is a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

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 ...

located in the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

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 s ...

. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 () and has a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nar ...

to the north, and

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 ...

and

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakaya ...

to the northeast. Wakayama is the capital and largest city of Wakayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Tanabe, Hashimoto, and Kinokawa. Wakayama Prefecture is located on the western coast of the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. 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 among ...

on the Kii Channel, connecting the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

and

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to ...

, across from

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the nort ...

on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

History

Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.

1953 flood disaster

On July 17–18, 1953, a torrential heavy rain occurred, followed by collapse of levees, river flooding and landslides in a wide area. Many bridges and houses were destroyed. According to an officially confirmed report by the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state ...

, 1,015 people died, with 5,709 injured and 7,115 houses lost.

Geography

As of 31 March 2020, 13 percent of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Setonaikai and Yoshino-Kumano National Parks; Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen and Kōya-Ryūjin Quasi-National Parks; and Enju Kaigan, Hatenashi Sanmyaku, Hikigawa, Jōgamori Hokodai, Kōyasanchō Ishimichi-Tamagawakyō, Kozagawa, Nishiarida, Oishi Kōgen, Ōtōsan, Ryūmonzan, Shiramisan-Wadagawakyō, and Shirasaki Kaigan Prefectural Natural Parks.

Cities

Nine cities are in Wakayama Prefecture:

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

Mergers

Demographics

Since 1996, population of Wakayama Prefecture has kept declining, and since 2010, it has been the only prefecture in Kansai region with population below 1,000,000. In 2017, Wakayama is ranked 40th by population in Japan with a population of 944,320.

Politics

List of governors of Wakayama

State-appointed governors: * Masaomi Tsuda (): from 25 November 1871 to 25 January 1872 * Hidetomo Kitajima (): from 25 January 1872 to 13 October 1873 * Kunikiyo Kōyama (): from 13 October 1873 to 20 October 1873 * Kanae Matsumoto (): from 20 October 1873 to 26 December 1889 * Tadaakira Ishii (): from 26 December 1889 to 9 April 1891 * Sadaaki Senda (): from 9 April 1891 to 15 January 1892 * Morikata Oki (): from 15 January 1892 to 7 April 1897 * Kan'ichi Kubota (): from 7 April 1897 to 8 October 1898 * Masaaki Nomura (): from 8 October 1898 to 7 April 1899 * Hisashi Ogura (): from 7 April 1899 to 25 October 1900 * Shin'ichirō Tsubaki (): from 25 October 1900 to 29 June 1903 * Ienori Kiyosu (): from 29 June 1903 to 11 January 1907 * Takio Izawa (): from 11 January 1907 to 30 July 1909 * Chikaharu Kawakami (): from 30 July 1909 to 4 September 1911 * Takeji Kawamura (): from 4 September 1911 to 9 June 1914 * Kogorō Kanokogi (): from June 1914 to 17 December 1917 * Tokikazu Ikematsu (): from 17 December 1917 to 3 February 1920 * Shinzō Obara (): from 3 February 1920 to 6 June 1923 * Yoshibumi Satake (): from 6 June 1923 to 24 June 1924 * Kyūichi Hasegawa (): from 24 June 1924 to 22 March 1927 * Tokutarō Shimizu (): from 22 March 1927 to 17 May 1927 * Umekichi Miyawaki (): from 17 May 1927 to 17 November 1927 * Taeru Node (): from 17 November 1927 to 5 July 1929 * Senzō Tomobe (): from 5 July 1929 to 26 August 1930 * Toshikatsu Kurahara (): from 26 August 1930 to 18 December 1931 * Toshiki Karasawa (): from 18 December 1931 to 28 July 1932 * Ryōsaku Shimizu (): from 28 July 1932 to 10 November 1934 * Nagakazu Fujioka (): from 10 November 1934 to 22 April 1936 *

Tokiji Yoshinaga Tokiji Yoshinaga was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic ...

(): from 22 April 1936 to 11 January 1939 * Shigeo Shimizu (): from 11 January 1939 to 15 October 1940 * Jirō Imamatsu (): from 15 October 1940 to 20 October 1941 * Seizō Hirose (): from 20 October 1941 to 1 August 1944 * Chiaki Kobayashi (): from 1 August 1944 to 27 October 1945 * Uichirō Koike (): from 27 October 1945 to 25 January 1946 * Masao Kanai (): from 25 January 1946 to 8 July 1946 * Wakichi Kawakami (): from 8 July 1946 to 28 February 1947 * Yoshimaro Takahashi (): from 28 February 1947 to 15 April 1947 Publicly-elected governors: * Shinji Ono (): from 19 April 1947 to 22 April 1967 * Masao Ohashi (): from 23 April 1967 to 4 October 1975 * Shiro Kariya (): from 23 November 1975 to 22 November 1995 * Isamu Nishiguchi (): from 23 November 1995 to 13 July 2000 * Yoshiki Kimura (): from 3 September 2000 to 2 December 2006 *

Yoshinobu Nisaka is a former governor of Wakayama Prefecture in Japan. He was first elected in 2006 and served for four terms until 2022. Education Nisaka graduated with a B.A. in economics from the University of Tokyo in 1974 and entered MITI that same year. ...

(): from 17 December 2006 to 16 December 2022 * Shūhei Kishimoto: () from 17 December 2022 to present

Culture

in the Ito District is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is home to one of the first Japanese style

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism repres ...

s in Japan and remains a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

site and an increasingly popular tourist destination as people flock to see its ancient temples set amidst the towering cedar trees at the top of the mountain. The

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 ...

extend for miles throughout the prefecture and together have been recognized as Japan's 11th

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. 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 are on the southern tip of the prefecture.

Tomogashima is a cluster of four islands in the Inland Sea, off Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan. The four islands are , , , and . The islands form part of the Setonaikai National Park. History The islands were used by Buddhist monks for Shugendō. The folklore ...

(a cluster of four islands) is part of the prefecture.

Agriculture

Orange

Wakayama Prefecture ranks first in the production of oranges in Japan. Wakayama has its own brand of oranges, which is produced in Arida District and called 'Arida-Orange'. Arida District, where oranges have been produced for more than 400 years, yields about half of the orange crops in Wakayama today. Furthermore, the yield of Arida-Oranges accounts for about 10 percent of Japanese domestic production of oranges.

Japanese apricot (Ume)

According to the survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Wakayama stands first in the production of in Japan. As of 2016, Wakayama made up about 70 percent of Japanese domestic production of Japanese apricots.

Sister relationships

Wakayama Prefecture has friendship and sister relationships with six places outside Japan:友好・姉妹提携
Wakayama Prefecture website, retrieved May 16, 2008

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

;

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

;

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

;

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

;

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

Tourism

Wakayama Prefecture has hot springs such as Shirahama, Kawayu, and

Yunomine Onsen Yunomine Onsen is a hot spring system and resort town in Tanabe, near Hongu Town in southern Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The Tsuboyu bath is located there, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Description Yunomine Onsen is considered one of the oldest ...

. File:Saikazaki Wakaura01bs4272.jpg, Saikazaki, Wakanoura File:Wakayama castle02s3200.jpg, Wakayama Castle File:121013 The museum of modern art, wakayama01s3.jpg, The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama File:KonponDaido.jpg, Konpon Daido
(

Mount Kōya is a large temple settlement in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to the south of Osaka. In the strictest sense, ''Mount Kōya'' is the mountain name ( sangō) of Kongōbu-ji Temple, the ecclesiastical headquarters of the Kōyasan sect of Shingon B ...

) File:Chohoji03s3200.jpg, Chōhō-ji File:Onsen in Nachikatsuura, Japan.jpg, Nanki-Katsuura Onsen File:NachiNoTaki.jpg,

Nachi Falls in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, is one of the best-known waterfalls in Japan. With a drop of 133 meters (and 13 meters wide), it is the country's tallest water fall with single uninterrupted drop; however, the tallest waterfall ...

File:Daimonzaka28-640.jpg, Daimonzaka
( Kumano Kodō)

Transportation

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, and i ...

Hanwa Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The 61.3 km (38.1 mi) line runs between Osaka and Wakayama, Japan and has a 1.7 km branchline in a southern Os ...

Kinokuni Line The is a railway line that parallels the coastline of the Kii Peninsula in Japan between Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. The name takes the ''kanji'' characters from the names of the old provinces of and . The line is operated by Ce ...

Wakayama Line The is a railway line that links Nara Prefecture to Wakayama Prefecture in Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Ōji Station on the Yamatoji Line to Wakayama Station on the Hanwa Line and Kisei Main Line, with ...

JR Central is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical r ...

Kisei Line The is a railway line that parallels the coastline of the Kii Peninsula in Japan between Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. The name takes the ''kanji'' characters from the names of the old provinces of and . The line is operated by Ce ...

* Nankai ** Nankai Line **

Koya Line The is a railway line in Osaka Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the Nankai Electric Railway, a private railway operator. It connects Osaka and Koyasan, the capital of the Japanese Buddhist sect Shingon, via the ...

** Kada Line * Kishu Railway * Wakayama Electric Railway

Road

Expressway

* Hanwa Expressway * Keinawa Expressway * Yuasa Gobo Road * Nachi Katsuura Road

National Highway

* Route 24 * Route 26 * Route 42 * Route 168 (Shingu-

Gojo Gojo Industries, Inc., is a privately held manufacturer of hand hygiene and skin care products founded in 1946, in Akron, Ohio, where it is again headquartered after a period in Cuyahoga Falls. One of its most well-known products is Purell, a ...

- Ikoma- Hirakata) * Route 169 (Shingu- Kumano-Kawakami-Yoshino- Asuka- Kashihara-

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 ...

) * Route 311 (Kamitonda-Tanabe-Shingu-kumano-

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 ...

) * Route 370 (Kainan-Hashimoto-Gojo- Uda-Nara) * Route 371 ( Kawachinagano-Hashimoto-Koya-Kushimoto) * Route 424

Ferry

* Wakayama-

Tokushima is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the nort ...

Airport

* Nanki Shirahama Airport

Education

Universities

Wakayama University , or , is a national university located in Wakayama, Japan. It was founded in 1949 and is organized in four faculties. Organization The university is divided into the following four faculties. *Faculty of Education & Graduate School of Education ...

Koyasan University is a private university in Mount Kōya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The predecessor of the school was established in 1886 as a monastic school for Shingon Buddhist monks, and it was chartered as a university in 1926. In addition to its main camp ...

* Kinki University * Wakayama Medical University

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

Official Wakayama Prefecture homepageWakayama Tourist GuideNanki Sightseeing Guide
{{Authority control Kansai region Prefectures of Japan