Mie Prefecture

is part of the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. The capital is the city of Tsu.

History

Present-day Mie Prefecture covers an area that formerly comprised the provinces Ise, Shima, and Iga as well as a portion of eastern Kii. This area was organized and reorganized repeatedly at the time of the Meiji Restoration, but in 1871 the area from the Kisosansen 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.

Geography

Mie Prefecture forms the eastern part of the Kii Peninsula, and is bordered by Aichi, Gifu, Shiga, Kyoto, Nara, and Wakayama. It is considered part of the Kinki region, but it is close to Nagoya and has a number of suburbs of Nagoya. Most of the prefecture is mountainous, with a populous coastal plain along Ise Bay in the northeast, and high mountains along the southern coast, the Shima Peninsula, and the western border with the rest of Kinki, including a high plateau around Iga near Nara.

As of 2000 Mie Prefecture's 5,776.44 km² landmass is divided into 64.8% forest, 11.5% agriculture, 6% residential area, 3.8% roads, and 3.6% rivers. The remaining 10.3% are not classifed.

Cities

14 cities are located on Mie Prefecture.

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Mergers

(as of Jan 10, 2006)

On October 1, 2004 all five towns from Shima District (Ago, Daio, Hamajima, Isobe, Shima) merged to form Shima City. Shima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On November 1, 2004, the city of Ueno; the towns of Iga, Ayama, Shimagahara, and Aoyama; the village of Ōyamada; and the districts of Ayama and Naga merged to form the city of Iga.

On December 6, 2004, the city of Kuwana, and the towns of Nagashima and Tado from Kuwana District merged to form the city of Kuwana.

On January 1, 2005, the city of Matsusaka; the towns of Ureshino and Mikumo from Ichishi District; and Iinan District merged to form the city of Matsusaka. Iinan District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On January 11, 2005, the city of Kameyama and the town of Seki from Suzuka District merged to form the city of Kameyama. Suzuka District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On February 7, 2005, the town of Kusu in Mie District merged into the city of Yokkaichi.

On February 14, 2005 the towns of Kisei and Omiya and the village of Ouchiyama from Watarai District merged to form the new town of Taiki.

On October 1, 2005 the towns of Nansei and Nanto from Watarai District merged to form the new town of Minami-ise.

On October 11, 2005 the towns of Kiinagashima and Miyama from Kitamuro District merged to form the new town of Kihoku.

On November 1, 2005 the city of Kumano and the town of Kiwa from Minamimuro District merged to form the city of Kumano.

On November 1, 2005 the city of Ise and the towns of Futami and Obata and the village of Misono from Watarai District merged to form the city of Ise.

On January 1, 2006, the cities of Tsu and Hisai and the districts of Age and Ichishi merged to form the city of Tsu. Age District and Ichishi District were both dissolved as a result of this merger.

On January 1, 2006 the municipalities of Seiwa and Taki from Taki District merged to form the town of Taki.

On January 10, 2006 the municipalities of Odai and Miyagawa from Taki District merged to form the town of Odai.

On January 10, 2006 the municipalities of Kiho and Udono from Minaminuro District merged to form the town of Kiho.

Economy

Mie's manufacturing industry specializes in transport machinery, such as ships and cars, and chemicals, particularly oil refining. Agricultural products include tea, beef, and pearls.

Demographics

Culture

Tourism

Some of Mie's better-known sights include:

The Grand Shrine of Ise
Mikimoto Pearl Island, Toba
Ueno castle, the birthplace of the ninja
The wedded rocks of Futamigaura beach

Famous local products include lobster, known as "Ise shrimp" (伊勢えび ise-ebi) after the prefecture, and Matsusaka beef.

Prefectural symbols

Miscellaneous topics

External links

Mie Prefecture | Kansai region | Prefectures of Japan

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