Kagawa Prefecture

History

Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province.

For a brief period between August 1876 and December 1888, Kagawa was made a part of Ehime Prefecture.

Battle of Yashima

Located in Kagawa's capital city, Takamatsu, the mountain of Yashima was the battlefield for one of the best-known struggles between the Heike and the Genji clans.

Geography

Kagawa comprises the northeast corner of Shikoku, bordering Ehime Prefecture on the west and Tokushima Prefecture on the south, with a coastline on the Seto Inland Sea facing Okayama Prefecture and the Kansai. The Sanuki Mountains run along the southern border.

Kagawa is currently the smallest prefecture, by area, in Japan. Osaka Prefecture held that title until Kansai International Airport was reclaimed from the ocean in the early 1990s, pushing its land area slightly above Kagawa's. Kagawa is a relatively narrow prefecture located between the mountains of Shikoku and the sea.

As of April 1, 2012, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Setonaikai National Park and Ōtaki-Ōkawa Prefectural Natural Park.

Cities

Eight cities are located in Kagawa Prefecture:

Towns

These are the towns in each district:

Foods

Sanuki udon (a type of udon noodle) is the most famous local food of Kagawa Prefecture. In 2008 there were over 700 udon restaurants in this prefecture alone.

Aside from udon, Kagawa is also famous for "hone-tsuki-dori", seasoned chicken thigh cooked on the bone. Originating from Marugame City, the dish has now become a popular dish in izakaya restaurants across the country.

Olives and olive related products have also come to be associated as Kagawa foods. As the first place in Japan to successfully cultivate olives, Kagawa has been producing olive related products since 1908. As well as winning both domestic and international awards for the quality of its olive oil, Kagawa has also created two offshoot food brands from its olive industry - "olive beef" and "olive Yellowtail". Waste organic matter from olive pressing is used as feed for cattle and the Yellowtail Amberjack. Due to the high amount of polyphenol in the olive waste, the flesh of the respective meats does not oxidize or lose colour easily.

Other local specialties include wasanbon sugar sweets, soumen noodles and shoyu soy sauce.

Universities

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Kagawa.

Baseball

Basketball

Football (Soccer)

Volleyball

Ice Hockey

Tourism

Based on its ancient name, Sanuki, Kagawa is famous for its Sanuki udon (wheat noodles). Recent years have seen an interest in Sanuki udon across Japan, and many Japanese now take day-trips to taste the many Sanuki udon restaurants in Kagawa.

Railroad

Departure from Takamatsu

Expressway

National Highway

Port

Airport

In popular culture

The novel Battle Royale by Koushun Takami was set in the fictional town of Shiroiwa ('Castle Rock') in the Kagawa Prefecture. Okishima, the fictional island on which much of the novel takes place is placed in the Seto Inland Sea. The manga also places Shiroiwa in Kagawa Prefecture, while the film moves Shiroiwa to Kanagawa Prefecture.

Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture is also the main setting of the book "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami.

Kagawa Prefecture is also the setting of the anime Poco's Udon World.