Kagawa Prefecture

Kagawa Prefecture (香川県, Kagawa-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku.[1] Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 957,430 (as of 1 June 2019) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at 1,876 square kilometres (724 sq mi). Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tokushima Prefecture to the south.

Not to be confused with Kanagawa Prefecture.

Kagawa Prefecture

香川県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese香川県
 • RōmajiKagawa-ken
Flag
Symbol
Country Japan
RegionShikoku
IslandShikoku
CapitalTakamatsu
SubdivisionsDistricts: 5, Municipalities: 17
Government
 • GovernorKeizō Hamada
Area
 • Total1,876.77 km2 (724.62 sq mi)
Area rank47th
Population
 (June 1, 2019)
 • Total957,430
 • Rank40th
 • Density510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
ISO 3166 codeJP-37
Websitewww.pref.kagawa.jp
Symbols
BirdLesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
FlowerOlive (Olea europaea)
TreeOlive (Olea europaea)

Takamatsu is the capital and largest city of Kagawa Prefecture, with other major cities including Marugame, Mitoyo, and Kan'onji.[2] Kagawa Prefecture is located on the Seto Inland Sea across from Okayama Prefecture on the island of Honshu, which are connected by the Great Seto Bridge. Kagawa Prefecture includes Shōdoshima, the second-largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, and the prefecture's southern land border with Tokushima Prefecture is formed by the Sanuki Mountains.

History

Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province.[3]

For a brief period between August 1876 and December 1888, Kagawa was made a part of Ehime Prefecture.[4]

Battle of Yashima

Located in Kagawa's capital city, Takamatsu, the mountain of Yashima was the battlefield for one of the best-known struggles between the Heike and Genji clans.

Geography

Kagawa comprises the northeast corner of Shikoku, bordering Ehime Prefecture on the west and Tokushima Prefecture on the south, with a coastline on the Seto Inland Sea facing Okayama Prefecture and the Kansai. The Sanuki Mountains run along the southern border.

Kagawa is currently the smallest prefecture, by area, in Japan. Kagawa is a relatively narrow prefecture located between the mountains of Shikoku and the sea.

As of April 1, 2012, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Setonaikai National Park and Ōtaki-Ōkawa Prefectural Natural Park.[5]

Cities
See also: List of cities in Kagawa Prefecture by population
Map of Kagawa Prefecture.
     City      Town
Takamatsu
Marugame
Kotohira

Eight cities are located in Kagawa Prefecture:

Towns

These are the towns in each district:

Mergers
Main article: List of mergers in Kagawa Prefecture

Foods
People queuing for udon in Kagawa

Sanuki udon (a type of udon noodle) is the most famous local food of Kagawa Prefecture. In 2008, there were over 700 udon restaurants in this prefecture alone. [6]

Aside from udon, Kagawa is also famous for "hone-tsuki-dori", seasoned chicken thigh cooked on the bone. Originating from Marugame City, the dish has now become a popular dish in izakaya restaurants across the country.

Olives and olive-related products have also come to be recognized as Kagawa foods. As the first place in Japan to successfully cultivate olives, Kagawa has been producing olive-related products since 1908. As well as winning both domestic and international awards for the quality of its olive oil, Kagawa has also created two offshoot food brands from its olive industry - "olive beef" and "olive yellowtail". Waste organic matter from olive pressing is used as feed for cattle and the Yellowtail Amberjack. Due to the high amount of polyphenol in the olive waste, the flesh of the respective meats does not oxidize or lose colour easily.

Other local specialties include wasanbon sugar sweets, sōmen noodles and shōyu soy sauce. Rare sugar researches are thriving and have discovered mass production culture enzymes. D-tagatose 3-epimerase is an enzyme that catalyzes the reversible epimerization reaction of the 3rd carbon of ketose.

Education

Universities

Sports
Pikara Stadium in Marugame.

The sports teams listed below are based in Kagawa.

Baseball

Basketball

Football (Soccer)

Volleyball

Ice Hockey

Tourism
Kanamaruza Kabuki Theatre
Benesse House, Naoshima
Manno Lake
Sanuki Manno National Park
Kankakei

Based on its ancient name, Sanuki, Kagawa is famous for its Sanuki udon (wheat noodles). Recent years have seen an interest in Sanuki udon across Japan, and many Japanese now take day-trips to taste the many Sanuki udon restaurants in Kagawa.

Transportation

Railroad

Departure from Takamatsu

Expressway

National Highway
  • Route 11 (Tokushima-Takamatsu-Marugame-Niihama-Maysuyama)
  • Route 30
  • Route 32 (Takamatsu-Kotohira-Kochi)
  • Route 193
  • Route 318
  • Route 319
  • Route 377
  • Route 436
  • Route 438

Port

Airport

The novel Battle Royale by Koushun Takami was set in the fictional town of Shiroiwa ('Castle Rock') in the Kagawa Prefecture. Okishima, the fictional island on which much of the novel takes place is placed in the Seto Inland Sea. The manga also places Shiroiwa in Kagawa Prefecture, while the film moves Shiroiwa to Kanagawa Prefecture.

Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture is also the main setting of the book "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami.

Kagawa Prefecture is also the setting of the anime Poco's Udon World, My Bride is a Mermaid, and Yuki Yuna is a Hero.

In the asymmetrical horror video game, Dead by Daylight, The Spirit, also known as Rin Yamaoka, lives here.

Tonosho Town is the setting of the manga and anime Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san (Teasing Master Takagi-san). Native creator Sōichirō Yamamoto was also raised in Tonosho Town.

References
  1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kagawa prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 446, p. 446, at Google Books
  2. Nussbaum, "Takamatsu" at p. 934, p. 934, at Google Books.
  3. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
  4. Ikatachōshi Editing Committee, ed. (March 31, 1987). Ikatachōshi 伊方町誌 [Ikata Town History] (in Japanese). Town of Ikata, printed by DAI-ICHI HOKI Publishing.
  5. "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  6. "Kagawa 香川". Zipango. 2017.

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