Ibaraki Prefecture

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**Ibaraki japa lojo Prefecture (茨城県; *Ibaraki-ken*)**

Capital	Mito
Region	Kantō
Island	Honshū
Governor	Masaru Hashimoto
Area	6,095.58 km² (23^rd)
- % water	4.8%
Population (October 1, 2000)
- Population	2,985,424 (11^th)
- Density	490 /km²
Districts	7
Municipalities	43
ISO 3166-2	JP-08
Website	www.pref.ibaraki.jp/ en/menu.htm
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Rose (Rosa)
- Tree	Ume tree (Prunus mume)
- Bird	Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
Symbol of Ibaraki japa lojo Prefecture

Ibaraki Prefecture (茨城県, Ibaraki-ken^?) is located in the Kantō region on Honshū island, Japan. The capital is Mito.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 Culture
6 Sports
7 Tourism
8 Prefectural symbols
9 Miscellaneous topics
10 External links

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Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province, until the abolition of the han system in 1871.

Map of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Ibaraki Prefecture is the northeastern part of the Kantō region, stretching between Tochigi Prefecture and the Pacific Ocean and bounded on the north and south by Fukushima Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture. It also has borders on the southwest with Gunma Prefecture and Saitama Prefecture. The northernmost part of the prefecture is mountainous, but most of the prefecture is a flat plain with many lakes.

Thirty-two cities are located in Ibaraki Prefecture:

Joso (formerly Mitsukaido)
Kamisu
Kasama
Kashima
Kasumigaura
Kitaibaraki
Koga
Mito (capital)
Moriya
Naka
Namegata

Towns and villages in each district:

Higashiibaraki District

Ibarakiǂ

Oarai

Shirosato

Inashiki District

Ami

Kawachi

Miho

Kitasouma District

Tone

Kuji District

Daigo

Naka District

Tokai

Sashima District

Goka

Sakai

Yuki District

Yachiyo

ǂ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.

(as of March 27, 2006)

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

On October 16, 2004 the village of Gozenyama and the town of Yamagata from Higashiibaraki District merged with the villages of Miwa and Ogawa from Naka District forming the city of Hitachiomiya.

On November 1, 2004 the town of Juou in the former Taga District merged into the neighboring city of Hitachi. As a result this merger the district ceased to exist.

On December 1, 2004 the following municipalities formerly in Kuji District merged into the expanded city of Hitachiota: Kanasagou, Satomi, Suifu

On January 21, 2005 the towns of Naka and Urizura from Naka District merged forming the city of Naka.

On February 1, 2005 the town of Johoku and village of Katsura from Higashiibaraki District merged with the village of Nanakai from Nishiibaraki District forming the town of Shirosato.

Also on February 1, 2005 the town of Uchihara from Higashiibaraki District merged into the city of Mito.

On March 22, 2005 the following towns and villages from Inashiki District merged to form the city of Inashiki: Azuma, Edosaki, Sakuragawa, and Shintone.

Also on March 22, 2005, the town of Sashima from Sashima District merged with the former city of Iwai forming the city of Bando.

On March 28, 2005 the town of Fujishiro from Kitasouma District merged into the expanded city of Toride.

Also on March 28, 2005 the towns of Akeno, Kyowa, and Sekijo from Makabe District merged with the former city of Shimodate forming the city of Chikusei.

Also on March 28, 2005 the towns of Chiyoda and Kasumigaura from Niihari merged, forming the city of Kasumigaura.

On August 1, 2005 the towns of Hasaki and Kamisu from Kashima District merged to form the new city of Kamisu.

On September 2, 2005 the towns of Asou, Kitaura and Tamatsukuri from Namegata District merged to form the new city of Namegata. Namegata District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On September 12, 2005 the towns of Sanwa and Souwa from Sashima District merged with the city of Koga to form the new city of Koga.

On October 1, 2005, the remaining municipalities from Makabe District merged with the town of Iwase from Nishiibaraki District merged to form the new city of Sakuragawa. Makabe District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On October 1, 2005 the town of Yasato from Niihari District merged with the city of Ishioka to form the new city of Ishioka.

On October 11, 2005 the town of Hokota and the villages of Asahi and Taiyō (all from Kashima District) merged to form the new city of Hokota. Kashima District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On January 1, 2006 the village of Chiyokawa from Yuki District merged with the city of Shimotsuma to form the new city of Shimotsuma.

On January 1, 2006 the town of Ishige from Yuki District merged in to the city of Mitsukaido. Mitsukaido changed the name to Joso at the sametime.

On February 20, 2006 the village of Niihari from Niihari District merged into the city of Tsuchiura.

On March 19, 2006 the municipalities of Iwama and Tomobe (both from Nishiibaraki District) merged with Kasama to form the new city of Kasama. Nishiibaraki District was thereby dissolved.

On March 27, 2006 the towns of Ogawa and Minori (both from Higashiibaraki District) merged with the village of Tamari from Niihari District to form the new city of Omitama. Niihari District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On March 27, 2006 the town of Ina and the village of Yawara (both from Tsukuba District) merged to form the new city of Tsukubamirai. Tsukuba District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

The town of Ibaraki from Higashiibaraki District is scheduled to merge into the city of Mito during January 2007.

Ibaraki's industries include energy, particularly nuclear energy, production, as well as chemical and precision machining industries. The Hitachi company was founded in the Ibaraki city of the same name.

Ibaraki's population is increasing modestly as the Greater Tokyo region spreads out.

Famous foods of Ibaraki include natto, of Mito, the watermelons produced in Kyowa (recently merged into Chikusei), and the chestnuts grown in the Nishiibaraki region.

There are castle ruins in many cities, including Mito, Kasama, and Yuki.

Kasama is also famous for its Shinto and art culture.

The sports teams listed below are based in Ibaraki.

Football (soccer)

Volleyball

Hitachi Sawa Rivale (Hitachinaka)

The prefecture is often mispronounced "Ibaragi". However, the correct pronunciation is "Ibaraki." According to the author of "Not Ibaragi, Ibaraki" (いばらぎじゃなくていばらき ibaragi ja nakute ibaraki) [1], this is most likely due to a mishearing of the softening of the 'k' sound in Ibaraki dialect. It is mispronounced to such a degree that it has nearly become standard.

See also: Nucular

It is also sometimes jokingly referred as part of "Chibaragi", a combination of Chiba, Ibaraki, and Tochigi together. (From a Tokyo metropolitan point of view, all three are sometimes disparagingly considered to be nondescript suburbs or empty countryside, thus indistinguishable.) Similarly, Tokyo suburbs Gunma and Saitama are jokingly called "Guntama" and especially "Dasaitama," dasai meaning "uncool."