Misplaced Pages

Wakayama Prefecture 和歌山県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	和歌山県
• Rōmaji	Wakayama-ken
Cherry blossoms bloom in the courtyard of Negoro-ji Temple in Iwade City, Wakayama Prefecture
FlagSymbol
Anthem: Wakayama kenminka
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Island	Honshū
Capital	Wakayama (city)
Subdivisions	Districts: 6, Municipalities: 30
Government
• Governor	Shūhei Kishimoto (since December 17, 2022)
Area
• Total	4,724.69 km (1,824.21 sq mi)
• Rank	30th
Population
• Total	944,320
• Rank	39th
• Density	199.87/km (517.7/sq mi)
• Dialects	Kishū
GDP
• Total	JP¥ 3,745 billion US$ 34.4 billion (2019)
ISO 3166 code	JP-30
Website	www.wakayama.lg.jp/ english/
Symbols of Japan
Bird	Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonica)
Flower	Ume blossom (Prunus mume)
Tree	Ubame oak (Quercus phillyraeoides)

Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県, Wakayama-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 (as of 1 October 2017) 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.

Wakayama is the capital and largest city of Wakayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Tanabe, Hashimoto, and Kinokawa. 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

Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.

1953 flood disaster

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. According to an officially confirmed report by the Government of Japan, 1,015 people died, with 5,709 injured and 7,115 houses lost.

Geography

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.

Cities

Nine cities are in Wakayama Prefecture:

Name		Area (km)	Population	Map
Rōmaji	Kanji
Arida	有田市	36.91	27,963
Gobō	御坊市	43.78	27,483
Hashimoto	橋本市	130.31	62,941
Iwade	岩出市	38.5	53,280
Kainan	海南市	101.18	51,112
Kinokawa	紀の川市	228.24	61,850
Shingū	新宮市	255.43	26,815
Tanabe	田辺市	1,026.91	70,410
Wakayama (capital)	和歌山市	210.25	360,664

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Name		Area (km)	Population	District	Type	Map
Rōmaji	Kanji
Aridagawa	有田川町	351.77	26,245	Arida District	Town
Hidaka	日高町	46.42	7,666	Hidaka District	Town
Hidakagawa	日高川町	331.61	9,615	Hidaka District	Town
Hirogawa	広川町	65.35	7,059	Arida District	Town
Inami	印南町	113.63	7,949	Hidaka District	Town
Kamitonda	上富田町	57.49	15,047	Nishimuro District	Town
Katsuragi	かつらぎ町	151.73	16,686	Ito District	Town
Kimino	紀美野町	128.31	8,989	Kaisō District	Town
Kitayama	北山村	48.21	432	Higashimuro District	Village
Kōya	高野町	137.08	3,279	Ito District	Town
Kozagawa	古座川町	294.52	2,749	Higashimuro District	Town
Kudoyama	九度山町	44.19	4,295	Ito District	Town
Kushimoto	串本町	135.78	16,243	Higashimuro District	Town
Mihama	美浜町	12.79	7,391	Hidaka District	Town
Minabe	みなべ町	120.26	12,561	Hidaka District	Town
Nachikatsuura	那智勝浦町	183.45	17,261	Higashimuro District	Town
Shirahama	白浜町	201.04	23,325	Nishimuro District	Town
Susami	すさみ町	174.71	4,011	Nishimuro District	Town
Taiji	太地町	5.96	3,428	Higashimuro District	Town
Yuasa	湯浅町	20.8	11,960	Arida District	Town
Yura	由良町	30.74	5,738	Hidaka District	Town

Mergers

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.

Politics

The current governor Shūhei Kishimoto was elected on 27 November 2022.

Prefectural assembly

List of governors of Wakayama

State-appointed governors:

Publicly-elected governors:

Culture

Mount Kōya (高野山, Kōya-san) 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.

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, yields about half of the orange crops in Wakayama today. Furthermore, the yield of Arida-Oranges accounts for about 10 percent of Japanese domestic production of oranges.

Japanese apricot (Ume)

According to the survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Wakayama stands first in the production of Japanese apricots (梅, Ume) in Japan. As of 2016, Wakayama made up about 70 percent of Japanese domestic production of Japanese apricots.

International relations

Wakayama Prefecture has friendship and sister relationships with six places outside Japan:

• Florida, United States
• Galicia, Spain
• Pyrénées-Orientales, France
• Shandong, People's Republic of China
• Sichuan, People's Republic of China
• Sinaloa, Mexico

Tourism

Wakayama Prefecture has hot springs such as Shirahama, Kawayu, and Yunomine Onsen.

• Saikazaki, Wakanoura
• Wakayama Castle
• The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama
• Konpon Daido
  (Mount Kōya)
• Chōhō-ji
• Nanki-Katsuura Onsen
• Nachi Falls
• Daimonzaka
  (Kumano Kodō)

Transportation

Rail

• JR Central
  • Kisei Line
• JR West
  • Hanwa Line
  • Kinokuni Line
  • Wakayama Line
• Kishu Railway
• Nankai
  • Kada Line
  • Koya Line
  • Nankai Line
• Wakayama Electric Railway

Road

Expressway

• Hanwa Expressway
• Keinawa Expressway
• Nachi Katsuura Road
• Yuasa Gobo Road

National Highway

• 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

• Nanki Shirahama Airport

Education

Universities

• Kinki University
• Koyasan University
• Wakayama Medical University
• Wakayama University

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. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Wakayama prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 1026, p. 1026, at Google Books; "Kansai" in p. 477, p. 477, at Google Books.
3. Nussbaum, "Wakayama" in p. 1025, p. 1025, at Google Books.
4. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
5. 自然公園都道府県別面積総括 [General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
6. 2020 population census of Japan. https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/2020/summary.html
7. "Kishimoto Wins 1st Term as Governor of Japan's Wakayama Pref". 時事通信ニュース. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
8. "和歌山県議会会派名簿" [List of factions in the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly] (PDF). Wakayama Prefecture (in Japanese). 17 May 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
9. UNESCO.org
10. 今月の旬 Wakayama Prefecture website, accessed May 31, 2017
11. 農林水産　特産品 Wakayama Prefecture website, accessed May 31, 2017
12. 有田みかんについて　JA Arida website, accessed May 31, 2017
13. 作況調査（果樹）：　農林水産省 The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website, accessed June 1, 2017
14. 友好・姉妹提携 Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine Wakayama Prefecture website, retrieved May 16, 2008

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

External links

• Official Wakayama Prefecture Web Site
• The Official Wakayama, Kansai Travel Guide

34°3′N 135°21′E / 34.050°N 135.350°E / 34.050; 135.350

v t e Wakayama Prefecture
Wakayama (capital)
Core city	Wakayama
Cities	Arida Gobō Hashimoto Iwade Kainan Kinokawa Shingū Tanabe
Districts	Arida District Aridagawa Hirogawa Yuasa Hidaka District Hidaka Hidakagawa Inami Mihama Minabe Yura Higashimuro District Kitayama Kozagawa Kushimoto Nachikatsuura Taiji Ito District Katsuragi Kōya Kudoyama Kaisō District Kimino Nishimuro District Kamitonda Shirahama Susami
List of mergers in Wakayama Prefecture

v t e Regions and prefectures of Japan
Regions & subregions	Hokkaidō Tōhoku Kantō Nanpō Islands Chūbu Hokuriku Kōshin'etsu Shin'etsu Tōkai Kansai Chūgoku San'in San'yō Shikoku Kyūshū Northern Southern Okinawa
Prefectures	Hokkaidō Hokkaido Tōhoku Aomori Iwate Miyagi Akita Yamagata Fukushima Kantō Ibaraki Tochigi Gunma Saitama Chiba Tokyo Kanagawa Chūbu Niigata Toyama Ishikawa Fukui Yamanashi Nagano Gifu Shizuoka Aichi Kansai Mie Shiga Kyoto Osaka Hyōgo Nara Wakayama Chūgoku Tottori Shimane Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Shikoku Tokushima Kagawa Ehime Kōchi Kyūshū Fukuoka Saga Nagasaki Kumamoto Ōita Miyazaki Kagoshima Okinawa
Category

• Wakayama Prefecture
• Kansai region
• Prefectures of Japan