The is a major

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

that flows through central

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 Prefecture to ...

on the island of

Honshū , 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 separa ...

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 north ...

. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Japanese government, one of four Class 1 rivers that flow solely through Mie. The majority of river's course is through the city of

Matsusaka is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is famous for Matsusaka beef. Geography ...

. The river's source is on

Mount Takami is a mountain of Daiko Mountains, which is located on the border of Higashiyoshino, Nara, Higashiyoshino, Nara Prefecture, Nara, and Matsusaka, Mie, Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, Mie, Japan Outline This mountain is located on the north end of Da ...

, which stands on the border of Mie and

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

Prefectures. From the mountain, it then flows eastwards and passes through a number of dams before reaching its delta and flowing into

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: th ...

Name

It is thought that the name of the river comes from an old legend about

Yamatohime-no-Mikoto is a Japanese figure who is said to have established Ise Shrine, where the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Omikami is enshrined. Yamatohime-no-mikoto is recorded as being the daughter of Emperor Suinin, Japan's 11th Emperor. Traditional historical view Leg ...

, the imperial princess of olden times who is said to have established

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inn ...

. According to the ancient book detailing her story, while being led by the supreme deity

Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...

to the land of what is now Ise Grand Shrine, she dropped a comb ("''kushi''" in Japanese) somewhere along her journey. It is believed that the area where the comb was lost was then named ''kushida'' (literally meaning "''comb field''"). It could be said that the river gained its name from the fact that it flows through this small ''kushida'' region, which is on the eastern edge of Matsusaka near the border with

Meiwa was a after ''Hōreki'' and before ''An'ei.'' This period spanned the years from June 1764 through November 1772. The reigning empress and emperor were and . Change of era * 1764 : The era name became ''Meiwa'' (meaning "Bright Harmony") bec ...

Course

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: :

• Taki {{Authority control Rivers of Mie Prefecture Rivers of Japan