Iwate Prefecture
| Iwate Prefecture | |||||||||
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| Capital | Morioka | ||||||||
| Region | Tohoku | ||||||||
| Island | Honshu | ||||||||
| Governor | Takuya Tasso | ||||||||
| Area (rank) | 15,278.40 km² (2nd) | ||||||||
| - % water | 0.1% | ||||||||
| Population (1 Oct 2010) | |||||||||
| - Population | 1,330,530 (30th) | ||||||||
| - Density | 90 /km² | ||||||||
| Districts | 10 | ||||||||
| Municipalities | 33 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166-2 | JP-03 | ||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||
| Prefectural Symbols | |||||||||
| - Flower | Paulownia tree (Paulownia tomentosa) | ||||||||
| - Tree | Nanbu red pine (Pinus densiflora) | ||||||||
| - Bird | Green pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) | ||||||||
| - Fish | |||||||||
 Symbol of Iwate Prefecture | |||||||||
| Template ■ Discussion | |||||||||
Iwate Prefecture (岩手県 Iwate-ken) is a prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. It is on the island of Honshu.[1] The capital city is Morioka.[2]
Contents
History[change | change source]
The area of Iwate was part of Mutsu Province.[3]
In 1869, Mutsu was split into five new provinces: Rikuōku,[4] Rikuchū,[5] Rikuzen,[6] Iwashiro[7] and Iwaki.[8] The first three of these together known as the "Three Riku", or Sanriku.[9]
The new provinces were abolished in July 1871.[10]
In the Meiji period, the provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures. Maps of Japan and Mutsu Province were changed in the 1870s.[3]
Geography[change | change source]
Iwate is the second largest prefecture after Hokkaido.[1]
The prefecture is in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island. It has the island's easternmost point.[11] The eastern coastline faces the Pacific Ocean. Iwate shares its northern border with Aomori Prefecture. The western border meets Akita Prefecture. Its southern border is shared with Miyagi Prefecture.
Cities[change | change source]
National Parks[change | change source]
National parks cover about 5% of the total land area of the prefecture.[12] They include:
Shrines and temples[change | change source]
Tsutsukowake jinja is the main Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) of the prefecture.[15]
The Buddhist temples of Hiraizumi include Chūson-ji and Mōtsū-ji. Hiraizumi was added to the World Heritage List in June 2011.[16]
Related pages[change | change source]
- Provinces of Japan
- Prefectures of Japan
- List of regions of Japan
- List of islands of Japan
- Iwate Museum of Art
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). "Iwate-ken" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 410.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Morioka" at p. 661.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.
- ↑ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Rikuōku" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 790.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Rikuchū" at p. 790.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Rikuzen" at p. 790.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Iwashiro" at p. 410.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Iwaki" at p. 408.
- ↑ Nippon-Kichi, "Saw-tooth Sanriku Coastline"; retrieved 2012-1-12.
- ↑ Japan-i, Sanriku Coastline/Kamaishi Daikannon; retrieved 2012-1-12.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Tōhoku" at p. 970.
- ↑ Japan Ministry of the Environment, "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture"; retrieved 2012-3-13.
- ↑ Japan Ministry of the Environment, "Towada-Hachimantai National Park"; retrieved 2012-3-19.
- ↑ Japan Ministry of the Environment, "Rikuchu Kaigan National Park"; retrieved 2012-3-19.
- ↑ "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2; retrieved 2012-1-17.
- ↑ "World Heritage Hiraizumi". Retrieved 2013-07-10.
