Ehime Prefecture

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"Ehime" redirects here. For the school ship, see Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision.

**Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県)**

Capital	Matsuyama
Region	Shikoku
Island	Shikoku
Governor	Moriyuki Katō
Area	5,676.44 km² (26^th)
- % water	%
Population (2000)
- Population	1,493,126 (27^th)
- Density	263 /km²
Districts	7
Municipalities	20
ISO 3166-2	JP-38
Website	www.pref.ehime.jp/index-e.htm
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu)
- Tree	Pine (Pinus)
- Bird	Japanese robin (Erithacus akahige)
Symbol of Ehime Prefecture

Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県, Ehime-ken^?) is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. The capital is Matsuyama.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Sports
5 External links

Until the Meiji Restoration, 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 Yoshiaki who built Matsuyama Castle, forming the basis for the modern city of Matsuyama.

The name Ehime comes from the Kojiki and means "beautiful maiden."

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. The westernmost arm of Ehime, the Sadamisaki Peninsula, is the longest peninsula in Japan.

Eleven cities are located in Ehime Prefecture:

Map of Ehime Prefecture.

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Ehime agency.

† Scheduled to be merged[1].

(as of February 7, 2006)

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

On April 1, 2003 the village of Besshiyama from Uma District merged into the (expanded) city of Niihama.

On April 1, 2004 all towns and villages in the former Higashiuwa District (dissolved by this merger) and Mikame from Nishiuwa District merged, forming the new city of Seiyo.

On April 1, 2004 the cities of Kawanoe and Iyomishima, the town of Doi and the village of Shingū (both from Uma District, dissolved by this merger) merged to form the new city of Shikokuchūō.

On August 1, 2004 the town of Kuma and the villages of Mikawa, Omogo, and Yanadani from Kamiukena District merged to form the new town of Kumakōgen.

On September 21, 2004 the towns of Kawauchi and Shigenobu from Onsen District merged to form the new city of Tōon.

On October 1, 2004 Ikina, Iwagi, Uoshima, and Yuge (all from Ochi District) merged, forming the new town of Kamijima.

On October 1, 2004 all the former towns of Minamiuwa District (Jōhen, Mishō, Nishiumi, Uchiumi, and Ipponmatsu) merged together into Ainan to form a new and larger town of Ainan.

On November 1, 2004 the former city of Saijō merged with the former city of Tōyo and the towns of Komatsu and Tanbara from the former Shūsō District (dissolved by this merger) merged to create the new city of Saijō.

On January 1, 2005 the village of Hirota from Iyo District merged into the town of Tobe.

On January 1, 2005 the town of Hiromi and the village of Hiyoshi (both from Kitauwa District) merged to form the new town of Kihoku.

On January 1, 2005 the towns of Ikazaki (from Kita District) and Oda (from Kamiukena District) merged into the town of Uchiko.

On January 1, 2005 the city of Hōjō and the town of Nakajima from Onsen District (dissolved by this merger) merged into the (expanded) city of Matsuyama.

On January 11, 2005 the towns of Hijikawa and Nagahama as well as the village of Kawabe (all from Kita District) merged into the city of Ōzu.

On January 16, 2005 the new city of Imabari was formed by the mergers of 11 towns and villages (all from Ochi District) and the old city of Imabari. Towns and villages involved in this merger were Asakura, Hakata, Kamiura, Kikuma, Miyakubo, Namikata, Ōmishima, Ōnishi, Sekizen, Tamagawa, and Yoshiumi. With this merger, there are no more villages left in Ehime Prefecture.

On March 28, 2005 the town of Honai from Nishiuwa District and the old city of Yawatahama merged to form the new city of Yawatahama.

On April 1, 2005 the city of Iyo merged with the towns of Nakayama and Futami from Iyo District to form the new city of Iyo.

On April 1, 2005 the towns of Misaki and Seto from Nishiuwa District merged into the town of Ikata.

On August 1, 2005 the new city of Uwajima was formed by the mergers of 3 towns from Kitauwa District and the old city of Uwajima. Mima, Tsushima and Yoshida were involved in this merger with the old city of Uwajima.

Former districts:

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 industries, and are particularly known for citrus fruit such as mikan (tangerine) and iyokan and cultured pearls.

Ikata's nuclear power plant produces a large portion of Shikoku's electricity.

The sports teams listed below are based in Ehime.

Football (soccer)