is a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

located in the Kansai region of

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 () and 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, Nara ...

to the north, and

Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 an ...

and

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 ...

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 southwestern coast of the Kii Peninsula on the Kii Channel, connecting the

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

and Seto Inland Sea, across from Tokushima Prefecture on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

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 is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

, 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Mergers

Demographics

Wakayama prefecture population pyramid in 2020

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. In the 2020 census, close to 32% of the population was over 65 years of age - the highest percentage in Japan and one of the highest for national subdivisions worldwide.

Politics

The current governor Shūhei Kishimoto was elected on 27 November 2022.

Prefectural assembly

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 (): 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 (): from 17 December 2006 to 16 December 2022 * Shūhei Kishimoto (): from 17 December 2022 to 15 April 2025 * Izumi Miyazaki (): from 15 April 2025 to present

Culture

in the Ito District is the headquarters of the

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

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 Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

s in Japan and remains a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

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

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The Kumano Shrines are on the southern tip of the prefecture. Tomogashima (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.

Chinese flowering plum (Ume)

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

International relations

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 *

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

* Galicia,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Tourism

Wakayama Prefecture has hot springs such as Nanki-Shirahama Onsen, , and Yunomine Onsen. 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) File:Chohoji03s3200.jpg, Chōhō-ji File:Onsen in Nachikatsuura, Japan.jpg, Nanki-Katsuura Onsen File:NachiNoTaki.jpg, Nachi Falls File:Daimonzaka28-640.jpg, Daimonzaka
( Kumano Kodō)

Transportation

Rail

* JR Central ** Kisei Line *

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, ...

** Hanwa Line ** Kinokuni Line ** Wakayama Line * Kishu Railway * Nankai ** Kada Line ** Koya Line ** Nankai Line * Wakayama Electric Railway

Road

Expressway

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

National highways

* Route 24 * Route 26 * Route 42 * Route 168 (Shingu- Gojo- Ikoma- Hirakata) * Route 169 (Shingu- Kumano-Kawakami-Yoshino- Asuka- Kashihara-

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

) * Route 311 (Kamitonda-Tanabe-Shingu-kumano- Owase) * Route 370 (Kainan-Hashimoto-Gojo- Uda-Nara) * Route 371 ( Kawachinagano-Hashimoto-Koya-Kushimoto) * Route 424

Ferry

* Wakayama-

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

Airport

* Nanki Shirahama Airport

Education

Universities

* Kinki University * Koyasan University * Wakayama Medical University * Wakayama University

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128

External links

Official Wakayama Prefecture Web SiteThe Official Wakayama, Kansai Travel Guide
{{Authority control Kansai region Prefectures of Japan