Ishikawa Prefecture

Infobox Prefecture Japan
Name = Ishikawa
JapaneseName = 石川県
Rōmaji = Ishikawa-ken
Symbol = PrefSymbol-Ishikawa.png Capital = Kanazawa
Region = Chūbu
Island = Honshū
TotalArea = 4,185.22
AreaRank = 35^th
PCWater =
PopDate = January 1, 2003
Population = 1,180,744
PopRank = 36^th
Density = 282
Districts = 6
Municipalities = 19
ISOCode = JP-17
Flower = Black

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Website = [http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/index_e.htm www.pref.ishikawa.jp/ index_e.htm]
Governor = Masanori Tanimotonihongo|Ishikawa Prefecture|石川県|Ishikawa-ken is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.

History

Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.

Geography

Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast. The northern part of the prefecture consists of the narrow Noto Peninsula, while the southern part is wider and consists mostly of mountains, with the prefecture's chief city, Kanazawa, located in the coastal plain.The prefecture also has some islands, including Notojima, Mitsukejima, Hegurajima.

Cities

Ten cities are located in Ishikawa Prefecture:

Culture

Most of the area's culture is made up of traditional arts and crafts. They are listed below:
* Nō was introduced to the area during the rule of the fifth Maeda lord Tsunanori and was refined into the "Kaga hosho" style.
* The tea ceremony arrived in 1666 when Maeda Toshitsune invited Senbiki Soshitsu of urasenke to Kanazawa.
* Kutani porcelain ("Kutani yaki"), bright colored glazes not unlike Chinese porcelain.
* Ohi teaware ("Ōhi yaki"), a pottery style unique to Kanazawa.
* Kaga silk ("Kaga yūzen"), a complicated silk print technique with an intentional rough look ("wabi-sabi").
* Kanazawa lacquerware ("Kanazawa shikki"), high quality lacquerware traditionally decorated with gold dust.
* Kanazawa gold leaf ("Kanazawa haku"), a technique of beating gold into wafer-thin sheets.
* "Kaga mizuhiki", ribbon-like decorations made from glued Japanese paper ("washi").
* Kaga inlay crafts ("Kaga zōgan"), a combination of thin flat and thread metal inlays.

Tourism

The most popular destination in Ishikawa is Kanazawa. Tourists can get to Ishikawa by plane via Komatsu.

* Shibayama Lagoon
* Mount Haku

Prefectural symbols

Miscellaneous topics

Hideki Matsui, a current player for the New York Yankees, was born and raised in Neagari Town (now Nomi City), Ishikawa. He gained fame as a baseball player while attending high school in Kanazawa.
Daisuke Nakata, a trampolinist who has competed in the Olympics in the past, is from Ishikawa.

Universities

Ishikawa hosts a number of well-known universities.
Hokuriku University - a small liberal arts university with a School of Pharmacy and a School of Future Learning that gives instruction in Business, Economics, and Foreign Language (Chinese and English).
Kanazawa University
Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Kanazawa Medical University
Kanazawa Gakuin University
Kinjo Junior College
Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University
Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Kanazawa Seiryo University
Kanazawa College of Art
Ishikawa Agricultural College

External links

* [http://www.pref.ishikawa.jp/index_e.htm Official Ishikawa Prefecture homepage]