Mie Prefecture 三重県 | |
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Japanese transcription(s) | |
• Japanese | 三重県 |
• Rōmaji | Mie-ken |
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Anthem: Mie kenminka | |
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Coordinates: 34°42′N136°30′E / 34.700°N 136.500°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Region | Kansai (Tōkai) |
Island | Honshu |
Capital | Tsu |
Largest city | Yokkaichi |
Subdivisions | Districts: 7, Municipalities: 29 |
Government | |
• Governor | Katsuyuki Ichimi |
Area | |
• Total | 5,774.41 km2 (2,229.51 sq mi) |
• Rank | 25th |
Population (1 June 2019) | |
• Total | 1,781,948 |
• Rank | 22nd |
• Density | 310/km2 (800/sq mi) |
GDP | |
• Total | JP¥ 8,086 billion US$ 74.2 billion (2019) |
ISO 3166 code | JP-24 |
Website | www.pref.mie.jp/ ENGLISH/ |
SymbolsofJapan | |
Bird | Snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) |
Fish | Japanese spiny lobster (Panulirus japonicus) |
Flower | Iris (Iris ensata) |
Tree | Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) |
Mie Prefecture (Japanese: 三重県, Hepburn: Mie-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. [2] Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 (as of 1 June 2019 [update] ) and has a geographic area of 5,774 square kilometers (2,229 sq mi). Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to the northwest, Nara Prefecture to the west, Wakayama Prefecture to the southwest, and Aichi Prefecture to the east.
Tsu is the capital and Yokkaichi is the largest city of Mie Prefecture, with other major cities including Suzuka, Matsusaka, Ise, and Kuwana. [3] : 995 Mie Prefecture is located on the eastern coast of the Kii Peninsula, forming the western side of Ise Bay which features the mouths of the Kiso Three Rivers. Mie Prefecture is a popular tourism destination home to Nagashima Spa Land, Suzuka International Racing Course, and some of the oldest and holiest sites in Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, including the Ise Grand Shrine and the Tsubaki Grand Shrine.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Mie Prefecture was made up of Ise Province, Shima Province, Iga Province, and part of Kii Province. [4]
Evidence of human habitation in Mie dates back more than 10,000 years. During the Jōmon and Yayoi periods, agricultural communities began to form along the river and coastal areas of the region. Ise Shrine is said to have been established during the Yayoi period, and in the 7th century the Saikū Imperial Residence was built in what is now Meiwa Town to serve as both a residence and administrative centre for the Saiō, an Imperial Princess who served as High Priestess of Ise Shrine.
During the Edo period, the area now known as Mie Prefecture consisted of several feudal domains, each ruled by an appointed lord. Transport networks, including the Tokaido and Ise Roads, were built. Port towns such as Ohminato, Kuwana and Anōtsu, posting stations and castle towns flourished. Pilgrimages to Ise Shrine also became very popular.
After the Meiji Restoration, the former provinces of Ise, Shima and Iga as well as a portion of eastern Kii, were organized and reorganized repeatedly. In 1871, the area from the Kiso Three Rivers in the north to present-day Tsu became Anōtsu Prefecture, and the area south of that became Watarai Prefecture. In 1872, the Anōtsu prefectural seat moved from Tsu to Yokkaichi, and the prefecture itself was renamed Mie. For a variety of reasons, including the strong likelihood that Mie would eventually merge with Watarai, the prefectural seat returned to Tsu the following year, and Mie Prefecture took its present-day form in 1876, when it merged with its southern neighbor.
The name Mie supposedly was taken from a comment about the region made by Yamato Takeru on his way back from conquering the eastern regions.
In 1959, many people died as parts of Mie were devastated by the Ise-wan Typhoon, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history. Crops were destroyed, sea walls ruined, roads and railways damaged and a substantial number of people were injured or left homeless.
In May 2016, the city of Shima hosted the 42nd G7 summit, the third summit without the presence of Russia.
Mie Prefecture forms the eastern part of the Kii Peninsula, and borders on Aichi, Gifu, Shiga, Kyoto, Nara, and Wakayama. It is considered[ by whom? ] part of the Kansai and Tōkai regions due to its geographical proximity to Aichi Prefecture and its cultural influence from Kansai, such as the fact that Kansai dialect is spoken in Mie. Traditionally, though, the Iga region of Mie is considered to have always been a part of Kansai.
Mie Prefecture measures 170 km (106 mi) from north to south, and 80 km (50 mi) from east to west, and includes five distinct geographical areas: [5]
Mie has a coastline that stretches 1,094.9 km (680.3 mi) and, as of 2000, Mie's 5,776.44 km2 (2,230.30 sq mi) landmass is 64.8 percent forest, 11.5 percent agriculture, 6 percent residential area, 3.8 percent roads, and 3.6 percent rivers. The remaining 10.3 percent are not classified.
The Ise Plain has a relatively moderate climate, averaging 14 to 15 °C (57 to 59 °F) for the year. The Iga Basin has more daily temperature variance and averages temperatures 1 to 2 degrees cooler than the Ise Plain. Southern Mie, south of the Shima Peninsula, has a warmer Pacific marine climate, with Owase Region having one of the heaviest rainfall figures for all of Japan. [5]
As of 31 March 2019, [update] 36% of the total area of the prefecture comprised designated Natural Parks, [6] namely:
Since 2006, Mie consists of 29 municipalities: 14 cities and 15 towns.
Flag, name w/o suffix | Full name | District (-gun) | Area (km2) | Population | Map | Local public entity code (w/o checksum) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japanese | transcription | translation | ||||||
![]() | 伊賀市 | Iga-shi | Iga City | – | 558.17 | 95,137 | ![]() | 24216 |
![]() | いなべ市 | Inabe-shi | Inabe City | – | 219.58 | 45,589 | ![]() | 24214 |
![]() | 伊勢市 | Ise-shi | Ise City | – | 208.52 | 123,129 | ![]() | 24203 |
![]() | 亀山市 | Kameyama-shi | Kameyama City | – | 190.91 | 50,230 | ![]() | 24210 |
![]() | 熊野市 | Kumano-shi | Kumano City | – | 373.35 | 17,727 | ![]() | 24212 |
![]() | 桑名市 | Kuwana-shi | Kuwana City | – | 136.68 | 139,587 | ![]() | 24205 |
![]() | 松阪市 | Matsusaka-shi | Matsusaka City | – | 623.64 | 165,166 | ![]() | 24204 |
![]() | 名張市 | Nabari-shi | Nabari City | – | 129.77 | 78,190 | ![]() | 24208 |
![]() | 尾鷲市 | Owase-shi | Owase City | – | 192.71 | 17,953 | ![]() | 24209 |
![]() | 志摩市 | Shima-shi | Shima City | – | 179.67 | 53,056 | ![]() | 24215 |
![]() | 鈴鹿市 | Suzuka-shi | Suzuka City | – | 194.46 | 196,835 | ![]() | 24207 |
![]() | 鳥羽市 | Toba-shi | Toba City | – | 107.34 | 19,227 | ![]() | 24211 |
![]() | 津市 | Tsu-shi | Tsu City | – | 711.11 | 279,304 | ![]() | 24201 |
![]() | 四日市市 | Yokkaichi-shi | Yokkaichi City | – | 206.44 | 306,107 | ![]() | 24202 |
![]() | 朝日町 | Asahi-chō | Asahi Town | Mie | 5.99 | 9,941 | ![]() | 24343 |
![]() | 川越町 | Kawagoe-chō | Kawagoe Town | 8.73 | 14,999 | ![]() | 24344 | |
![]() | 菰野町 | Komono-chō | Komono Town | 106.89 | 40,289 | ![]() | 24341 | |
![]() | 紀宝町 | Kihō-chō | Kihō Town | Minami-Muro (South Muro) | 79.66 | 11,454 | ![]() | 24562 |
![]() | 御浜町 | Mihama-chō | Mihama Town | 88.28 | 9,089 | ![]() | 24561 | |
![]() | 紀北町 | Kihoku-chō | Kihoku Town | Kita-Muro (North Muro) | 257.01 | 17,885 | ![]() | 24543 |
![]() | 木曽岬町 | Kisosaki-chō | Kisosaki Town | Kuwana | 15.72 | 6,730 | ![]() | 24303 |
![]() | 明和町 | Meiwa-chō | Meiwa Town | Taki | 40.92 | 22,726 | ![]() | 24442 |
![]() | 大台町 | Ōdai-chō | Ōdai Town | 362.94 | 9,345 | ![]() | 24443 | |
![]() | 多気町 | Taki-chō | Taki Town | 103.06 | 14,846 | ![]() | 24441 | |
![]() | 南伊勢町 | Minami-Ise-chō | South Ise Town | Watarai | 242.98 | 14,217 | ![]() | 24472 |
![]() | 大紀町 | Taiki-chō | Taiki Town | 233.54 | 9,543 | ![]() | 24471 | |
![]() | 玉城町 | Tamaki-chō | Tamaki Town | 40.94 | 15,280 | ![]() | 24461 | |
![]() | 度会町 | Watarai-chō | Watarai Town | 134.97 | 8,534 | ![]() | 24470 | |
![]() | 東員町 | Tōin-chō | Tōin Town | Inabe | 22.66 | 25,552 | ![]() | 24324 |
![]() | 三重県 | Mie-ken | Mie Prefecture | – | 5,774.41 | 1,781,948 | ![]() | 24000 ISO: JP-24 |
When the modern municipalities were introduced in 1889, Mie initially consisted of 336 municipalities: 1 (by definition: district-level) city and 21 districts with 18 towns and 317 villages. With the Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s, the number of municipalities in Mie had dropped to 88 by 1956. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s reduced the total from 69 to 29 between 2000 and 2006.
Mie Prefecture has traditionally been a link between east and west Japan, thanks largely to the Tokaido and Ise Pilgrimage Roads. Traditional handicrafts such as Iga Braid, Yokkaichi Banko Pottery, Suzuka Ink, Iga Pottery and Ise Katagami flourished. With 65% of the prefecture consisting of forests and with over 1,000 km (600 mi) of coastline, Mie has a long been associated with forestry and seafood industries. Mie also produces tea, beef, cultured pearls and fruit, mainly mandarin oranges. Food production companies include Azuma Foods. [7] [8]
Northern Mie is home to a number of manufacturing industries, mainly transport machinery manufacturing (vehicles and ships) and heavy chemical industries such as oil refineries. As well as this, Mie Prefecture is expanding into more advanced industries including the manufacture of semiconductors and liquid crystal displays. In Suzuka, the Honda Motor Company maintains a factory established in 1960 that built the Honda Civic, as well as other vehicles.
Total population | 1,820,491 |
Male population | 886,362 |
Female population | 934,129 |
Population aged under 15 | 240,263 |
Population aged 15 to 64 | 1,076,257 |
Population aged over 64 | 491,779 |
Households | 721,344 |
Population density (per km2) | 315.3 |
The prefectural government was briefly moved to Yokkaichi Town in Mie District in 1872 (hence the name Mie), but the capital moved back to Anotsu, Anō District (present-day Tsu City) in 1873 [13] and has remained there since. Ignoring small changes through cross-prefectural municipal mergers, neighbourhood transfers and coastline variations, Mie reached its present borders in 1876 when it absorbed Watarai Prefecture. After the modern reactivation of districts in 1878/79, Mie consisted of 21 districts (merged down to 15 in the 1890s). [14] The first prefectural assembly was elected in March 1879 and convened in April. [15] In the introduction of modern cities, towns and villages in 1889, Anotsu became district-independent as Tsu City and the districts were subdivided into 18 towns and 317 villages (see the List of mergers in Mie Prefecture for changes since then).
As in all prefectures except Okinawa, the governor of Mie is directly elected since 1947. The prefectural assembly has 51 members. Both prefectural elections in Mie are currently held as part of unified local elections. In the last round in 2019, governor Eikei Suzuki easily won a third term with broad support from LDP, Shinsei Mie (see below) and Kōmeitō, against only one, JCP-supported challenger; [16] Suzuki was originally elected narrowly in 2011 as centre-right candidate against centre-left supported Naohisa Matsuda, former mayor of Tsu City. In the Mie assembly, the LDP is strongest party; [17] but it is distributed across several parliamentary groups, and the strongest group is Shisei Mie (新政みえ; "Renewal Mie") around members of several local parties of former Democrats. [18]
In the National Diet, Mie is represented by four directly elected members of the House of Representatives and two (one per class) in the House of Councillors. After the national elections of 2016, 2017 and 2019, Mie's directly elected delegation was evenly split between Liberal Democrats (HR district #1: Norihisa Tamura, #4: Noriyo Mitsuya, HC 2019–25 class: Yūmi Yoshikawa) and ex-Democrats (HR #2: Masaharu Nakagawa, #3: Katsuya Okada, HC 2016–22 class: Hirokazu Shiba) in both houses of the Diet.
Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 and has a geographic area of 4,724 square kilometres (1,824 sq mi). Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to the northeast.
Tsu is the capital city of Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 July 2021, the city had an estimated population of 274,879 in 127,273 households and a population density of 390 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 711.11 square kilometres (274.56 sq mi). Although the second largest city in the prefecture in terms of population, its designation as the prefectural capital and its holding of a large concentration of national government offices and educational facilities make the city the administrative and educational center of Mie Prefecture.
Ise, formerly called Ujiyamada (宇治山田), is a city in central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan. Ise is home to Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shintō shrine in Japan. The city has a long-standing title – Shinto (神都) – that roughly means "the Holy City", and literally means "the Capital of the Kami". As of 31 July 2021, the city had an estimated population of 123,533 in 55,911 households and a population density of 590 people per km². The total area of the city is 208.53 square kilometres (80.51 sq mi).
Matsusaka is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2021, the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 people per km². The total area of the city is 623.64 square kilometres (240.79 sq mi). The city is famous for Matsusaka beef.
Suzuka is a city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 July 2020, the city had an estimated population of 197,977 in 87,680 households and a population density of 1000 persons per km². The total area of the city is 194.46 square kilometres.
Owase is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2021, the city had an estimated population of 16,910, in 9,177 households. The population density was 88 persons per km2. The total area of the city was 192.71 square kilometres (74.41 sq mi).
Kameyama is a city located in northern Mie Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 August 2021, the city had an estimated population of 49,457 in 21,745 households and a population density of 260 persons per km². The total area of the city is 190.91 km2.
Ise Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was Seishū (勢州).
Kintetsu Railway Co., Ltd., referred to as Kintetsu (近鉄) and officially Kinki-Nippon Railway, is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Nagoya, Tsu, Ise, and Yoshino. Kintetsu Railway Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kintetsu Group Holdings Co., Ltd.
The Nagoya Line is a railway line owned and operated by the Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese private railway company, connecting Nagoya and Ise Nakagawa Station in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture via Kuwana, Yokkaichi, Suzuka, Tsu municipalities along the Ise Bay. The official starting-point of the line is Ise-Nakagawa and the terminus is Nagoya; however, operationally trains run "down" from and "up" towards Nagoya.
The Kii Peninsula is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan and is located within the Kansai region. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. The peninsula has long been a sacred place in Buddhism, Shinto, and Shugendo, and many people would visit from all over Japan as part of the Kumano religious practices.
The Yamada Line is a railway line of the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ise-Nakagawa Station and Ujiyamada Station in Japan. The line runs parallel to parts of the JR Central Kisei Main Line and Sangū Line.
The Nanki (南紀) is a limited express train service in Japan operated by Central Japan Railway Company, which runs from Nagoya to Shingū and Kii-Katsuura.
The Ise Expressway is a national expressway in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. 近畿自動車道伊勢線
National Route 42, also called Kumano Kaidō or Tropical Route is a national highway connecting Hamamatsu, Shizuoka and Wakayama, Wakayama in Japan. Part of the route requires crossing Ise Bay on the Ise-wan Ferry. It is the 8th longest national highway in Japan.
The Sangū Line is a railway line run by Central Japan Railway Company, connecting Taki Station with Toba Station in Japan.
Ise Electric Railway, usually abbreviated as Iseden (伊勢電), was a private railway company that operated mostly in Mie Prefecture, Japan, for 25 years from 1911 to 1936, when it was absorbed by Sangū Express Electric Railway. At its height, Iseden operated three train lines, two of which it planned and built, that serviced the cities of Yokkaichi, Tsu, Suzuka, Matsusaka, Ujiyamada, and Ōgaki. Much of the infrastructure of Iseden is now owned by Kintetsu and remains in use today.
The Mie (みえ) is a Rapid train service in Japan operated by Central Japan Railway Company, which runs from Nagoya to Iseshi and Toba. The service passes through several significant locations en route, such as Tsu, the capital city of Mie Prefecture.