is part of the
Kinki region on
Honshū island,
Japan. The capital is the city of
Tsu.
History
Present-day Mie Prefecture covers an area that formerly comprised the provinces
Ise,
Shima, and
Iga as well as a portion of eastern
Kii. This area was organized and reorganized repeatedly at the time of the
Meiji Restoration, but in 1871 the area from the ''Kisosansen'' rivers in the north to present-day
Tsu became AnÅtsu Prefecture, and the area south of that became Watarai Prefecture. In 1872, the AnÅtsu prefectural seat moved from
Tsu to
Yokkaichi, and the prefecture itself was renamed Mie. For a variety of reasons, including the strong likelihood that Mie would eventually merge with Watarai, the prefectural seat returned to Tsu the following year, and Mie Prefecture took its present-day form in 1876, when it merged with its southern neighbor.
The name Mie supposedly was taken from a comment about the region made by
Yamato Takeru on his way back from conquering the eastern regions.
Geography
Map of Mie Prefecture.
Mie Prefecture forms the eastern part of the
Kii Peninsula, and is bordered by
Aichi,
Gifu,
Shiga,
Kyoto,
Nara, and
Wakayama. It is considered part of the Kinki region, but it is close to
Nagoya and has a number of suburbs of Nagoya. Most of the prefecture is mountainous, with a populous coastal plain along
Ise Bay in the northeast, and high mountains along the southern coast, the
Shima Peninsula, and the western border with the rest of Kinki, including a high plateau around
Iga near
Nara.
As of
2000 Mie Prefecture's 5,776.44 km² landmass is divided into 64.8%
forest, 11.5%
agriculture, 6% residential area, 3.8%
roads, and 3.6%
rivers. The remaining 10.3% are not classified.
Cities
Fourteen cities are located in Mie Prefecture:
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each
district.
Mergers
★
October 1,
2004
★
★ All five towns from
Shima District (
Ago,
Daio,
Hamajima,
Isobe,
Shima) merged to form
Shima City.
Shima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★
November 1,
2004
★
★ The city of
Ueno; the towns of Iga,
Ayama,
Shimagahara, and
Aoyama; the village of
ÅŒyamada; and the districts of
Ayama and
Naga merged to form the city of
Iga.
★
December 6,
2004
★
★ The city of
Kuwana, and the towns of
Nagashima and
Tado from
Kuwana District merged to form the city of
Kuwana.
★
January 1,
2005
★
★ The city of
Matsusaka; the towns of
Ureshino and
Mikumo from
Ichishi District; and
Iinan District merged to form the city of
Matsusaka.
Iinan District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★
January 11,
2005
★
★ The city of
Kameyama and the town of
Seki from
Suzuka District merged to form the city of
Kameyama.
Suzuka District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
★
February 7,
2005
★
★ The town of
Kusu in
Mie District merged into the city of
Yokkaichi.
★
February 14,
2005
★
★ the towns of
Kisei and
Omiya and the village of
Ouchiyama from
Watarai District merged to form the new town of
Taiki.
★
October 1,
2005
★
★ The towns of
Nansei and
Nanto from
Watarai District merged to form the new town of
Minami-ise.
★
★ The towns of
Kiinagashima and
Miyama from
Kitamuro District merged to form the new town of
Kihoku.
★
November 1,
2005
★
★ The city of
Kumano and the town of
Kiwa from
Minamimuro District merged to form the city of
Kumano.
★
★ The city of
Ise and the towns of
Futami and
Obata and the village of
Misono from
Watarai District merged to form the city of
Ise.
★
January 1,
2006
★
★ The cities of
Tsu and
Hisai and the districts of
Age and
Ichishi merged to form the city of
Tsu.
Age District and
Ichishi District were both dissolved as a result of this merger.
★
★ The municipalities of
Seiwa and
Taki from
Taki District merged to form the town of
Taki.
★
January 10,
2006
★
★ The municipalities of
Odai and
Miyagawa from
Taki District merged to form the town of
Odai.
★
★ The municipalities of
Kiho and
Udono from
Minaminuro District merged to form the town of
Kiho.
Economy
Mie's manufacturing industry specializes in transport machinery, such as ships and cars, and chemicals, particularly oil refining. Agricultural products include tea, beef, and pearls.
Demographics
Culture
Tourism
Famous Places
★
Ise Grand Shrine - Japan's holiest Shinto shrine.
★
Kumano KodÅ -
World Heritage Site. Ancient road in southern Mie once used by pilgrims.
★
Iga-Ueno - Birthplace of the
ninja.
★
Sakakibara Onsen - Famous
onsen near Tsu. Rumored to be the 3rd best onsen in Japan.
★
Yunoyama Onsen - Famoun onsen near Yokkaichi that sits atop
Mount Gozaisho.
★
Nagashima Spa Land - One of the largest amusement parks in Japan, located in Kuwana.
★
Mikimoto Pearl Island - Museum in Toba that is dedicated to
KÅkichi Mikimoto, inventor of
pearl cultivation.
★
The Wedded Rocks of Okitama Shrine in
Futami (now part of the city of Ise)
★
Suzuka Circuit - Japan's most famous racetrack.
Famous Products
★
Akafuku, a sweet made with mochi and sweet red bean paste.
★
spiny lobster, known as ''Ise ebi'' (伊勢ãˆã³), named after the old province.
★
Matsusaka beef.
Sister States
★
São Paulo,
Brazil
★
Henan,
China
★
Valencia,
Spain
External links
★
Mie Prefecture official homepage
★
Kanko Mie tourist information
★
Outdoor Japan - Section Mie
★
Mie International Exchange Foundation
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