is located in the
KantÅ region on
Honshū island, Japan. The capital is
Mito.
History
Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as
Hitachi Province. In 1288, the province of Hitachi was conquered by the Prince Subaru. In 1871, the name of the province became Ibaraki.
Geography
Map of Ibaraki Prefecture.
Ibaraki Prefecture is the northeastern part of the KantÅ 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:
Ç‚ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.
Mergers
Main articles: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan
★ On
October 16,
2004 the village of
Gozenyama and the town of
Yamagata from
Higashiibaraki District merged with the villages of
Miwa and
Ogawa from
Naka District forming the city of
Hitachiomiya.
★ On
November 1,
2004 the town of
Juou in the former
Taga District merged into the neighboring city of
Hitachi. As a result this merger the district ceased to exist.
★ On
December 1,
2004 the following municipalities formerly in
Kuji District merged into the expanded city of
Hitachiota:
Kanasagou,
Satomi,
Suifu
★ On
January 21,
2005 the towns of Naka and
Urizura from
Naka District merged forming the city of
Naka.
★ On
February 1,
2005 the town of
Johoku and village of
Katsura from
Higashiibaraki District merged with the village of
Nanakai from
Nishiibaraki District forming the town of
Shirosato.
★ Also on
February 1,
2005 the town of
Uchihara from
Higashiibaraki District merged into the city of
Mito.
★ On
March 22,
2005 the following towns and villages from
Inashiki District merged to form the city of
Inashiki:
Azuma,
Edosaki,
Sakuragawa, and
Shintone.
★ Also on
March 22,
2005, the town of
Sashima from
Sashima District merged with the former city of
Iwai forming the city of
Bando.
★ On
March 28,
2005 the town of
Fujishiro from
Kitasouma District merged into the expanded city of
Toride.
★ Also on
March 28,
2005 the towns of
Akeno,
Kyowa, and
Sekijo from
Makabe District merged with the former city of
Shimodate forming the city of
Chikusei.
★ Also on
March 28,
2005 the towns of
Chiyoda and Kasumigaura from
Niihari District merged, forming the city of
Kasumigaura.
★ On
August 1,
2005 the towns of
Hasaki and
Kamisu from
Kashima District merged to form the new city of
Kamisu.
★ On
September 2,
2005 the towns of
Asou,
Kitaura and
Tamatsukuri from
Namegata District merged to form the new city of
Namegata.
Namegata District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★ On
September 12,
2005 the towns of
Sanwa and
Souwa from
Sashima District merged with the city of
Koga to form the new city of
Koga.
★ On
October 1,
2005, the remaining municipalities from
Makabe District merged with the town of
Iwase from
Nishiibaraki District merged to form the new city of
Sakuragawa.
Makabe District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★ On
October 1,
2005 the town of
Yasato from
Niihari District merged with the city of
Ishioka to form the new city of
Ishioka.
★ On
October 11,
2005 the town of
Hokota and the villages of
Asahi and
TaiyÅ (all from
Kashima District) merged to form the new city of
Hokota.
Kashima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★ On
January 1,
2006 the village of
Chiyokawa from
Yuki District merged with the city of
Shimotsuma to form the new city of
Shimotsuma.
★ On
January 1,
2006 the town of
Ishige from
Yuki District merged in to the city of Mitsukaido. Mitsukaido changed the name to
Joso at the sametime.
★ On
February 20,
2006 the village of
Niihari from
Niihari District merged into the city of
Tsuchiura.
★ On
March 19,
2006 the municipalities of
Iwama and
Tomobe (both from
Nishiibaraki District) merged with Kasama to form the new city of
Kasama.
Nishiibaraki District was thereby dissolved.
★ On
March 27,
2006 the towns of
Ogawa and
Minori (both from
Higashiibaraki District) merged with the village of
Tamari from
Niihari District to form the new city of
Omitama.
Niihari District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★ On
March 27,
2006 the town of
Ina and the village of
Yawara (both from
Tsukuba District) merged to form the new city of
Tsukubamirai.
Tsukuba District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
Future mergers
★ The town of
Ibaraki from
Higashiibaraki District is scheduled to merge into the city of
Mito during December
2007.
Economy
Ibaraki's industries include energy, particularly nuclear energy, production, as well as chemical and precision machining industries. 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
Famous foods of Ibaraki include
natto, of
Mito, the watermelons produced in
Kyowa (recently merged into
Chikusei), and the
chestnuts grown in the
Nishiibaraki region.
There are castle ruins in many cities, including
Mito,
Kasama, and
Yuki.
Kasama is also famous for its
Shinto and art culture.
Politics
Ibaraki Prefectural Police Foreigner Campaign Poster
In a
Japan_times article on August 28, 2007 Activist
Debito_Arudou criticized the Ibaraki Prefectural Government over a poster which Arudou claimed scapegoated foreigners. The poster showed six Japanese police in riot gear pushing a lone foreigner to the ground. The poster carries writing telling Japanese to be on the lookout for foreigners violating their visa conditions, but Arudou claimed it stigmatized foreigners in general.
[1]
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Ibaraki.
Football (soccer)
★
Kashima Antlers (
Kashima)
★
Mito HollyHock (
Mito)
★
Ryutsu Keizai University F.C. (
Ryugasaki)
Volleyball
★
Hitachi Sawa Rivale (
Hitachinaka)
Tourism
★
Kairakuen Park
★
Mount Tsukuba
★
Kashima Shrine
Prefectural symbols
Miscellaneous topics
The prefecture is often mispronounced "Ibara''gi''". However, the correct pronunciation is "Ibara''ki''." According to the author of "Not Ibara''gi'', Ibara''ki''" (ã„ã°ã‚‰ãŽã˜ã‚ƒãªãã¦ã„ã°ã‚‰ã ''ibaragi ja nakute ibaraki'')
[1], this is most likely due to a mishearing of the softening of the 'k' sound in Ibaraki dialect. It is mispronounced to such a degree that it has nearly become standard.
It is also sometimes jokingly referred as part of "Chibaragi", a combination of
Chiba, Ibaraki, and
Tochigi together. (From a
Tokyo metropolitan point of view, all three are sometimes disparagingly considered to be nondescript suburbs or empty countryside, thus indistinguishable.) Similarly, Tokyo suburbs
Gunma and
Saitama are jokingly called "Guntama" and especially "Dasaitama," ''dasai'' meaning "uncool."
External links
★
Official Ibaraki Prefecture homepage
★
The E-Ibaraki Report: articles and commentary of foreigners living in Ibaraki, produced by the International Affairs Division, Ibaraki Prefecture
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