Maebashi is the capital andTakasaki is the largest city of Gunma Prefecture, with other major cities includingŌta,Isesaki, andKiryū.[3] Gunma Prefecture is one of only eightlandlocked prefectures, located on the northwestern corner of theKantō Plain with 14% of its total land being designated asnatural parks.
The ancient province of Gunma was a center of horse breeding and trading activities for the newly immigrated continental peoples (orToraijin). The arrival of horses and the remains of horse tackle coincides with the arrival of a large migration from the mainland. From this point forward, the horse became a vital part of Japanese military maneuvers, quickly displacing the older Yayoi tradition of fighting on foot.[citation needed]
WhenMount Haruna erupted in the late 6th century, Japan was still in the pre-historical phase (prior to the importation of the Chinese writing system during the Nara period). The Gunma Prefectural archaeology unit in 1994 was able to date the eruption through zoological anthropology at the corral sites that were buried in ash.[citation needed]
In the past, Gunma was joined withTochigi Prefecture and calledKenu Province. This was later divided intoKami-tsu-ke (Upper Kenu, Gunma) andShimo-tsu-ke (Lower Kenu, Tochigi). The area is sometimes referred to as Jomo (上毛,Jōmō). For most of Japanese history, Gunma was known as the province ofKozuke.[4]
In the early period of contact between western nations and Japan, particularly the late Tokugawa, it was referred to by foreigners as the "Joushu States", inside (fudai, or loyalist) Tokugawa retainers and the Tokugawa family symbol is widely seen on public buildings, temples, and shrines.[citation needed]
The first modern silk factories were built with Italian and French assistance atAnnaka in the 1870s.
In the early Meiji period, in what was locally called the Gunma Incident of 1884, a bloody struggle between the idealistic democraticWesternisers and the conservativePrussian-model nationalists took place in Gunma and neighboring Nagano. The modern Japanese army gunned down farmers with new repeating rifles built in Japan. The farmers in Gunma were said to be the first victims of theMurata rifle.[citation needed]
In the twentieth century, the Japanese aviation pioneer Nakajima Chikushi of Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, founded theNakajima Aircraft Company. At first, he produced mostly licensed models of foreign designs, but beginning with the all-JapaneseNakajima 91 fighter plane in 1931, his company became a world leader in aeronautical design and manufacture, with its headquarters at Ota, Gunma Ken. The factory now producesSubaru motorcars and other products under the name ofSubaru née Fuji Heavy Industries.[7]
In the 1930s, German architectBruno Julius Florian Taut lived and conducted research for a while in Takasaki.[8]
One of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, Gunma is the northwesternmost prefecture of the Kantō plain. Except for the central and southeast areas, where most of the population is concentrated, it is mostly mountainous. To the north areNiigata andFukushima prefectures, while to the east liesTochigi Prefecture. To the west lies theNagano Prefecture, and theSaitama Prefecture is to the south.
Because Gunma is situated in inland Japan, the difference in temperature in the summer compared to the winter is large, and there is less precipitation. This is because of thekarakkaze ("empty wind"), a strong, dry wind that occurs in the winter when the snow falls on the coasts of Niigata. The wind carrying clouds with snow are obstructed by theEchigo Mountains, and it also snows there, although the high peaks do not let the wind go past them. For this reason, the wind changes into thekara-kaze.
Gunma's modern industries include transport equipment and electrical equipment, concentrated aroundMaebashi and the eastern region nearestTokyo. More traditional industries includesericulture andagriculture. Gunma's major agricultural products includecabbages andkonnyaku. Gunma produces over 90% of Japan's konnyaku, and two-thirds of the farms in the village ofTsumagoi are cabbage farms.[11] Also, the city ofŌta is famous for the car industry, notably theSubaru factory.
In 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held an event to find the top 100 best local dishes across all of Japan. Three dishes were featured from Gunma; yaki-manju,okkirikomi, andkonnyaku.[12]
As of 2018, Gunma is home to eleven of Japan's over thirtyMelody Roads. 2,559 grooves cut into a 175-meter stretch of the road surface in transmit atactilevibration through the wheels into thecar body.[13][14][15] The roads can be found in Katashina, Minakami, Takayama, Kanna, Ueno, Kusatsu, Tsumagoi, Nakanojo, Takasaki, Midori, and Maebashi. Each is of a differing length and plays a different song. Naganohara also used to be home to a Melody Road playing "Aj lučka, lučka široká", though the road in question was paved over in 2013 due to noise complaints.
Gunma is also famous for its ski resorts in the mountains.
Gunma was the only prefecture in Japan to have all 4 legal types of gambling on races:horse,bicycle,auto andboat. This changed with the closing of the last horse race track in Takasaki in 2004.
The prefectural symbol consists of the firstkanji of the word 'Gunma' surrounded by three stylized mountains symbolizing the three important mountains of Gunma Prefecture:Mount Haruna,Mount Akagi, andMount Myōgi.
For marketing, the Prefectural Government also usesGunma-chan, a smallsuper deformed drawing of a horse character wearing a green cap. It is used on promotional posters, banners, and other notable printed materials from the Prefectural Government. Other agencies and companies formally or informally use variations of its likeness and other horse-shaped characters when making signs or notices for work on buildings, roads, and other public notices.
^"こんにゃくをめぐる事情"(PDF).農林水産省の公式HP. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 27 December 2021. Retrieved8 June 2022.
^"JAPAN'S TASTY SECRETS".農林水産省の公式HP. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved8 June 2022.
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