Ishikawa Prefecture

Template:Infobox Prefecture Japan Ishikawa Prefecture (石川県, Ishikawa-ken) is located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island, Japan. The capital is Kanazawa.

History

Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.

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.

Cities

Ten cities are located in Ishikawa Prefecture:

Hakui Hakusan Kaga Kahoku Kanazawa (capital)

Komatsu Nanao Nomi Suzu Wajima

Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Hakui District Hōdatsushimizu Shika Hōsu District Anamizu Noto

Ishikawa District Nonoichi Kahoku District Tsubata Uchinada

Kashima District Nakanoto Nomi District Kawakita

Map of Ishikawa Prefecture.

Mergers

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

• On March 1, 2004 the towns of Takamatsu, Nanatsuka, and Unoke from Kahoku District merged to form the city of Kahoku.

• On October 1, 2004 the towns of Nakajima, Notojima and Tatsuruhama merged with the former city of Nanao to create the city of Nanao.

• On February 1, 2005 the following towns and villages from Ishikawa merged with the city of Mattō forming the city of Hakusan: Kawachi, Mikawa, Oguchi, Shiramine, Torigoe, Tsurugi, and Yoshinodani.

• On February 1, 2005 the towns of Neagari, Tatsunokuchi, and Terai from Nomi District merged forming the city of Nomi.

• On March 1, 2005 the town of Noto and village of Yanagida from the former Fugeshi District merged with the town of Uchiura from the former Suzu District, Ishikawa forming a new town of Noto and the districts merged forming Hōsu District.

• On March 1, 2005 the towns of Oshimizu and Shio from Hakui District merged forming the town of Hōdatsushimizu.

• On March 1, 2005 the towns of Kashima, Toriya, and Rokusei from Kashima District merged, forming the town of Nakanoto.

• On September 1, 2005 the towns of Togi and Shika from Hakui District merged to create the new town of Shika.

• On October 1, 2005 the town of Yamanaka from Enuma District and the former city of Kaga merged, forming the new city of Kaga. Enuma District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

• On February 1, 2006 the town of Monzen from Hōsu District and the former city of Wajima merged, forming the new city of Wajima.

Economy

Ishikawa's industry is dominated by the textile industry, particularly artificial fabrics, and the machine industry, particularly construction machinery.

Demographics

Ishikawa Prefecture has an area of 4,185 km² and as of April 1, 2006 it has a population of 1,698,539 persons.

Data	Unit	Statistics
Area	Km2	4,185
Population	Persons	1,698,539
Population Density	Persons per km2	405
Number of Households	Households	411,341
Income per person	Thousand yen	2,707
Power consumed	Kwh per household	6,446
# Doctors	Physicians per 100,000 people	249

Culture

Traditional Arts and Crafts

• Nō was introduced to the area during the rule of the fifth Maeda lord Tsunanori and was refined into the Kaga hosho style.
• The tea ceremony arrived in 1666 when Maeda Toshitsune invited Senbiki Soshitsu of urasenke to Kanazawa.
• Kutani porcelain (Kutani yaki), bright colored glazes not unlike Chinese porcelain.
• Ohi teaware (Ōhi yaki), a pottery style unique to Kanazawa.
• Kaga silk (Kaga yūzen), a complicated silk print technique with an intentional rough look (wabi-sabi).
• Kanazawa lacquerware (Kanazawa shikki), high quality lacquerware traditionally decorated with gold dust.
• Kanazawa gold leaf (Kanazawa haku), a technique of beating gold into wafer-thin sheets.
• Kaga mizuhiki, ribbon-like decorations made from glued Japanese paper (washi).
• Kaga inlay crafts (Kaga zōgan), a combination of thin flat and thread metal inlays.

Tourism

The most popular destination in Ishikawa is Kanazawa. Tourists can get to Ishikawa by plane via Komatsu.

Miscellaneous topics

Hideki Matsui, a current player for the New York Yankees, was born and raised in nearby Neagari Town (now Nomi City), Ishikawa. He gained fame as a baseball player while attending high school in Kanazawa.

External links

• Official Ishikawa Prefecture homepage

36°38′N 136°39′E