is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō 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 ...

. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km² (2,456

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 ...

). Gunma Prefecture borders

Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at . Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and N ...

and

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

to the north,

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the n ...

to the southwest,

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefectur ...

to the south, and

Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the nort ...

to the east.

Maebashi is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It ...

is the capital and

Takasaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of t ...

is the largest city of Gunma Prefecture, with other major cities including Ōta,

Isesaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 213,303 in 91,789 households, and a population density of 1500 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Isesaki is located in the northwe ...

, and Kiryū. Gunma Prefecture is one of only eight

landlocked A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

prefectures, located on the northwestern corner of the

Kantō Plain The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefectur ...

with 14% of its total land being designated as natural parks.

History

The ancient province of Gunma was a center of horse breeding and trading activities for the newly immigrated continental peoples. The arrival of horses and the remains of horse tackle coincides with the arrival of a large migration from the mainland. From this point forward, the horse became a vital part of Japanese military maneuvers, quickly displacing the older Yayoi tradition of fighting on foot. When

Mount Haruna is a dormant stratovolcano in Gunma, eastern Honshū, Japan. Outline Mount Haruna started to form more than 300,000 years ago and the last known eruption was 550 AD. The volcano has a summit caldera containing the symmetrical cinder cone o ...

erupted in the late 6th century, Japan was still in the pre-historical phase (prior to the importation of the Chinese writing system during the Nara period). The Gunma Prefectural archaeology unit in 1994 was able to date the eruption through zoological anthropology at the corral sites that were buried in ash. In the past, Gunma was joined with

and called ''

Kenu Province , also known as Kenu Province, is an old province of Japan prior to the Nara Period.Tsunoda, Ryūsaku ''et al.'' (1951). ''Japan in the Chinese Dynastic Histories: Later Han through Ming dynasties,'' p. 18 n25. Keno was located in the area of Toch ...

''. This was later divided into ''Kami-tsu-ke'' (Upper Kenu, Gunma) and ''Shimo-tsu-ke'' (Lower Kenu, Tochigi). The area is sometimes referred to as Jomo (上毛, ''Jōmō''). For most of Japanese history, Gunma was known as the province of Kozuke. In the early period of contact between western nations and Japan, particularly the late Tokugawa, it was referred to by foreigners as the "Joushu States", inside (fudai, or loyalist) Tokugawa retainers and the Tokugawa family symbol is widely seen on public buildings, temples, and shrines. The

Tenmei eruption The Tenmei eruption () was a large eruption of Mount Asama that occurred in 1783 (''Tenmei 3''). This eruption was one of the causes of the Tenmei famine. It is estimated that about 1,500–1,624 people were killed in the eruption. The event is k ...

Mount Asama is an active complex volcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands above sea level on the border of Gunma and Nagan ...

occurred in 1783, causing enormous damage. The first modern silk factories were built with Italian and French assistance at Annaka in the 1870s. In the early Meiji period, in what was locally called the Gunma Incident of 1884, a bloody struggle between the idealistic democratic westernizers and the conservative Prussian-model nationalists took place in Gunma and neighboring Nagano. The modern Japanese army gunned down farmers with new repeating rifles built in Japan. The farmers in Gunma were said to be the first victims of the Murata rifle. In the twentieth century, the Japanese aviation pioneer Nakajima Chikushi of Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, founded the

Nakajima Aircraft Company The was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II. It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer Subaru. History The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufac ...

. At first, he produced mostly licensed models of foreign designs, but beginning with the all-Japanese Nakajima 91 fighter plane in 1931, his company became a world leader in aeronautical design and manufacture, with its headquarters at Ota, Gunma Ken. The factory now produces Subaru motorcars and other products under the name of Subaru née Fuji Heavy Industries. In the 1930s, German architect Bruno Julius Florian Taut lived and conducted research for a while in Takasaki. The Girard incident, which disturbed US-Japanese relations in the 1950s, occurred in Gunma in 1957, at Soumagahara Base near Shibukawa. Four modern prime ministers are from Gunma, namely,

Takeo Fukuda was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1976 to 1978. Early life and education Fukuda was born in Gunma, capital of the Gunma Prefecture on 14 January 1905. He hailed from a former samurai family and his father was may ...

Yasuhiro Nakasone was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 1982 to 1987. He was a member of the House of Representatives for more than 50 years. He was best known for pushing through the ...

, Keizo Obuchi, and

Yasuo Fukuda is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō ...

, the son of Takeo.

Geography

One of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, Gunma is the northwesternmost prefecture of the Kantō plain. Except for the central and southeast areas, where most of the population is concentrated, it is mostly mountainous. To the north are Niigata and

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture **Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan *** Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

prefectures, while to the east lies

. To the west lies the

, and the

is to the south. Some of the major mountains in Gunma are

Mount Akagi is a mountain in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. The broad, low dominantly andesitic stratovolcano rises above the northern end of the Kanto Plain. It contains an elliptical, 3 x 4 km summit caldera with post-caldera lava domes arranged along a N ...

Mount Myōgi is one of the major mountains in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Its straddles the border between the municipalities of Annaka, Shimonita and Tomioka. Well known for its rocks weathered into fantastic forms, this famous peak is ranked among Japan's t ...

Mount Nikkō-Shirane is a Stratovolcano in the Nikkō National Park in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. It stands at 2,578 m high. It is the highest mountain in north eastern Japan (no higher mountains exist in the east or north of this mountain). Its pe ...

and

, which is located on the Nagano border. Major rivers include the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kant ...

, the

Agatsuma River Agatsuma may refer to: *, Japanese shamisen player * Agatsuma District, Gunma, a district in Gunma Prefecture, Japan * Agatsuma, Gunma, a town in Gunma Prefecture, Japan * Agatsuma River, a river in Japan * Agatsuma Entertainment, a Japanese toy/vi ...

, and the

Karasu River Karasu, Kara-su, Kara su, Qarasu or Gharasu (lit. 'black water/river' in Turkic languages) may refer to: Rivers The Balkans * A former name of the Struma River (Struma Karasu) in Bulgaria and Thrace, northern Greece * A former name of the Mes ...

. As of 1 April 2012, 14% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Jōshin'etsu-kōgen,

Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...

, and

Oze Oze may refer to: People * Akira Oze (born 1947), Japanese manga artist * Hiroyuki Oze (1985–2010), Japanese baseball player * Lajos Őze (1935–1984), Hungarian actor Places * Oze, Hautes-Alpes, France * Oze National Park, Japan * Oze Rive ...

National Parks and

Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the borders of Gunma and Nagano Prefectures, Japan. Established in 1969, the central feature of the park are Mounts (1,423 m) and Myōgi (1,104 m). Related municipalities * Gunma: Annaka, Nanmoku, Shimonita, ...

Cities

Twelve cities are located in Gunma Prefecture: *

Annaka 240px, Edo-period Usui Magistrate’s office in Annaka is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 47,911 in 24,749 households, and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of the ...

* Fujioka *

* Kiryū *

(capital) *

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * M ...

* Numata * Ōta * Shibukawa *

Tatebayashi 250px, Tsutsujigaoka Koen, or Azalea Park in Tatebayashi is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 75,442 in 33,589 households, and a population density of 1200 people per km². The total area of t ...

* Tomioka

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

: *

Agatsuma District is a rural district located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of January 2015, the district had an estimated population of 56,994 and an area of 1,278.55 km2, with a population density of 44.6 people per square kilometer. Towns and villages ...

** Higashiagatsuma ** Kusatsu **

Naganohara 250px, New Naganohara town office 250px, Festival at Kawahara onsen is a town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 5,495 in 5630 households, and a population density of 41 persons per km². The total ...

** Nakanojō ** Takayama **

Tsumagoi 250px, Mount Shirane from Manza Onsen is a village located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 9,546 in 3,999 households, and a population density of 28 persons per km². The total area of the village is . G ...

* Kanra District ** Kanra ** Nanmoku ** Shimonita * Kitagunma District **

Shintō Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

** Yoshioka * Ōra District ** Chiyoda **

Itakura is a town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 14,323 in 5717 households and a population density of 340 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Itakura's animal mascot is the catfish. It is ...

Meiwa was a after ''Horeki, Hōreki'' and before ''Anei, 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 ...

** Ōizumi ** Ōra * Sawa District **

Tamamura is a town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 36,367 in 15685 households, and a population density of 1440 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Tamamura is located in southern Gu ...

* Tano District ** Kanna **

Ueno is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of N ...

Tone District is a rural district located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of January 2015, the district had an estimated population of 34,946 and an area of 1,322.23 km2, with a population density of 26.4 people per square kilometer. Towns and villages * ...

** Katashina ** Kawaba ** Minakami ** Shōwa

Mergers

Climate

Because Gunma is situated in inland Japan, the difference in temperature in the summer compared to the winter is large, and there is less precipitation. This is because of the

karakkaze Karakkaze (空っ風、からっかぜ) refers to a kind of strong, dry wind that occurs in the Kantō region of Japan. Overview Karakkaze is formed when wind gusts cross atop the mountains in the Jōetsu region and experience a drop in both tem ...

("empty wind"), a strong, dry wind that occurs in the winter when the snow falls on the coasts of Niigata. The wind carrying clouds with snow are obstructed by the

Echigo Mountains The Echigo Mountains () are a mountain range that straddle Niigata, Fukushima, and Gunma prefectures in Japan. See also * Asahi Mountains ( 朝日山地) * Iide Mountains ( 飯豊山地) * Mikuni Mountains Mikuni may refer to: * Mikuni, ...

, and it also snows there, although the high peaks do not let the wind go past them. For this reason, the wind changes into the ''kara-kaze''. * Climate in

** Average yearly precipitation: 1,163 mm (approx. 45.8in) ** Average yearly temperature: 14.2 degrees Celsius (approx. 57.6 degrees Fahrenheit)

Economy

Gunma's modern industries include transport equipment and electrical equipment, concentrated around

and the eastern region nearest

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. More traditional industries include

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

. Gunma's major agricultural products include cabbages and konnyaku. Gunma produces over 90% of Japan's konnyaku, and two-thirds of the farms in the village of

are cabbage farms. Also, the city of Ōta is famous for the car industry, notably the Subaru factory.

Culture

There is a local dialect, known in Japanese as '''gunma-ben''' or jōshū-ben'''. Gunma has a traditional card game called . It features people, places, and things of regional and/or cultural importance.

Famous Foods

In 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held an event to find the top 100 best local dishes across all of Japan. Three dishes were featured from Gunma; yaki-manju,

okkirikomi Okkirikomi (''okkirikomi'', おっきりこみ) is a type of simmered noodle dish that can be found in Gunma Prefecture, some parts of northern Saitama Prefecture, and the Chichibu area. It is usually written in hiragana and sometimes seen as お� ...

, and konnyaku.

Melody Roads

As of 2018, Gunma is home to eleven of Japan's over thirty Melody Roads. 2,559 grooves cut into a 175-meter stretch of the road surface in transmit a

tactile Tactile may refer to: * Tactile, related to the sense of touch * Haptics (disambiguation) * Tactile (device), a text-to-braille translation device See also * Tangibility, in law * Somatosensory system In physiology, the somatosensory system ...

vibration Vibration is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. The word comes from Latin ''vibrationem'' ("shaking, brandishing"). The oscillations may be periodic, such as the motion of a pendulum—or random, suc ...

through the wheels into the

car body Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars. The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 ''Road vehicles – Types ...

.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
The roads can be found in Katashina, Minakami, Takayama, Kanna, Ueno, Kusatsu, Tsumagoi, Nakanojo, Takasaki, Midori, and Maebashi. Each is of a differing length and plays a different song. Naganohara also used to be home to a Melody Road playing “Aj, lučka lučka siroka”, though the road in question was paved over in 2013 due to noise complaints.

Songs

* Kusatsu - “Kusatsu-Bushi” * Takayama - “When You Wish Upon a Star” * Tsumagoi - “Oh My Darling Clementine” * Nakanojo - “Always With Me” (Japanese title: いつも何度でも, ''itsumo nando demo'') from

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and dist ...

when driven at 40 km/h * Katashina - “

Memories of Summer Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is Encoding (memory), encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If Foresight (psycholo ...

” when driven over at 50 km/h

List of governors of Gunma Prefecture (1947–present)

Education

Universities

* Isesaki **

Jobu University is a private university in Isesaki, Gunma, Japan, established in 1968. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1950. The university has a secondary campus in the city of Takasaki, Gunma. History * 1968: Jobu University was established (with ...

– Isesaki Campus **

Tokyo University of Social Welfare is a private university in with its main campus in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo; Kita, Tokyo; Naka-ku, Nagoya; and Isesaki, Gunma.Gunma University , abbreviated to , is a national university in Japan. The main campus is located in Aramaki-machi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture. History Gunma University was established in 1949 by integrating the national colleges in Gunma Prefecture: , ...

Maebashi Institute of Technology is a public university in Maebashi, Gunma is the capital city of Gunma Prefecture, in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 335,352 in 151,171 households, and a population density of 1100 persons ...

* Midori **

Kiryu University is a co-educational private university in Midori, Gunma is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi ...

* Ota **

Kanto Gakuen University is a private university in Ōta, Gunma, 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, w ...

* Takasaki **

Takasaki City University of Economics is a municipal university in Japan. It is located in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. History After World War II, the national colleges in Gunma Prefecture were merged to constitute Gunma University (GU, whose main campus is in Maebashi). Takasaki ...

Takasaki University of Commerce is a private university in Takasaki, Gunma, 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, ...

Takasaki University of Health and Welfare is a private university in Takasaki, Gunma is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city ...

Gunma Paz College is a private university in Takasaki, Gunma is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city ...

** Jobu University -Takasaki Campus * Tamamura **

Gunma Prefectural Women's University is a public university in Tamamura, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1980, it is one of the two public women's universities in Japan, alongside Fukuoka Women's University. History The school was established in 1980 in the city of M ...

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Gunma.

Baseball

Gunma Diamond Pegasus The are a semi-professional baseball team in the Baseball Challenge League of Japan. The team was established as part of the expansion of the league, and began play in the 2008 season. Their home is Gunma Prefecture. Franchise history The Di ...

Football (soccer)

Thespakusatsu Gunma is a professional football (soccer) club based in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture in Japan. The club plays in the J2 League, the second division of professional football in Japan. History The club was founded in 1995 in Kusatsu, one of the most we ...

( Kusatsu) *

Tonan Maebashi Tonan Maebashi is a Japanese football club based in Maebashi city, Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic ...

(

)

Rugby

Panasonic Wild Knights Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the l ...

(

Ota OTA or ota may stand for: Art, entertainment, and media * '' Off the Air'', an Adult Swim television series * Otakon, an annual anime convention in Baltimore, Maryland Electronics, science, and technology * Ochratoxin A (also termed OTA), a mycot ...

)

Basketball

Gunma Crane Thunders The Gunma Crane Thunders are a professional basketball team that compete in the first division of the Japanese B.League. They are based in Ōta, Gunma. It is said that the shape of Gunma Prefecture resembles the shape of a dancing crane. The tea ...

Gunma is also famous for its ski resorts in the mountains. Gunma was the only prefecture in Japan to have all 4 legal types of gambling on races:

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

, bicycle,

auto Auto may refer to: * An automaton * An automobile * An autonomous car * An automatic transmission * An auto rickshaw * Short for automatic * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film * Auto (play), a ...

and

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

. This changed with the closing of the last horse race track in Takasaki in 2004.

Tourism

Gunma has many hot spring resorts and the most famous is

Kusatsu Onsen is a hot spring resort located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, northwest of Tokyo. It is a popular tourist destination. There are 13 public baths at Kusatsu Onsen. The small bathhouses that are free for both town residents and tourists are managed ...

. Another draw to the mountainous Gunma is the

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

resorts. Other attractions include: *

Lake Nozori is a dam located in the town of Nakanojō, Gunma, Nakanojō, Agatsuma District, Gunma, Agatsuma District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. It is a hydroelectric dam operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company.The lake created by the dam is known as . Acc ...

Hara Museum Arc Hara may refer to: Art and entertainment * Hara (band), a Romanian pop-band * ''Hara'' (film), a 2014 Kannada-language drama film * ''Hara'' (sculpture), a 1989 artwork by Deborah Butterfield * Goo Hara (1991-2019), South Korean idol singer ...

Ikaho Sistina Trick Art Museum was a town located in Kitagunma District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 3,920 and a density of 175.63 persons per km2. The total area was 22.32 km2. On February 20, 2006, Ikaho, along with the vill ...

Kusatsu Alpine-Plant Museum Kusatsu may refer to: * Kusatsu, Shiga, a city in western Japan ** Kusatsu Line, operated by JR West ** MIO Biwako Kusatsu, local football club * Kusatsu, Gunma, a town in eastern Japan ** Kusatsu (train), operated by JR East ** Thespakusatsu Gun ...

Kusatsu Hot-Spring Museum Kusatsu may refer to: * Kusatsu, Shiga, a city in western Japan ** Kusatsu Line, operated by JR West ** MIO Biwako Kusatsu, local football club * Kusatsu, Gunma, a town in eastern Japan ** Kusatsu (train), operated by JR East ** Thespakusatsu Gunma ...

Mount Kusatsu-Shirane is a active stratovolcano in Kusatsu, Gunma, Japan. It is called Kusatsu Shirane to differentiate it from the Mount Nikkō-Shirane on the other side of Gunma Prefecture. The summit of Kusatsu-Shirane volcano, located immediately north of Asa ...

Mount Tanigawa is a mountain on the border of Gunma Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture in Japan. It is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan. Routes The mountain trail leading to the summit of Mount Tanigawa from four directions: north, south, east and ...

* The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma * Konnyaku Park *

Shorinzan Daruma Temple Shorinzan Daruma Temple (少林山達磨寺, shōrinzan daruma-ji) is a small temple located in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It was built in 1697 by the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism. Takasaki is known as the birthplace of daruma, as it is believed ...

File:kiryu yagi bushi festival vehicle-free promenade 2.jpg, Kiryū Yagi-bushi Festival, where held on early August on every year. File:IMG E0946 富岡製糸場.jpg, A Tomioka Silk Mill, a World Herritage cultural property site. File:達磨寺 - panoramio (1).jpg, A many daruma doll set at Shorinzan Daruma Temple in Takasaki

Transportation

Rail

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

** Joetsu Shinkansen **

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 P ...

Takasaki Line The Takasaki Line ( ja, 高崎線, ) is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR Eas ...

Shinetsu Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . ...

(Takasaki-Yokokawa) ** Joetsu Line **

Agatsuma Line Agatsuma may refer to: *, Japanese shamisen player *Agatsuma District, Gunma, a district in Gunma Prefecture, Japan *Agatsuma, Gunma, a town in Gunma Prefecture, Japan *Agatsuma River, a river in Japan *Agatsuma Entertainment, a Japanese toy/video ...

** Ryomo Line ** Hachiko Line (Kuragano-) *

Tobu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longe ...

Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between A ...

Nikko Line Nikko may refer to: Places * Nikkō, Tochigi, a Japanese city and tourist destination * Nikko Botanical Garden, operated by the University of Tokyo * Nikkō National Park, in Kantō, Japan Organizations, products, and services * ''Nikkō'' ...

(

Itakura Tōyōdai-mae Station is a passenger railway station in the town of Itakura, Gunma, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tōbu Railway. The station is numbered "TN-07". Lines Itakura Tōyōdai-mae Station is served by Tōbu Nikkō Line, and is from ...

) **

Sano Line Sano may refer to: Geography *Sano, Kentucky, U.S. * Sano, Tochigi, Japan *Monte Sano Mountain, a mountain in Alabama, United States **Monte Sano State Park *Wai Sano, a volcano in Flores, Indonesia Fiction * Sano (''Rurouni Kenshin''), a charac ...

** Kiryu Line *

Joshin Electric Railway Jushin ( fa, جوشين, also Romanized as Jūshīn, Jooshin, and Jowshīn; also known as Dzheshun, Joshīn, Joshun, and Jowshūn) is a village in Jushin Rural District, Kharvana District, Varzaqan County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran ...

(Takasaki-Shimonita) *

Jomo Electric Railway Jomo may refer to: People * Jomo (given name), an African masculine given name * Jomo Sono (born 1955), South African soccer club owner, coach and former player Ephraim Matsilela Sono * nickname of Moemedi Moatlhaping (born 1985), Botswanan footba ...

(Chuo Maebashi-Nishi Kiryu) *

Watarase Keikoku Railway Watarase Keikoku Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Kiryū Station in Kiryū, Gunma and Matō Station in Nikkō, Tochigi. This is the only railway line that the third-sector company operates. The company and line are also known as or . The company ...

Roads

Expressways

Kan-Etsu Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming is the ''kanji'' acronym of and the old comprising modern-day Niigata Prefecture. Officially, the Kan-Etsu consists of two routes. Both ...

Tōhoku Expressway The is a south-north national expressway, and the longest expressway in Japan at . Its southern terminus is in Kawaguchi, Saitama in the Greater Tokyo Area, at the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and Kawaguchi Route near Araijuku Station, and its nor ...

Jōshin-etsu Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Naming is a kanji acronym consisting of 3 characters, each representing the former names of the prefectures that the route traverses. consis ...

Kita-Kantō Expressway The (lit. North Kantō Expressway) is a 4-laned national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The route connects the capitals of the three northern prefectures in the Kantō region: Maeb ...

(

Hitachinaka 250px, Hitachinaka city hall is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 154,663 in 64,900 households and a population density of 1547 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 w ...

)

National highways

* National Route 17 (

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The curre ...

of Tokyo- Saitama-

Kumagaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the largest ...

-Takasaki-Shibukawa- Ojiya- Nagaoka) *

National Route 18 Route 18, or Highway 18, may refer to: International * Asian Highway 18 * European route E18 * European route E018 Argentina * Australia * Waterfall Way Canada * Alberta Highway 18 * British Columbia Highway 18 * Manitoba Highway 18 * Ont ...

(Takasaki-Annaka-

Karuizawa is a resort town, resort Towns of Japan, town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Karuizawa i ...

- Komoro- Nagano- Myoko- Joetsu) * National Route 50 (Maebashi-Isesaki- Oyama- Yuki-Mito) * National Route 120 * National Route 122 * National Route 144 * National Route 145 * National Route 146 * National Route 254 * National Route 291 * National Route 292 * National Route 299 * National Route 353 * National Route 354 * National Route 405 * National Route 406 * National Route 407 * National Route 462

Prefectural symbols

The prefectural symbol consists of the first

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

of the word 'Gunma' surrounded by three stylized mountains symbolizing the three important mountains of Gunma Prefecture:

, and

. For marketing, the Prefectural Government also uses

Gunma-chan Gunma-chan (ぐんまちゃん, formerly known as Yūma-chan/ゆうまちゃん) is the fictional ''yuru-chara'' mascot of Gunma Prefecture. There are two official versions of the character. The original version The original Gunma-chan debut ...

, a small

super deformed Chibi, also known as super deformation, or S.D. is a style of caricature originating in Japan, and common in anime and manga where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby with stubby limbs, oversized heads, and ...

drawing of a horse character wearing a green cap. It is used on promotional posters, banners, and other notable printed materials from the Prefectural Government. Other agencies and companies formally or informally use variations of its likeness and other horse-shaped characters when making signs or notices for work on buildings, roads, and other public notices.

In Popular culture

There are various anime that have based their settings in Gunma, such as: *

Initial D is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 ''ta ...

A Place Further than the Universe is an anime original television series produced by Madhouse. The series is directed by Atsuko Ishizuka, written by Jukki Hanada and features character designs by Takahiro Yoshimatsu. It aired in Japan between January and March 2018, and wa ...

* The Flowers of Evil *

Nichijou is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Keiichi Arawi. The manga began serialization in the December 2006 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine '' Shōnen Ace'', and was also serialized in '' Comptiq'' between the March 2 ...

You Don't know Gunma Yet is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroto Ida. It began serialization online via Shinchosha's Kurage Bunch website in October 2013 and has since been collected into eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. A 4-episode live-action tele ...

In the Pokemon franchise, Kanto Region's Pewter City, Route 3, and Mt. Moon are thought to be based on places found in Gunma.

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 reti ...

.
OCLC 58053128
*

External links

Gunma Prefecture Official Website

{{Authority control Kantō region Prefectures of Japan