is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

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: the Nakayama Channel and the Morosaki Channel. Mikawa Bay is subsequently joined to 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 contin ...

by the Irako Channel, which ranges from in depth.

History and environment

Ise Bay derives its name from the region surrounding

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 Inner ...

and the city of Ise, where the shrine stands. The flat coastal plain that stretches from Kuwana in northern

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 ...

to Ise is called the Ise Plain and this plain lies on the western shore of Ise Bay. Prior to the

Meiji Period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, Ise Province consisted of most of modern Mie Prefecture. From ancient times, Ise Bay has provided the people of the surrounding regions with a rich abundance of natural resources as well as providing easy transport. As a result, unique communities developed around the bay and fishing (including Ise Ebi), pearl farming, rice crops, and manufacturing industries flourished.

Nagoya Port The , located in Ise Bay, is the largest and busiest trading port in Japan, accounting for about 10% of the total trade value of Japan. Notably, this port is the largest exporter of cars in Japan and where the Toyota Motor Corporation exports most ...

, located on the northern shore of Ise Bay, is the largest trading port in Japan. Chubu Centrair International Airport, built on an

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...

in the bay, was opened in 2005 to serve the region. After the end of the Second World War, the Ise Bay region contributed greatly to the rapid recovery of the Japanese economy. This rapid expansion of large industry has come at a cost, though, with pollution affecting the water quality and with landfills and the like reducing the number of tidelands, seaweed beds, and other areas vital in preserving the habitat of local flora and fauna. Sea walls built to protect human habitation, particularly after the 1959 Ise-wan Typhoon, have left more and more areas virtually cut off from the sea. Ise Bay also has three active faults: Ise Bay fault, Suzuka-oki fault and the Shiroko-noma fault.Science Links Japan: Active Faults Surveys in the Ise Bay
/ref> Faults near the bay are believed to be responsible for the 1586 Tenshō earthquake.

Ise-wan Typhoon

On September 26, 1959, the Ise-wan Typhoon (Typhoon Vera) devastated the Ise Bay area. Rising tidal levels and pounding surf collapsed banks and inundated low-lying areas of the coast. 5,041 people were killed or missing, 38,921 were injured, and 149,187 houses were totally or partially destroyed. Estimates place the cost of the damage between 500 and 600 billion yen. The damage and loss of life caused by the Ise-wan Typhoon remains the worst recorded by a typhoon in Japan.

Notes

References

*Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Ise Bay

External links

* {{Authority control Bays of Japan Landforms of Aichi Prefecture Landforms of Mie Prefecture Postwar Japan