Tokushima Prefecture

Last updated
Tokushima Prefecture
徳島県
Japanese transcription(s)
   Japanese 徳島県
   Rōmaji Tokushima-ken
Naruto whirlpools 20170609-2.jpg
Naruto whirlpools and Naruto suspension bridge
Kazura Bridge in Ikeda Town.jpg
Kazura waddle bridge in Iya Valley
Oboke gorge pleasure boat 2106 August 13.B.jpg
Oboke gorge and pleasure boat
Flag of Tokushima Prefecture.svg
Emblem of Tokushima Prefecture.svg
Anthem: Tokushima kenmin no uta
Map of Japan with highlight on 36 Tokushima prefecture.svg
Country Japan
Region Shikoku
Island Shikoku
Capital Tokushima
Subdivisions Districts: 8, Municipalities: 24
Government
   Governor Masazumi Gotoda
Area
  Total
4,146.80 km2 (1,601.09 sq mi)
  Rank 36th
Population
 (February 1, 2025)
  Total
682,439
  Rank 44th
  Density165/km2 (430/sq mi)
GDP
[1]
  Total JP¥ 3,222 billion
US$ 29.6 billion (2019)
ISO 3166 code JP-36
Website pref.tokushima.jp/english/
SymbolsofJapan
BirdWhite heron
Flower Sudachi (Citrus sudachi)
MascotSudachi-kun
TreeYamamomo ( Myrica rubra )
The confluence of the Shinmachi River and the Suketo River in Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture centered on the prefectural headquarters Tokushima prefectural office building02s3200.jpg
The confluence of the Shinmachi River and the Suketō River in Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture centered on the prefectural headquarters
Tokushima Prefectural Office Tokushima prefectural office building01n3872.jpg
Tokushima Prefectural Office

Tokushima Prefecture (徳島県, Tokushima-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [to.kɯ̥ꜜ.ɕi.ma,tokɯ̥.ɕiꜜ.ma,to.kɯ̥.ɕi.maꜜ.keɴ] [2] ) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. [3] Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, Ehime Prefecture to the west, and Kōchi Prefecture to the southwest.

Contents

Tokushima is the capital and largest city of Tokushima Prefecture, with other major cities including Anan, Naruto, and Yoshinogawa. [4] Tokushima Prefecture is located on the Kii Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Wakayama Prefecture on the Kii Peninsula of the island of Honshu. Tokushima Prefecture is connected to Awaji Island across the Naruto Strait by the Ōnaruto Bridge as part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, connecting the prefecture to the city of Kobe and the San'yō Expressway on Honshu.

History

Until the Meiji Restoration, Tokushima Prefecture was known as Awa Province. [5]

Tokushima Prefecture and Myodo Prefecture

In ancient times, Tokushima City belonged to a region known as Myōdō-gun. In the first wave of government consolidation following the abolishment of the fiefdom system and construction of prefectures in 1871, it became known as Myodo Prefecture. At the time, it included the Awa region to the south and the Awaji Island regions as well. In 1873 it further incorporated the region currently occupied by Kagawa Prefecture in its borders.

In the second wave of government consolidation, on September 5, 1875, the Sanuki Region separated to form the modern day Kagawa Prefecture. On August 21, 1876, Awaji Island separated to join Hyōgo Prefecture and the Awa region separated to form Kochi Prefecture.

On March 2, 1880, Myodo Prefecture fully separated from Kochi Prefecture to be inaugurated as Tokushima Prefecture.

Post-war

Geography

Map of Tokushima Prefecture.
City Town Village Map of Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Map of Tokushima Prefecture.
     City     Town     Village

The Sanuki Mountains run along the northern border of the prefecture.

As of April 1, 2012, 9% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Setonaikai National Park; Muroto-Anan Kaigan and Tsurugisan Quasi-National Parks; and Chūbu Sankei, Dochū-Kōtsu, Hashikura, Higashi Sankei, Okumiyagawa-Uchidani, and Ōasayama Prefectural Natural Parks. [6]

Cities

Eight cities are located in Tokushima Prefecture:

NameArea (km2)PopulationMap
Rōmaji Kanji
Flag of Anan, Tokushima.svg Anan 阿南市279.2570,405 Anan in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Awa, Tokushima.svg Awa 阿波市191.1135,294 Awa in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Komatsushima, Tokushima.svg Komatsushima 小松島市45.3736,817 Komatsushima in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Mima, Tokushima (no text).svg Mima 美馬市367.1428,689 Mima in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Miyoshi, Tokushima (no text).svg Miyoshi 三好市721.4224,368 Miyoshi in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Naruto, Tokushima.svg Naruto 鳴門市135.6656,222 Naruto in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Tokushima, Tokushima.svg Tokushima (capital)徳島市191258,554 Tokushima in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Yoshinogawa, Tokushima.svg Yoshinogawa 吉野川市144.1439,405 Yoshinogawa in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

NameArea (km2)PopulationDistrictTypeMap
Rōmaji Kanji
Flag of Aizumi, Tokushima.svg Aizumi 藍住町16.2735,054 Itano District Town Aizumi in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Higashimiyoshi, Tokushima.svg Higashimiyoshi 東みよし町122.4814,025 Miyoshi District Town Higashimiyoshi in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Ishii, Tokushima.svg Ishii 石井町28.8525,062 Myōzai District Town Ishii in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Itano, Tokushima.svg Itano 板野町36.2213,183 Itano District Town Itano in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Kaiyo, Tokushima.svg Kaiyō 海陽町327.658,578 Kaifu District Town Kaiyo in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Kamiita, Tokushima.svg Kamiita 上板町34.5811,562 Itano District Town Kamiita in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Kamikatsu, Tokushima.svg Kamikatsu 上勝町109.631,344 Katsuura District Town Kamikatsu in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Kamiyama, Tokushima.svg Kamiyama 神山町173.34,724 Myōzai District Town Kamiyama in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Katsuura, Tokushima.svg Katsuura 勝浦町69.835,131 Katsuura District Town Katsuura in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Kitajima, Tokushima.svg Kitajima 北島町8.7422,645 Itano District Town Kitajima in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Matsushige, Tokushima.svg Matsushige 松茂町14.2414,819 Itano District Town Matsushige in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Minami, Tokushima.svg Minami 美波町140.86,433 Kaifu District Town Minami in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Mugi, Tokushima.svg Mugi 牟岐町56.623,852 Kaifu District Town Mugi in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Naka, Tokushima.svg Naka 那賀町694.987,549 Naka District Town Naka in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Sanagochi, Tokushima.svg Sanagōchi 佐那河内村42.282,106 Myōdō District Village Sanagochi in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg
Flag of Tsurugi, Tokushima.svg Tsurugi つるぎ町194.847,877 Mima District Town Tsurugi in Tokushima Prefecture Ja.svg

Mergers

Economy and industry

Tokushima depends on agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The percentage of agricultural workers and productivity is the second largest in Shikoku next to Kochi. Rice fields occupy the lower region of the Yoshino River and the small, narrow plains along the shore. Much of the remaining land is used for vegetables and flowers. The prefecture is the nation's largest supplier of cauliflower and lotus roots, and the fourth largest producer of carrots. Japanese indigo is only produced here.

Northern Tokushima's growth was accelerated by the completion of the Akashi Channel Bridge, which completes the road connection from Tokushima to Kobe. Industrial development continues around the Tokushima and Naruto districts. In particular, Itano District's Aizumi Town and Kitajima Town have experienced rapid growth, which has led to a proposed merger of the towns of Itano District into Itano City in the future.

[7] In April 2023 a school of tech entrepreneurship - the first of its kind in Japan - was opened in the Tokushima town of Kamiyama. The students, aged from 15 to 20, will be taught engineering, programming and designing, as well as business skills such as marketing. They will also learn how to pitch their business plans to investors in order to raise money.

The man behind it is Chikahiro Terada, the boss of Tokyo-based start-up Sansan, which specialises in the digitalisation of business cards. These still play a huge role in Japan's corporate world.

Agriculture

Tokushima abounds in agricultural resources and is the site of large-scale production of many different types of vegetables. The plains north of the Yoshino River are particularly fertile and the produce here is often shipped to mainland Japan in the areas around Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto. Produce from Tokushima always claims top shares in markets in the Kansai region and particularly prominent are Naruto sweet potatoes, the citrus fruit "sudachi", lotus roots and strawberries.

The lack of goods heading to Tokyo has led to a relatively low national profile for local Tokushima brands.[ citation needed ] To combat this, the local Tokushima government now sends the "Fresh! Tokushima" moving display about the country with its mobile kitchen set to increase general awareness of the local food available in Tokushima Prefecture.

Demographics

Tokushima prefecture population pyramid in 2020 Tokushima prefecture population pyramid 2020.svg
Tokushima prefecture population pyramid in 2020

Culture

Sports

Pocarisweat Stadium in Naruto. Naruto Athletic 1.JPG
Pocarisweat Stadium in Naruto.

Tokushima hosted the official 2007 Asian Basketball Championship.

Further, the sports teams listed below are based in Tokushima.

Baseball

Football (soccer)

Transportation

Railway

Road

Expressway

Long-distance bus (from Tokushima)

Airport

Ferry from Tokushima Port

Prefectural symbols

Tokushima's prefectural symbol is a stylized combination of the hiragana for to and ku, the first two characters in the hiragana spelling of the prefecture's name.

Politics

Prefectural Governor (as elected by public vote)

Prefectural Assembly

PartyTotal
Total41
Liberal Democratic Party / Shinsei Club11
Liberal Democratic Party / Koyu Club9
Meisei Club7
Shinpu Democratic Club6
Kaikaku Isshin Club3
Japanese Communist Party3
New Komeito Group2

See also

Notes

  1. "2020年度国民経済計算(2015年基準・2008SNA) : 経済社会総合研究所 - 内閣府". 内閣府ホームページ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, ed. (24 May 2016). NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典 (in Japanese). NHK Publishing.
  3. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tokushima prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 980 , p. 980, at Google Books.
  4. Nussbaum, "Tokushima" at p. 980 , p. 980, at Google Books.
  5. Nussbaum, "Awa no Kuni" at p. 62 , p. 62, at Google Books; "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780 , p. 780, at Google Books
  6. "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment . Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  7. "Can a sleepy Japanese town become Asia's Silicon Valley?". BBC News. 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-22.

References

34°2′N134°26′E / 34.033°N 134.433°E / 34.033; 134.433