Ishikawa石川県
Ishikawa-ken, いしかわけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Ishikawa includes the Noto peninsula. Kanazawa kept much of its Edo-period townscape.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 石川県
- Reading
- Ishikawa-ken / いしかわけん
- Region
- Chūbu 中部
- Capital
- Kanazawa 金沢市
- Population
- 1,132,526 (2020 census)
- Area
- 4,186 km²
- Density
- 271 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 19: 11 cities and 8 towns
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 5
- Codes
- JIS 17, ISO 3166-2 JP-17
- Website
- www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp
- Tree
- ate, a hiba cypress アテ
- Flower
- black lily クロユリ
- Bird
- golden eagle イヌワシ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanazawa City金沢市 | 463,254 | 468.79 | 40.9% |
| Hakusan City白山市 | 110,408 | 754.93 | 9.7% |
| Komatsu City小松市 | 106,216 | 371.05 | 9.4% |
| Kaga City加賀市 | 63,220 | 305.87 | 5.6% |
| Nonoichi City野々市市 | 57,238 | 13.56 | 5.1% |
| Nanao City七尾市 | 50,300 | 318.29 | 4.4% |
| Nomi City能美市 | 48,523 | 84.14 | 4.3% |
| Tsubata Town津幡町 | 36,957 | 110.59 | 3.3% |
| Kahoku Cityかほく市 | 34,889 | 64.44 | 3.1% |
| Uchinada Town内灘町 | 26,574 | 20.33 | 2.3% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 9 are listed below.
How an address here begins
石川県金沢市…
Ishikawa-ken, Kanazawa-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Ishikawa市区町村
19 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Ishikawa
- What is the capital of Ishikawa?
- Kanazawa (金沢市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 石川県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Ishikawa?
- 19: 11 cities and 8 towns. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into five districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Ishikawa?
- 1,132,526 at the 2020 census, on 4,186 km², which is 271 people per km². Ishikawa is the 33rd most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 35th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Ishikawa?
- Three prefectures: Toyama (富山県), Fukui (福井県), and Gifu (岐阜県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Ishikawa in?
- Chūbu (中部). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Ishikawa elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Ishikawa written in Japanese?
- 石川県, read Ishikawa-ken and written いしかわけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Ishikawa begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 石川県金沢市… (Ishikawa-ken, Kanazawa-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Ishikawa?
- Kanazawa City (金沢市), with 463,254 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Kanazawa City (金沢市, 463,254), Hakusan City (白山市, 110,408), and Komatsu City (小松市, 106,216).
- What are the symbols of Ishikawa?
- The prefectural tree is the ate, a hiba cypress (アテ), the flower the black lily (クロユリ), and the bird the golden eagle (イヌワシ). Ishikawa chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.