'Ehime Prefecture(愛媛県, 'Ehime-ken?) is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. The capital is Matsuyama.
History
Until the Meiji reformation, Ehime prefecture was known as Iyo province. Since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongol invasions.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa shogun gave the area to his allies, including Kato Yoshiakira who built Matsuyama Castle, forming the basis for the modern city of Matsuyama.
Geography
Located in the northwestern part of Shikoku, Ehime faces the Seto inland sea to the north and is bordered by Kagawa and Tokushima in the east and Kochi in the south.
The prefecture includes both high mountains in the inland region and a long coastline, with many islands in the Seto inland Sea.
Cities
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district.
(as of February 7, 2006)
- On January 16, 2005 11 towns and villages from Ochi District merged into the (expanded) city of Imabari. Towns and villages involved in this merger were Asakura, Hakata, Kamiura, Kikuma, Miyakubo, Namikata, Omishima, Onishi, Sekizen, Tamagawa, and Yoshiumi.
Economy
The area around Matsuyama has a number of industries, including shipbuilding, chemicals, oil refining, and paper and textile products. The rural areas of the prefecture mostly engage in agricultural and fishing industires, and are particularly known for citrus fruit such as mikan (tangerine) and iyokan and cultured pearls.
Demographics
Culture
Tourism
Prefectural symbols
Miscellaneous topics
The meaning of Ehime is "beautiful maiden". Its name comes from Kojiki, referring this place as Ehime (愛比売).
External links
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehime_Prefecture under GFDL
