Tokushima Prefecture | |||||||||||||
Settlement Type: | Prefecture | ||||||||||||
Translit Lang1: | Japanese | ||||||||||||
Translit Lang1 Type: | Japanese | ||||||||||||
Translit Lang1 Info: | Japanese: 徳島県 | ||||||||||||
Translit Lang1 Type1: | Rōmaji | ||||||||||||
Translit Lang1 Info1: | Japanese: Tokushima-ken | ||||||||||||
Flag Size: | 100px | ||||||||||||
Image Blank Emblem: | Emblem of Tokushima Prefecture.svg | ||||||||||||
Blank Emblem Size: | 80px | ||||||||||||
Blank Emblem Type: | Symbol | ||||||||||||
Subdivision Type: | Country | ||||||||||||
Subdivision Name: | Japan | ||||||||||||
Subdivision Type1: | Region | ||||||||||||
Subdivision Name1: | Shikoku | ||||||||||||
Subdivision Type2: | Island | ||||||||||||
Subdivision Name2: | Shikoku | ||||||||||||
Seat Type: | Capital | ||||||||||||
Seat: | Tokushima | ||||||||||||
Parts Type: | Subdivisions | ||||||||||||
Parts Style: | para | ||||||||||||
P1: | Districts 8 | ||||||||||||
P2: | Municipalities 24 | ||||||||||||
Leader Title: | Governor | ||||||||||||
Leader Name: | Masazumi Gotoda | ||||||||||||
Area Total Km2: | 4146.80 | ||||||||||||
Area Water Percent: | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
Area Rank: | 36th | ||||||||||||
Population Total: | 728633 | ||||||||||||
Population As Of: | October 1, 2019 | ||||||||||||
Population Rank: | 44th | ||||||||||||
Population Density Km2: | auto | ||||||||||||
Demographics Type2: | GDP | ||||||||||||
Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] | ||||||||||||
Demographics2 Title1: | Total | ||||||||||||
Demographics2 Info1: | JP¥ 3,222 billion US$ 29.6 billion (2019) | ||||||||||||
Iso Code: | JP-36 | ||||||||||||
Website: | pref.tokushima.jp/english/ | ||||||||||||
Module: |
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Anthem: | Tokushima kenmin no uta |
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku.[2] Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, Ehime Prefecture to the west, and Kōchi Prefecture to the southwest.
Tokushima is the capital and largest city of Tokushima Prefecture, with other major cities including Anan, Naruto, and Yoshinogawa.[3] Tokushima Prefecture is located on the Kii Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Wakayama Prefecture on the Kii Peninsula of the island of Honshu. Tokushima Prefecture is connected to Awaji Island across the Naruto Strait by the Ōnaruto Bridge as part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, connecting the prefecture to the city of Kobe and the San'yō Expressway on Honshu.
See also: Historic Sites of Tokushima Prefecture.
Until the Meiji Restoration, Tokushima Prefecture was known as Awa Province.[4]
In ancient times, Tokushima City belonged to a region known as Myōdō-gun. In the first wave of government consolidation following the abolishment of the fiefdom system and construction of prefectures in 1871, it became known as Myodo Prefecture. At the time, it included the Awa region to the south and the Awaji Island regions as well. In 1873 it further incorporated the region currently occupied by Kagawa Prefecture in its borders.
In the second wave of government consolidation, on September 5, 1875, the Sanuki Region separated to form the modern day Kagawa Prefecture. On August 21, 1876, Awaji Island separated to join Hyōgo Prefecture and the Awa region separated to form Kochi Prefecture.
On March 2, 1880, Myodo Prefecture fully separated from Kochi Prefecture to be inaugurated as Tokushima Prefecture.
The Sanuki Mountains run along the northern border of the prefecture.
As of April 1, 2012, 9% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Setonaikai National Park; Muroto-Anan Kaigan and Tsurugisan Quasi-National Parks; and Chūbu Sankei, Dochū-Kōtsu, Hashikura, Higashi Sankei, Okumiyagawa-Uchidani, and Ōasayama Prefectural Natural Parks.[5]
See also: List of cities in Tokushima Prefecture by population. Eight cities are located in Tokushima Prefecture:
These are the towns and villages in each district:
Name | Area (km2) | Population | District | Type | Map | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rōmaji | Kanji | ||||||
Aizumi | 藍住町 | 16.27 | 35,054 | Itano District | Town | ||
Higashimiyoshi | 東みよし町 | 122.48 | 14,025 | Miyoshi District | Town | ||
Ishii | 石井町 | 28.85 | 25,062 | Myōzai District | Town | ||
Itano | 板野町 | 36.22 | 13,183 | Itano District | Town | ||
Kaiyō | 海陽町 | 327.65 | 8,578 | Kaifu District | Town | ||
Kamiita | 上板町 | 34.58 | 11,562 | Itano District | Town | ||
Kamikatsu | 上勝町 | 109.63 | 1,344 | Katsuura District | Town | ||
Kamiyama | 神山町 | 173.3 | 4,724 | Myōzai District | Town | ||
Katsuura | 勝浦町 | 69.83 | 5,131 | Katsuura District | Town | ||
Kitajima | 北島町 | 8.74 | 22,645 | Itano District | Town | ||
Matsushige | 松茂町 | 14.24 | 14,819 | Itano District | Town | ||
Minami | 美波町 | 140.8 | 6,433 | Kaifu District | Town | ||
Mugi | 牟岐町 | 56.62 | 3,852 | Kaifu District | Town | ||
Naka | 那賀町 | 694.98 | 7,549 | Naka District | Town | ||
Sanagōchi | 佐那河内村 | 42.28 | 2,106 | Myōdō District | Village | ||
Tsurugi | つるぎ町 | 194.84 | 7,877 | Mima District | Town |
See main article: List of mergers in Tokushima Prefecture.
Tokushima depends on agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The percentage of agricultural workers and productivity is the second largest in Shikoku next to Kochi. Rice fields occupy the lower region of the Yoshino River and the small, narrow plains along the shore. Much of the remaining land is used for vegetables and flowers. The prefecture is the nation's largest supplier of cauliflower and lotus roots, and the fourth largest producer of carrots. Japanese indigo is only produced here.
Northern Tokushima's growth was accelerated by the completion of the Akashi Channel Bridge, which completes the road connection from Tokushima to Kobe. Industrial development continues around the Tokushima and Naruto districts. In particular, Itano District's Aizumi Town and Kitajima Town have experienced rapid growth, which has led to a proposed merger of the towns of Itano District into Itano City in the future.
[6] In April 2023 a school of tech entrepreneurship - the first of its kind in Japan - was opened in the Tokushima town of Kamiyama. The students, aged from 15 to 20, will be taught engineering, programming and designing, as well as business skills such as marketing. They will also learn how to pitch their business plans to investors in order to raise money.
The man behind it is Chikahiro Terada, the boss of Tokyo-based start-up Sansan, which specialises in the digitalisation of business cards. These still play a huge role in Japan's corporate world.
Tokushima abounds in agricultural resources and is the site of large-scale production of many different types of vegetables. The plains north of the Yoshino River are particularly fertile and the produce here is often shipped to mainland Japan in the areas around Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto. Produce from Tokushima always claims top shares in markets in the Kansai region and particularly prominent are Naruto sweet potatoes, the citrus fruit "sudachi", lotus roots and strawberries.
The lack of goods heading to Tokyo has led to a relatively low national profile for local Tokushima brands. To combat this, the local Tokushima government now sends the "Fresh! Tokushima" moving display about the country with its mobile kitchen set to increase general awareness of the local food available in Tokushima Prefecture.
Tokushima hosted the official 2007 Asian Basketball Championship.
Further, the sports teams listed below are based in Tokushima.
Football (soccer)
Baseball
Tokushima's prefectural symbol is a stylized combination of the hiragana for to and ku, the first two characters in the hiragana spelling of the prefecture's name.
Party | Total | |
---|---|---|
Total | 41 | |
Liberal Democratic Party / Shinsei Club | 11 | |
Liberal Democratic Party / Koyu Club | 9 | |
Meisei Club | 7 | |
Shinpu Democratic Club | 6 | |
Kaikaku Isshin Club | 3 | |
Japanese Communist Party | 3 | |
New Komeito Group | 2 |