| Ibaraki Prefecture | |||||||||
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| Capital | Mito | ||||||||
| Region | Kantō | ||||||||
| Island | Honshū | ||||||||
| Governor | Masaru Hashimoto | ||||||||
| Area (rank) | 6,095.58 km² (23rd) | ||||||||
| - % water | 4.8% | ||||||||
| Population (October 1, 2000) | |||||||||
| - Population | 2,985,424 (11th) | ||||||||
| - Density | 490 /km² | ||||||||
| Districts | 7 | ||||||||
| Municipalities | 43 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166-2 | JP-08 | ||||||||
| Website | www.pref.ibaraki.jp/bukyoku/seikan/kokuko/en | ||||||||
| Prefectural Symbols | |||||||||
| - Flower | Rose (Rosa) | ||||||||
| - Tree | Ume tree (Prunus mume) | ||||||||
| - Bird | Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) | ||||||||
| - Fish | {{{Fish}}} | ||||||||
 Symbol of Ibaraki Prefecture |
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| Template ■ Discussion ■ WikiProject Japan | |||||||||
Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県 Ibaraki-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region on Honshū island. The capital is Mito.
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History
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This section requires expansion. |
Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province. In 1871, the name of the province became Ibaraki. The name of the prefecture is also occasionally misspelled "Ibaragi."
Geography
Ibaraki Prefecture is the northeastern part of the Kantō region, stretching between Tochigi Prefecture and the Pacific Ocean and bounded on the north and south by Fukushima Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture. It also has borders on the southwest with Gunma Prefecture and Saitama Prefecture. The northernmost part of the prefecture is mountainous, but most of the prefecture is a flat plain with many lakes.
Cities
Thirty-two cities are located in Ibaraki Prefecture:
Towns and villages
Towns and villages in each district:
Mergers
Future mergers
Economy
Industries in the prefecture include nuclear and other energy, chemical, and precision machine. The Hitachi company was founded in the Ibaraki city of the same name.
Demographics
Ibaraki's population is increasing modestly as the Greater Tokyo region spreads out.
Culture
Ibaraki is known for natto, or fermented soybeans, in Mito, watermelons in Kyōwa (recently merged into Chikusei), and chestnuts in the Nishiibaraki region.
Ibaraki is famous for the martial art of Aikido founded by Ueshiba Morihei, also known as Osensei. Ueshiba spent the latter part of his life in the town of Iwama, now part of Kasama, and the Aiki Shrine and dojo he created still remain.
There are castle ruins in many cities, including Mito, Kasama, and Yūki.
Kasama is famous for Shinto and art culture and pottery.
The capital Mito is home to Kairakuen, one of a trinity of Japan's most celebrated gardens, and famous for plum forest of over 3,000 plum trees of over 100 varieties.
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Ibaraki.
Football (soccer)
Volleyball
Tourism
Transportation and access
Railways
Prefectural symbols
Pronunciation
The prefecture is often mispronounced "Ibaragi". However, the correct pronunciation is "Ibaraki." According to the author of "Not Ibaragi, Ibaraki" (いばらぎじゃなくていばらき ibaragi ja nakute ibaraki) [1], this is most likely due to a mishearing of the softening of the 'k' sound in Ibaraki dialect.
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ibaraki prefecture |
- Official Ibaraki Prefecture homepage
- The E-Ibaraki Report: articles and commentary of foreigners living in Ibaraki, produced by the International Affairs Division, Ibaraki Prefecture
- Ibaraki Japan
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Coordinates: 36°14′N 140°17′E / 36.233°N 140.283°E
References
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
