Wakayama Prefecture

Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県, Wakayama-ken) is a prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan on the island of Honshū.^[1] The capital is the city of Wakayama.^[2] Wakayama Prefecture is surrounded by Osaka Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture and Tokushima Prefecture.

Wakayama 和歌山県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Romaji	Wakayama-ken
Flag Symbol
Location of Wakayama in Japan
Coordinates: 34°13′33.7″N 135°10′3.0″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Island	Honshū
Capital	Wakayama
Government
• Governor	Shuhei Kishimoto
Area
• Total	4,725.67 km2 (1,824.59 sq mi)
• Rank	30th
Population  (April 1, 2012)
• Total	989,983
• Rank	39th
• Density	210/km2 (540/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	JP-30
Prefectural flower	Ume blossom (Prunus mume)
Prefectural tree	Ubame oak (Quercus phillyraeoides)
Prefectural bird	Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonica)
Number of districts	6
Number of municipalities	30
Website	www.wakayama.lg.jp/ english/

History

In the Meiji period, Wakayama Prefecture was created from the western part of Kii Province.^[3]

Geography

Wakayama's southwestern coastline faces the Seto Inland Sea and its southeastern coastline is on the Pacific Ocean. The northern borders of the prefecture meet Osaka Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, and Mie Prefecture.

Cities

There are nine cities in Wakayama Prefecture:

Arida Gobō Hashimoto

Iwade Kainan Kinokawa

Shingū Tanabe Wakayama (capital)

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Arida District Aridagawa Hirogawa Yuasa Hidaka District Hidaka Inami Hidakagawa Mihama Minabe Yura

Higashimuro District Kitayama Kozagawa Kushimoto Nachikatsuura Taiji Ito District Katsuragi Kōya Kudoyama

Kaisō District Kimino Nishimuro District Kamitonda Shirahama Susami

National Parks

National Parks are established in about 9% of the total land area of the prefecture.^[4]

Shrines and Temples

Hinokuma-kunikakasu jinjū is the chief Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) in the prefecture.^[5]

Related pages

• Provinces of Japan
• Prefectures of Japan
• List of regions of Japan
• List of islands of Japan

References

1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Wakayama prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 1026; "Kansai" at p. 477.
2. Nussbaum, "Wakayama" at p. 1025.
3. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.
4. Japan Ministry of the Environment, "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture"; retrieved 2012-3-13.
5. "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 3 Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-3-13.

Other websites

Media related to Wakayama prefecture at Wikimedia Commons

• Wakayama Prefecture website Archived 2005-11-09 at the Wayback Machine