The is the largest
peninsula on the island of
Honshū in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
. It is named after the ancient
Kii Province.
Overview
The area south of the “
Central Tectonic Line” is called , and is home to reef-like coral communities which are amongst the northernmost in the world
(apart from
cold-water corals) due to the presence of the warm
Kuroshio Current,
though these are threatened by global warming and human interference. Because of the Kuroshio’s strong influence, the climate of Nankii is the wettest in the Earth’s
subtropics
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° nort ...
with rainfall in the southern mountains believed to reach per year and averaging in the southeastern town of
Owase
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 16,910 in 9177 households and a population density of 88 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Geography
Owase is located in southeastern Kii Pen ...
, comparable to
Ketchikan,
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
or
Tortel
Tortel is a Chilean commune located at the outflow of the Baker River and Pascua River to the Pacific Ocean. It lies between the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Capitán Prat Province in the Aysén Region. The commune is admi ...
in southern Chile. When
typhoons hit Japan, the Kii Peninsula is typically the worst affected area and daily rainfalls as high as are known so the Kii Peninsula is often referred to as the Typhoon Ginza (after
Ginza in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
).
Most of the Kii Peninsula is dense
temperate rainforest since the climate even in the very limited lowlands is too wet for agriculture, and much of the coast consists of networks of small
rias into which flow very steep and rapid streams characterised by numerous high
waterfalls.
Forestry and
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...
were the traditional economic mainstays of the region and remain important even today despite a declining population and labour force.
Location
Wakayama Prefecture occupies much of the area, including the entire southern part. To the northwest of Wakayama Prefecture is
Osaka Prefecture, whose southern part is on the peninsula. East of Osaka Prefecture is landlocked
Nara Prefecture; farther east is
Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. 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 Prefectur ...
.
The
Seto Inland Sea lies to the west of the Kii Peninsula. To the south and east is the Pacific Ocean and to the north is the valley of the
Kiso Three Rivers
The refers to the three major rivers that make up the alluvial plain area of the Nōbi Plain of Japan. The three rivers are the Kiso River, the Ibi River and the Nagara River. Given their location, they are sometimes referred to as the Nōbi Th ...
and
Ise Bay
is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels: ...
.
Notable places
Notable places in the Kii Peninsula include :
*
Nara, former
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of Japan.
*
Mount Kōya (or Kōyasan), the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Buddhism.
*
Wakayama, former home of the Kii (or Kishu)
Tokugawa clan
The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful '' daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this cl ...
. It is the location of the
Hinokuma Shrine
Hinokuma Shrine (日前神宮, ''Hinokuma jingu'') and Kunikakasu Shrine (國懸神宮, ''Kunikakasu jingu'') is a Shinto shrine complex in Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It is officially known simply as . Its main festival is held annually ...
, which is affiliated to the Grand Shrine of Ise.
*
Matsuzaka, now the center of a major beef-producing area, formerly the center of
Ise merchants.
*
Ise Ise may refer to:
Places
*Ise, Mie, a city in Japan
** Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie
* Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria
* Ise, Norway, a village in Norway
* Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan
* River Ise, a tributary of ...
, the location of the
Grand Shrine of Ise and center of pearl production.
*
Yoshino District, a wild area of heavily forested deep mountains, home of the Southern Imperial Court during the
Nanboku-chō period of Japanese history.
*
Kumano Region, home of the
Kumano Shrine
A is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [].Encyclopedia of ShintoKumano Shinkō accessed on October 6, 2008 There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its ...
s and the Nachi Waterfall. Another name is
Muro District.
*
Kushimoto, Wakayama, the southernmost point in Honshū.
*
Taiji, Wakayama, the birthplace of the Japanese traditional whaling.
The Kii Peninsula is the location of a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage Site:
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the Kii Peninsula in Japan.
Selection criteria
The locations and paths for this heritage site were based on their historical and modern i ...
.
The List
/ref>
In 2004, UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
designated three other locations on the Kii Peninsula as World Heritage Sites. They are:
# Yoshino and Mount Omine, mountainous areas in the north of the peninsula.
#Kumano Shrine
A is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [].Encyclopedia of ShintoKumano Shinkō accessed on October 6, 2008 There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its ...
s, three shrines at the southern tip of the peninsula.
# Mount Kōya, the mountain at the west of the peninsula
Transportation
* Nanki-Shirahama Airport in Shirahama serves the southern part of the Kii Peninsula.
* The Kisei Main Line connects Wakayama to Mie Prefecture and runs along the peninsula's coastline.
Notes
External links
Visit Wakayama
{{Authority control
Peninsulas of Japan
Landforms of Wakayama Prefecture
Landforms of Mie Prefecture
Landforms of Nara Prefecture