Wakayama Prefecture
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Script error: No such module "Nihongo". is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu.[1]Template:Rp Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 (since 1 February 2025[update]Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".) and a geographic area of Script error: No such module "convert".. Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to the northeast.
Wakayama is the capital and largest city of Wakayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Tanabe, Hashimoto, and Kinokawa.[2]Template:Rp Wakayama Prefecture is located on the southwestern coast of the Kii Peninsula on the Kii Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku.
History
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.[3]
1953 flood disaster
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". On July 17–18, 1953, a torrential heavy rain occurred, followed by collapse of levees, river flooding and landslides in a wide area. Many bridges and houses were destroyed.[4][5][6] According to an officially confirmed report by the Government of Japan, 1,015 people died, with 5,709 injured and 7,115 houses lost.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Geography
City Town Village
As of 31 March 2020, 13 percent of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Setonaikai and Yoshino-Kumano National Parks; Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen and Kōya-Ryūjin Quasi-National Parks; and Enju Kaigan, Hatenashi Sanmyaku, Hikigawa, Jōgamori Hokodai, Kōyasanchō Ishimichi-Tamagawakyō, Kozagawa, Nishiarida, Oishi Kōgen, Ōtōsan, Ryūmonzan, Shiramisan-Wadagawakyō, and Shirasaki Kaigan Prefectural Natural Parks.[7]
Cities
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Nine cities are in Wakayama Prefecture:
| Name | Area (km2) | Population | Map | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rōmaji | Kanji | |||
| File:Flag of Arida, Wakayama.svg Arida | 有田市 | 36.91 | 27,963 | File:Arida in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Gobo, Wakayama.svg Gobō | 御坊市 | 43.78 | 27,483 | File:Gobo in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Hashimoto, Wakayama.svg Hashimoto | 橋本市 | 130.31 | 62,941 | File:Hashimoto in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Iwade, Wakayama.svg Iwade | 岩出市 | 38.5 | 53,280 | File:Iwade in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Kainan, Wakayama.svg Kainan | 海南市 | 101.18 | 51,112 | File:Kainan in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Kinokawa, Wakayama.svg Kinokawa | 紀の川市 | 228.24 | 61,850 | File:Kinokawa in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Shingu, Wakayama.svg Shingū | 新宮市 | 255.43 | 26,815 | File:Shingu in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Tanabe, Wakayama.svg Tanabe | 田辺市 | 1,026.91 | 70,410 | File:Tanabe in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
| File:Flag of Wakayama, Wakayama.svg Wakayama (capital) | 和歌山市 | 210.25 | 360,664 | File:Wakayama in Wakayama Prefecture Ja.svg |
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district:
Mergers
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Demographics
Since 1996, population of Wakayama Prefecture has kept declining, and since 2010, it has been the only prefecture in Kansai region with population below 1,000,000. In 2017, Wakayama is ranked 40th by population in Japan with a population of 944,320. In the 2020 census, close to 32% of the population was over 65 years of age - the highest percentage in Japan and one of the highest for national subdivisions worldwide.[8]
Politics
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Governor Shūhei Kishimoto was elected on 27 November 2022.[9]
Prefectural assembly
| Political party | Number of seats |
|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party | 28 |
| Reform Club (改新クラブ) | 5 |
| Komeito | 3 |
| Nippon Ishin no Kai | 3 |
| Japanese Communist Party | 1 |
| Independent society | 1 |
| Independent | 1 |
List of governors of Wakayama
State-appointed governors:
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Publicly elected governors:
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Culture
Script error: No such module "Nihongo". in the Ito District is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is home to one of the first Japanese style Buddhist temples in Japan and remains a pilgrimage site and an increasingly popular tourist destination as people flock to see its ancient temples set amidst the towering cedar trees at the top of the mountain. The Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range extend for miles throughout the prefecture and together have been recognized as Japan's 11th UNESCO World Heritage Site.[11]
The Kumano Shrines are on the southern tip of the prefecture. Tomogashima (a cluster of four islands) is part of the prefecture.
Agriculture
Orange
Wakayama Prefecture ranks first in the production of oranges in Japan. Wakayama has its own brand of oranges, which is produced in Arida District and called 'Arida-Orange'. Arida District, where oranges have been produced for more than 400 years,[12] yields about half of the orange crops in Wakayama today.[13] Furthermore, the yield of Arida-Oranges accounts for about 10 percent of Japanese domestic production of oranges.[14]
Chinese flowering plum (Ume)
According to the survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Wakayama stands first in the production of Chinese flowering plum, or ume in Japanese, in Japan. As of 2016, Wakayama made up about 70 percent of Japanese domestic production of ume.[15]
International relations
Wakayama Prefecture has friendship and sister relationships with six places outside Japan:[16]
- Template:Flagicon Florida, United States
- Template:Flagicon Galicia, Spain
- Template:Flagicon Pyrénées-Orientales, France
- Template:Flagicon Shandong, People's Republic of China
- Template:Flagicon Sichuan, People's Republic of China
- Template:Flagicon Sinaloa, Mexico
Tourism
Wakayama Prefecture has hot springs such as Nanki-Shirahama Onsen, Template:Ill, and Yunomine Onsen.
-
Saikazaki, Wakanoura
-
The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama
-
Konpon Daido
(Mount Kōya) -
Daimonzaka
(Kumano Kodō)
Transportation
Rail
- JR Central
- JR West
- Kishu Railway
- Nankai
- Wakayama Electric Railway
Road
Expressway
- Hanwa Expressway
- Keinawa Expressway
- Nachi Katsuura Road
- Yuasa Gobo Road
National highways
- Route 24
- Route 26
- Route 42
- Route 168 (Shingu-Gojo-Ikoma-Hirakata)
- Route 169 (Shingu-Kumano-Kawakami-Yoshino-Asuka-Kashihara-Nara)
- Route 311 (Kamitonda-Tanabe-Shingu-kumano-Owase)
- Route 370 (Kainan-Hashimoto-Gojo-Uda-Nara)
- Route 371 (Kawachinagano-Hashimoto-Koya-Kushimoto)
- Route 424
Ferry
- Wakayama-Tokushima
Airport
However, Kansai International Airport in neighbouring Osaka Prefecture is also used by air travellers from the prefecture which more domestic and international destinations.
Education
Universities
Notes
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- ↑ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Wakayama prefecture" in Template:Trim&pg=PA1026 Japan Encyclopedia, p. 1026, p. 1026, at Google Books; "Kansai" in Template:Trim&pg=PA477 p. 477, p. 477, at Google Books.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Wakayama" in Template:Trim&pg=PA1025 p. 1025, p. 1025, at Google Books.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in Template:Trim&pg=PA780 p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
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- ↑ 2020 population census of Japan. https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/2020/summary.html
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- ↑ UNESCO.org
- ↑ 今月の旬 Template:Webarchive Wakayama Prefecture website, accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ 農林水産 特産品 Template:Webarchive Wakayama Prefecture website, accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ 有田みかんについて JA Arida website, accessed May 31, 2017
- ↑ 作況調査（果樹）： 農林水産省 The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website, accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ 友好・姉妹提携 Template:Webarchive Wakayama Prefecture website, retrieved May 16, 2008
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References
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Template:ISBN; OCLC 58053128
External links
Template:Sister project Template:Wikivoyage
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