is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...

island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km² (1,616

sq mi The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi2)Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is an are ...

). Ishikawa Prefecture borders

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

to the east, Gifu Prefecture to the southeast, and

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, G ...

to the south.

Kanazawa is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape ...

is the capital and largest city of Ishikawa Prefecture, with other major cities including Hakusan, Komatsu, and Kaga. Ishikawa is located on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

coast and features the most of the

Noto Peninsula The Noto Peninsula (能登半島, ''Noto-hantō'') is a peninsula that projects north into the Sea of Japan from the coast of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The main industries of the peninsula are agricultur ...

which forms Toyama Bay, one of the largest bays in Japan. Ishikawa Prefecture is part of the historic Hokuriku region and formerly an important populated center that contained some of the wealthiest ''

han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

'' (domains) of the Japanese feudal era. Ishikawa Prefecture is home to

Kanazawa Castle is a large, partially-restored Japanese castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which once formed the castle's private outer garden. It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, rul ...

Kenroku-en Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden. Along with Kairaku-en and Kōraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. The grounds are open year-round except ...

one of the

Three Great Gardens of Japan The , also known as "the three most famous gardens in Japan" are considered to include Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, Kōraku-en in Okayama and Kairaku-en in Mito. The conception of gardens in a group of three is found elsewhere, for example, in the th ...

Nyotaimori , often referred to as "body sushi", is the Japanese practice of serving sashimi or sushi from the naked body of a woman. is the male equivalent. History The origin of nyotaimori can be traced back to the food play of performed in Yūkaku du ...

("body sushi"), and Kutani ware.

History

Ishikawa was formed in 1872 from the merger of

Kaga Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abb ...

and the smaller

Noto Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern part of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, including the Noto Peninsula (''Noto-hantō'') which is surrounded by the Sea of Japan. Noto bordered on Etchū and Kaga provinces to the so ...

Geography

Ishikawa is on the

coast. The northern part of the prefecture consists of the narrow

, while the southern part is wider and consists mostly of mountains with the prefecture's chief city,

, located in the coastal plain. The prefecture also has some islands, including

Notojima is a volcanic island in the Nanao Bay () portion of the Sea of Japan, less than 500 meters off the coast of the Ishikawa prefecture in Japan. Notojima Island is administered as part of Nanao city. The two bridges connecting Notojima to the ...

Mitsukejima is an uninhabited island in Suzu, Ishikawa, Japan. Because of its shape, it is also known as , which is also the common name given to Hashima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture. According to folklore, the island was given the name "Mitsukejima" by ...

, Hegurajima. , 13% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Hakusan National Park; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Noto Hantō Quasi-national parks; and five prefectural natural parks.

Mergers

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 4,186.09 km² and, , it has a population of 1,166,643 persons.

List of governors of Ishikawa Prefecture

* Wakio Shibano (柴野和喜夫) (12 April 1947 to 23 February 1955) * Jūjitsu Taya (田谷充実) (24 February 1955 to 19 February 1963) * Yōichi Nakanishi (中西陽一) (23 February 1963 to 2 February 1994) *

Masanori Tanimoto is a Japanese politician who was the governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official ...

(谷本正憲) (29 March 1994 to 27 March 2022) *

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also ser ...

(馳浩) (28 March 2022 to present)

Culture

The area is noted for arts and crafts and other cultural traditions: * The art of

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

was introduced to the area during the rule of the fifth Maeda lord Tsunanori and was refined into the style of ''Kaga hosho''. * The

tea ceremony An East Asian tea ceremony, or ''Chádào'' (), or ''Dado'' ( ko, 다도 (茶道)), is a ceremonially ritualized form of making tea (茶 ''cha'') practiced in East Asia by the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. The tea ceremony (), literally transl ...

was introduced in 1666 when

Maeda Toshitsune was an early-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 2nd ''daimyō'' of Kaga Domain in the Hokuriku region of Japan, and the 3rd hereditary chieftain of the Maeda clan. Toshitsune was a brother of Maeda Toshinaga and a son of Maeda Toshiie. He was ...

invited Senbiki Soshitsu of

Urasenke is one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. Along with and , it is one of the three lines of the family descending from , which together are known as the - or the "three houses/families" (). The name , literally meaning "rear hous ...

to Kanazawa. * Kutani ware (''Kutani yaki'') is a bright colored glaze like Chinese porcelain. * Ohi teaware (''Ōhi yaki'') is a pottery with a style unique to Kanazawa. *

or naked sushi is said to have originated in Ishikawa Prefecture. * Kaga silk (''Kaga yūzen'') is made with complicated silk print technique with an intentional rough look (''

wabi-sabi In traditional Japanese aesthetics, is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature. ...

''). * Kanazawa lacquerware (''Kanazawa shikki'') is high quality lacquerware traditionally decorated with gold dust. * Kanazawa gold leaf (''Kanazawa haku'') is produced with a technique of beating gold into wafer-thin sheets. * ''Kaga mizuhiki'' is ribbon-like decoration made from glued Japanese paper (''washi''). * Kaga inlay crafts (''Kaga zōgan'') are made with a combination of thin flat and thread metal inlays. * Gojinjo Daiko is a Japanese drum, a Wajima city cultural heritage (since 1961) as well as an Ishikawa Prefecture intangible cultural heritage (since 1963). *

Abare Festival Abare Festival is a Japanese festival commonly known as the ''Fire & Violence Festival''. It takes place in Ushitsu of Noto Peninsula and is dedicated to the Yasaka Shrine. The festival takes place every year in July on the first Friday and Satu ...

is reputed the most 'fierce' festivals of

Noto, Ishikawa is a town located in Hōsu District (formerly Fugeshi District), Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 17,840 in 7,689 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km2. The total area of the town was ...

Tourism

The most popular destination in Ishikawa is Kanazawa. Tourists can get to Ishikawa by plane via either the Komatsu or Noto airports. Popular sites include: * 1000 Rice Fields *

21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

* Chirihama Driveway * Higashi-chaya district in Kanazawa *

Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art , also known as IPMA, is the main art gallery of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's many museums which are supported by a prefecture. The collection includes some of the prefecture's most important cultural assets and works by artis ...

* Kaga hot-springs district *

Mount Haku , or Mount Hakusan (commonly referred to as simply Hakusan), is a dormant stratovolcano in Japan. It is located on the borders of Gifu and Ishikawa, on the island of Honshu. Mount Haku is thought to have first been active 300,000 to 400,000 yea ...

* Shibayama Lagoon * Wajima Morning Market

Prefectural symbols

*''

Fritillaria camschatcensis ''Fritillaria camschatcensis'' is a species of flowering plant native to northeastern Asia and northwestern North America, including northern Oregon, Washington (state), Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, northern Japan, and the Russian Far Ea ...

'' (flower) *

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

(bird) *''

Thujopsis dolabrata ''Thujopsis'' () is a genus of conifers in the cypress family ( Cupressaceae), the sole member of which is ''Thujopsis dolabrata''. It is endemic to Japan, where it is named ''asunaro'' (). It is similar to the closely related genus ''Thuja'' ...

'' (tree)

Notable people

* Kitaro Nishida, philosopher, founder of the

Kyoto School The is the name given to the Japanese philosophical movement centered at Kyoto University that assimilated Western philosophy and religious ideas and used them to reformulate religious and moral insights unique to the East Asian cultural tradit ...

of philosophy, from Kahoku. *

Kyōka Izumi , real name , was a Japanese author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays who was active during the prewar period. Kyōka's writing differed greatly from that of the naturalist writers who dominated the literary scene at the time. Many of ...

, author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays, from

. * Murō Saisei, poet and novelist in modern Japanese literature from Kanazawa. * Shūsei Tokuda, author from Kanazawa.（Izumi, Muro, and Tokuda are known as the Three Famous Literary Persons in Ishikawa） *

Takeshi Kaga , real name , is a well-known stage and movie actor in Japan who is best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show ''Iron Chef'' produced by Fuji TV. Biography Kaga was born on October 12, 1950, ...

, an actor in Japan who is probably best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bui ...

'' produced by

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

, is from Ishikawa. *

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed " Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Mats ...

, a former

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, was born and raised in Neagari Town (now Nomi City), Ishikawa. He gained fame as a baseball player while attending high school in Kanazawa. * Daisuke Nakata, a trampolinist who has competed in the Olympics in the past, is from Ishikawa. * Kodai Iida, a professional footballer for

OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessm ...

D.T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...

, Buddhist philosopher and popularizer of Buddhism in the West was born in Kanazawa. * Yusuke Suzuki, (no relation to D.T.) born in 1988, is a racewalker born in

Nomi, Ishikawa is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 50,132 in 18,585 households, and a population density of 600 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Nomi is located in southwestern ...

prefecture. *

Enhō Akira is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ishikawa Prefecture. He made his debut in March 2017 and wrestles for Miyagino stable. His highest rank has been ''maegashira'' 4. He is shorter and weighs significantly less than the vast majority ...

, a professional Sumo wrestler at the Jūryō division. *

Yoshirō Taniguchi was a Japanese architect. He was born in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. He was a graduate of Tokyo University Department of Architecture and professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology from 1929 - 1965. As an architect, he crea ...

, modernist architect and father of architect Yoshio Taniguchi, who designed the D.T. Suzuki Museum in Kanazawa.

Universities

Ishikawa has a number of universities: *

Kanazawa University Kanazawa University ( ja, 金沢大学, Kanazawa Daigaku, abbreviated to ja, 金大, Kindai) is a Japanese national university in the city of Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. Founded in 1862, it was chartered as a university in 1 ...

* Hokuriku University * Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University * Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology * Kanazawa College of Art * Ishikawa Prefectural University * Kanazawa Gakuin University * Kanazawa Institute of Technology * Kanazawa Medical University * Kanazawa Seiryo University
Kinjo University

Hokuriku Gakuin University

Komatsu University

Hokuriku Gakuin University

Transport

Rail

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, an ...

Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwe ...

Nanao Line The is a railway line in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and the Noto Railway. It runs between Tsubata Station in Tsubata and Anamizu Station in Anamizu. JR West operates the section between Tsu ...

* Hokuriku Railway (Hokutetsu) **Asanokawa Line **Ishikawa Line *

Noto Railway is a Japanese railway company on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. It runs the Nanao Line with eight stops between Nanao and Anamizu, a distance of . There are 34 trains plus sightseeing trains on the line. It previously operated the ...

IR Ishikawa Railway Line The is a Japanese third-sector railway company established in 2012 to operate passenger railway services on the section of the JR West Hokuriku Main Line within Ishikawa Prefecture. The main line was separated from the JR West network on 14 ...

Road

Expressways and toll roads

*Hakusan Super Forest Road *

Hokuriku Expressway The , (abbreviated as , is a 4-laned national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company and Central Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The first section was opened in 1972 by Japan Highway Public Corpo ...

*Noetsu (Noto-Etsuchu) Expressway *Noto Toll Road

National highways

* National Route 8 * National Route 157 (Kanazawa - Hakusan - Katsuyama -

Motosu Usuzumizakura is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 34,453 in 12, 464 households, and a population density of 390 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Motosu is located in western Gi ...

- Gifu) * National Route 159 * National Route 160 * National Route 249 * National Route 304 * National Route 305 * National Route 359 * National Route 360 ( Toyama - Hida - Shirakawa - Komatsu) * National Route 364 * National Route 365 * National Route 415 * National Route 416 * National Route 470 (Wajima - Himi - Takaoka - Oyabe -

Tonami 270px, Tonami-yotaka festival held in June is a city in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,659 in 16,739 households and a population density of 384 persons per km². Its total area was . Geography Tonami i ...

) * National Route 471

Ports

*Kanazawa Port (International container hub port) *Nanao Port

Airports

Komatsu Airport is an international airport located west southwest of Komatsu Station in the city of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest airport in the Hokuriku region and serves the southern portion of Ishikawa Prefecture including the c ...

Noto Airport , marketed as and also unofficially known as is a domestic airport located south southeast of the city of Wajima on the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an isla ...

Regional policies

* Premium passport

Politics

The current governor of Ishikawa is

who was first elected in 1994 and has been reelected for a sixth term in the gubernatorial election in March 2014. Tanimoto is currently one of two governors who are in their sixth term nationwide, the other being Masaru Hashimoto of Ibaraki. Tanimoto is only the fourth governor of Ishikawa since 1947 when prefectural governors became elected offices, as predecessor Yōichi Nakanishi had held the governorship even longer than Tanimoto, winning his first election in 1963 and then serving eight consecutive terms until his death in 1994. The prefectural assembly of Ishikawa has 43 members and is elected in unified local elections (last round: 2011) in 15

SNTV SNTV may refer to: *Single non-transferable vote, an electoral system in multi-member constituency elections *Sistema Nacional de Televisión (Nicaragua), the Nicaraguan state broadcaster from 1990–1997 *Sistema Nacional de Televisión (Paraguay) ...

electoral districts – six single-member, five two-member, one three-member, two four-member districts and the Kanazawa City district that elects 16 members. As of February 26, 2014, the LDP prefectural assembly caucus has 25 members and no other group has more than four members.Ishikawa Prefectural Assembly
members by caucus
In the National Diet, Ishikawa is represented by three directly elected members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and two (one per election) of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...

. Additional members from the prefecture may be elected in the proportional representation segments of both houses: the Hokuriku-Shin'etsu proportional representation block in the lower house, the proportional election to the upper house is nationwide. After the Diet elections of 2010, 2012 and 2013, the five directly elected members from Ishikawa districts are all Liberal Democrats, namely: * in the House of Representatives ** for the 1st district that covers Kanazawa City:

, LDP, 5th term, ** for the 2nd district that consists of Southern parts of Ishikawa and had been the district of former LDP president

Yoshirō Mori is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan between April 2000 and April 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, both during and after his ...

until 2012: Hajime Sasaki, LDP, 1st term, ** for the 3rd district in the North: Shigeo Kitamura, LDP, 3rd term, * in the House of Councillors ** in the class of 2010 (term ends 2016): Naoki Okada, LDP, 2nd term, and ** in the class of

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

(term ends 2019): Shūji Yamada, LDP, 1st term who was able to defeat Democratic incumbent and former defense minister Yasuo Ichikawa by a huge margin in 2013.

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

.
OCLC 58053128

External links

* *

{{Coord, 36, 38, N, 136, 39, E, scale:500000, display=title Chūbu region Hokuriku region Prefectures of Japan