinery.
Kutani ware (Kutani yaki) is a bright colored glaze like Chinese porcelain.
Ohi teaware (Ōhi yaki) is a pottery with a style unique to Kanazawa.
Nyotaimori or naked sushi is said to have originated in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Kaga silk (Kaga yūzen) is made with complicated silk print technique with an intentional rough look (wabi-sabi).
Kanazawa lacquerware (Kanazawa shikki) is high quality lacquerware traditionally decorated with gold dust.
Kanazawa gold leaf (Kanazawa haku) is produced with a technique of beating gold into wafer-thin sheets.
Kaga mizuhiki is ribbon-like decoration made from glued Japanese paper (washi).
Kaga inlay crafts (Kaga zōgan) are made with a combination of thin flat and thread metal inlays.
Gojinjo Daiko is a Japanese drum, a Wajima city cultural heritage (since 1961) as well as an Ishikawa Prefecture intangible cultural heritage (since 1963).
Winter in KenrokuenShirayone Senmaida, designated as a World Agricultural Heritage site in Wajima
The most popular destination in Ishikawa is Kanazawa. Tourists can get to Ishikawa by plane via either the Komatsu or Noto airports. Popular sites include:
Kyōka Izumi, author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays, from Kanazawa.
Takeshi Kaga, an actor in Japan who is probably best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show Iron Chef produced by Fuji TV, is from Ishikawa.
Hideki Matsui, a former Yomiuri Giants and New York Yankees, was born and raised in Neagari Town (now Nomi City), Ishikawa. He gained fame as a baseball player while attending high school in Kanazawa.
Daisuke Nakata, a trampolinist who has competed in the Olympics in the past, is from Ishikawa.
Murō Saisei, poet and novelist in modern Japanese literature from Kanazawa.
Daisuke Satō, a board game designer, novelist, and manga writer. His Highschool of the Deadanime/manga series is known for being left unfinished due to his unfortunate death in 2017.
D. T. Suzuki, Buddhist philosopher and popularizer of Buddhism in the West was born in Kanazawa.
Yusuke Suzuki, (no relation to D. T. Suzuki) born in 1988, is a racewalker born in Nomi, Ishikawa prefecture.
The prefectural assembly building in the prefectural government building complex in Kanazawa
The current governor of Ishikawa is Hiroshi Hase who was first elected in 2022. He defeated six time incumbent Masanori Tanimoto.[16] Prior to his defeat, Tanimoto was one of two governors who were in their sixth term nationwide, the other being Masaru Hashimoto of Ibaraki. Hase is only the fifth governor of Ishikawa since 1947 when prefectural governors became elected offices, as Tanimoto had held the governorship for twenty eight years, first coming to office in 1994, succeeding Yōichi Nakanishi, who had served from 1963 until his death in 1994.
The Ishikawa Prefectural Assembly[ja] has 43 members and is elected in unified local elections (last round: 2011) in 15 SNTV electoral districts – six single-member, five two-member, one three-member, two four-member districts and the Kanazawa City district that elects 16 members. As of February 26, 2014, the LDP prefectural assembly caucus has 25 members and no other group has more than four members.[17]
In the National Diet, Ishikawa is represented by three directly elected members of the House of Representatives and two (one per election) of the House of Councillors. Additional members from the prefecture may be elected in the proportional representation segments of both houses: the Hokuriku-Shin'etsu proportional representation block in the lower house, the proportional election to the upper house is nationwide. After the Diet elections of 2010, 2012 and 2013, the five directly elected members from Ishikawa districts are all Liberal Democrats, namely:
for the 2nd district that consists of Southern parts of Ishikawa and had been the district of former LDP president Yoshirō Mori until 2012: Hajime Sasaki, LDP, 1st term,
in the class of 2010 (term ends 2016): Naoki Okada, LDP, 2nd term, and
in the class of 2013 (term ends 2019): Shūji Yamada, LDP, 1st term who was able to defeat Democratic incumbent and former defense minister Yasuo Ichikawa by a huge margin in 2013.
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