Mie, the Japanese prefecture that guards Shinto's holiest and oldest shrines
Mie Prefecture on Honshu holds both Ise Grand Shrine, counted as Japan's holiest Shinto site, and Tsubaki Grand Shrine, called its oldest. The same prefecture also claims the birthplace of the ninja at Iga-Ueno, the Suzuka racing circuit and a Honda plant that built the Civic.
Mie occupies the eastern side of the Kii Peninsula, forming the western shore of Ise Bay where the Kiso Three Rivers meet the sea. It covers 5,774 square kilometres and had 1,781,948 residents as of 1 June 2019, most of them living on the Ise Plain beside the bay. Tsu is the capital and Yokkaichi the biggest city. Because locals speak Kansai dialect yet the prefecture borders Aichi, it is counted in both the Kansai and Tōkai regions. It stretches 170 km from north to south, and in 2000 about 64.8 percent of its land was forest.
People have lived here for more than 10,000 years. Ise Shrine is said to date from the Yayoi period, and in the 7th century a residence at Saikū, in today's Meiwa Town, housed the imperial princess who served as the shrine's high priestess. In the Edo era pilgrimages to Ise became hugely popular, and port and castle towns grew along the Tokaido and Ise roads. Legend credits the name Mie to a remark by Yamato Takeru on his way home from conquests in the east.
The modern prefecture took shape in fits and starts. In 1871 the north became Anōtsu Prefecture and the south Watarai; in 1872 the seat moved to Yokkaichi and the name changed to Mie, only for the seat to return to Tsu a year later. The two halves merged in 1876. In 1959 the Ise-wan Typhoon, the strongest on Japanese record, killed many people and wrecked sea walls, roads and railways. Shima hosted the 42nd G7 summit in May 2016.
Crafts such as Yokkaichi Banko pottery and Ise Katagami grew up along the old roads, and more than 1,000 km of coast supports seafood and cultured pearls alongside tea, beef and mandarin oranges. Northern Mie builds vehicles and ships and refines oil, and Honda's Suzuka factory has operated since 1960. The Iga Basin runs a degree or two cooler than the plain, while Owase in the south logs some of Japan's heaviest rain.
Source: Mie Prefecture
