is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Mie prefecture" in ; "Kansai" in Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to the northwest, Nara Prefecture to the west, Wakayama Prefecture to the southwest, and Aichi Prefecture to the east.
Tsu is the capital and Yokkaichi is the largest city of Mie Prefecture, with other major cities including Suzuka, Matsusaka, Ise, and Kuwana.Nussbaum, "Tsu" in Mie Prefecture is located on the eastern coast of the Kii Peninsula, forming the western side of Ise Bay which features the mouths of the Kiso Three Rivers. Mie Prefecture is a popular tourism destination home to Nagashima Spa Land, Suzuka International Racing Course, and some of the oldest and holiest sites in Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, including the Ise Grand Shrine and the Tsubaki Grand Shrine.
History
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Mie Prefecture was made up of Ise Province, Shima Province, Iga Province, and part of Kii Province.Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in
Evidence of human habitation in Mie dates back more than 10,000 years. During the Jōmon and Yayoi periods, agricultural communities began to form along the river and coastal areas of the region. Ise Shrine is said to have been established during the Yayoi period, and in the 7th century the Saikū Imperial Residence was built in what is now Meiwa Town to serve as both a residence and administrative centre for the Saiō, an Imperial Princess who served as High Priestess of Ise Shrine.
During the Edo period, the area now known as Mie Prefecture consisted of several feudal domains, each ruled by an appointed lord. Transport networks, including the Tokaido and Ise Roads, were built. Port towns such as Ohminato, Kuwana and Anōtsu, posting stations and castle towns flourished. Pilgrimages to Ise Shrine also became very popular.
After the Meiji Restoration, the former provinces of Ise, Shima and Iga as well as a portion of eastern Kii, were organized and reorganized repeatedly. In 1871, the area from the Kiso Three 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.
In 1959, many people died as parts of Mie were devastated by the Ise-wan Typhoon, the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in recorded history. Crops were destroyed, sea walls ruined, roads and railways damaged and a substantial number of people were injured or left homeless.
In May 2016, the city of Shima hosted the 42nd G7 summit, the third summit without the presence of Russia.
Geography
Mie Prefecture forms the eastern part of the Kii Peninsula, and borders on Aichi, Gifu, Shiga, Kyoto, Nara, and Wakayama. It is considered part of the Kansai and Tōkai regions due to its geographical proximity to Aichi Prefecture and its cultural influence from Kansai, such as the fact that Kansai dialect is spoken in Mie. Traditionally, though, the Iga region of Mie is considered to have always been a part of Kansai.
Mie Prefecture measures from north to south, and from east to west, and includes five distinct geographical areas:
the north-west of Mie consists of the Suzuka Mountains along the coast of Ise Bay from the Aichi border to Ise City lies the Ise Plain, where most of the population of Mie live south of the Ise Plain is the Shima Peninsula bordering Nara in the central-west is the Iga Basin running from central Mie to its southern borders is the Nunobiki Mountainous Region.
Mie has a coastline that stretches and, as of 2000, Mie's landmass is 64.8 percent forest, 11.5 percent agriculture, 6 percent residential area, 3.8 percent roads, and 3.6 percent rivers. The remaining 10.3 percent are not classified.
The Ise Plain has a relatively moderate climate, averaging for the year. The Iga Basin has more daily temperature variance and averages temperatures 1 to 2 degrees cooler than the Ise Plain. Southern Mie, south of the Shima Peninsula, has a warmer Pacific marine climate, with Owase Region having one of the heaviest rainfall figures for all of Japan.
36% of the total area of the prefecture comprised designated Natural Parks, namely:
Akame Ichishikyō Prefectural Natural Park Ise-no-Umi Prefectural Natural Park Ise-Shima National Park Kahadakyō Prefectural Natural Park Murō-Akame-Aoyama Quasi-National Park Okuise Miyagawakyō Prefectural Natural Park Suigō Prefectural Natural Park Suzuka Quasi-National Park Yoshino-Kumano National Park
Municipalities
Since 2006, Mie consists of 29 municipalities: 14 cities and 15 towns. Flag, name w/o suffix Full name District(-gun)Area (km2)PopulationMap Local public entity code(w/o checksum) Japanese transcription translation Iga伊賀市 Iga-shi Iga City –558.1795,13724216 Inabeいなべ市 Inabe-shi Inabe City –219.5845,58924214 Ise伊勢市 Ise-shi Ise City –208.52123,12924203 Kameyama亀山市 Kameyama-shi Kameyama City –190.9150,23024210 Kumano熊野市 Kumano-shi Kumano City –373.3517,72724212 Kuwana桑名市 Kuwana-shi Kuwana City –136.68139,58724205 Matsusaka松阪市 Matsusaka-shi Matsusaka City –623.64165,16624204 Nabari名張市 Nabari-shi Nabari City –129.7778,19024208 Owase尾鷲市 Owase-shi Owase City –192.7117,95324209 Shima志摩市 Shima-shi Shima City –179.6753,05624215 Suzuka鈴鹿市 Suzuka-shi Suzuka City –194.46196,83524207 Toba鳥羽市 Toba-shi Toba City –107.3419,22724211 Tsu (capital)津市 Tsu-shi Tsu City –711.11279,30424201 Yokkaichi四日市市 Yokkaichi-shi Yokkaichi City –206.44306,10724202 Asahi朝日町 Asahi-chō Asahi Town Mie5.999,94124343 Kawagoe川越町 Kawagoe-chō Kawagoe Town8.7314,99924344 Komono菰野町 Komono-chō Komono Town106.8940,28924341 Kihō紀宝町 Kihō-chō Kihō Town Minami-Muro(South Muro)79.6611,45424562 Mihama御浜町 Mihama-chō Mihama Town88.28 9,08924561 Kihoku紀北町 Kihoku-chō Kihoku Town Kita-Muro(North Muro)257.0117,88524543 Kisosaki木曽岬町 Kisosaki-chō Kisosaki Town Kuwana15.726,73024303 Meiwa明和町 Meiwa-chō Meiwa Town Taki40.9222,72624442 Ōdai大台町 Ōdai-chō Ōdai Town362.949,34524443 Taki多気町 Taki-chō Taki Town103.0614,84624441 Minamiise南伊勢町 Minami-Ise-chō South Ise Town Watarai242.9814,21724472 Taiki大紀町 Taiki-chō Taiki Town233.549,54324471 Tamaki玉城町 Tamaki-chō Tamaki Town40.9415,28024461 Watarai度会町 Watarai-chō Watarai Town134.978,53424470 Tōin東員町 Tōin-chō Tōin Town Inabe22.6625,55224324 Mie三重県 Mie-ken Mie Prefecture – 5,774.41 1,781,94824000ISO: JP-24
Mergers
When the modern municipalities were introduced in 1889, Mie initially consisted of 336 municipalities: 1 (by definition: district-level) city and 21 districts with 18 towns and 317 villages. With the Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s, the number of municipalities in Mie had dropped to 88 by 1956. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s reduced the total from 69 to 29 between 2000 and 2006.
Economy Mie Prefecture has traditionally been a link between east and west Japan, thanks largely to the Tokaido and Ise Pilgrimage Roads. Traditional handicrafts such as Iga Braid, Yokkaichi Banko Pottery, Suzuka Ink, Iga Pottery and Ise Katagami flourished. With 65% of the prefecture consisting of forests and with over of coastline, Mie has a long been associated with forestry and seafood industries. Mie also produces tea, beef, cultured pearls and fruit, mainly mandarin oranges. Food production companies include Azuma Foods.
Northern Mie is home to a number of manufacturing industries, mainly transport machinery manufacturing (vehicles and ships) and heavy chemical industries such as oil refineries. As well as this, Mie Prefecture is expanding into more advanced industries including the manufacture of semiconductors and liquid crystal displays. In Suzuka, the Honda Motor Company maintains a factory established in 1960 that built the Honda Civic, as well as other vehicles.
Demographics
+Mie Prefecture Demographics (as of 2014)Mie Prefecture Homepage: Key StatisticsTotal population1,820,491Male population886,362Female population934,129Population aged under 15240,263Population aged 15 to 641,076,257Population aged over 64491,779Households721,344Population density (per km2)315.3
Culture
Universities Ise Kogakkan University Matsusaka Mie Chukyo University Suzuka Suzuka International University Suzuka National College of Technology Suzuka University of Medical Science Toba Toba National College of Maritime Technology Tsu Mie Prefectural College of Nursing Mie University Yokkaichi Yokkaichi Nursing and Medical Care University Yokkaichi University
Transportation
Rail JR Central Kansai Line (Nagoya-Kameyama) Kisei Line Meishō Line Sangu Line JR West Kansai Line (Kameyama-Nara) Kusatsu Line (Tsuge Station) Kintetsu Nagoya Line Osaka Line Yamada Line Toba Line Shima Line Yunoyama Line Uchibe Line Hachioji Line Suzuka Line Yoro Railway Iga Railway Ise Railway Sangi Railway
Road
Expressways and toll roads East Meihan Expressway Ise Bayside Expressway Ise Expressway Ise Futami Toba Road Ise Shima Skyline Kisei Expressway Kumano Owase Road Meihan National Highway Second Meishin Expressway
National highways Route 1 Route 23 (Ise-Yokkaichi-Nagoya-Gamagori-Toyohashi) Route 25 (Meihan Highway) Route 42 Route 163 Route 164 (Yokkaichi) Route 165 Route 167 (Shima-Toba -Ise) Route 258 Route 301 Route 311 Route 365 Route 421 Route 422 Route 425 (Owase-Totsukawa-Gobo) Route 477
Ports Matsuzaka Port - Hydrofoil ferry route to Centrair Toba Port - Ferry route to Ira Cape Tsu Port - Hydrofoil ferry route to Centrair airport (Chubu International Airport) Yokkaichi Port - International and domestic container and goods hub port
Air In terms of air travel, the prefecture is served by Chubu International Airport.
Tourism
Notable places
Ise Grand Shrine - Japan's holiest Shinto shrine. Tsubaki Grand Shrine - Japan's oldest Shinto shrine. Kumano Kodō - World Heritage Site. Ancient road in southern Mie once used by pilgrims. Iga-Ueno - Birthplace of the ninja and home to the Iga Ninja Museum. Ise-Shima National Park Yoshino-Kumano National Park Tage Kitabatakeshi Yakata - Tage Kitabatake clan fortified residence, one of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles in 2017. Sakakibara Onsen - Famous onsen near Tsu, considered to be the 3rd best onsen in Japan. Yunoyama Onsen - Famous onsen near Yokkaichi that sits atop Mount Gozaisho. Nagashima Spa Land - One of the largest amusement parks in Japan, located in Kuwana. Toba Aquarium Mikimoto Pearl Island - Museum in Toba that is dedicated to Kōkichi Mikimoto, inventor of pearl cultivation. The Wedded Rocks of Okitama Shrine in Futami (now part of the city of Ise) Suzuka Circuit - Japan's most famous motor racetrack. Saikū - Site of Heian Imperial residence, with modern museum and reconstructed Heian building. Sagawa Memorial Museum of Shinto and Japanese Culture, Kogakkan University, a university museum close to the Ise Grand Shrine. A large Sonic the Hedgehog statue in the town of Iga can be found near Kanonji temple which has been the topic of discussion amongst gaming publications.
Notable citizens Aoi, guitarist of The GazettE Daikokuya Kōdayū, a Japanese castaway who spent eleven years in Russia Daisuke Kishio, voice actor Die, guitarist of Dir En Grey Hakaru Hashimoto, medical scientist Hiroshi Okuda, Chairman of Toyota, chairman of the Japan Business Federation Hiroyuki Ito, a video game designer working for Square Enix