Iwate岩手県
Iwate-ken, いわてけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Iwate is the largest prefecture on Honshū. The Kitakami mountains are inland, and the ria coast of Sanriku is on the Pacific side.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 岩手県
- Reading
- Iwate-ken / いわてけん
- Region
- Tōhoku 東北
- Capital
- Morioka 盛岡市
- Population
- 1,210,534 (2020 census)
- Area
- 15,275 km²
- Density
- 79 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 33: 14 cities, 15 towns, and 4 villages
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 10
- Codes
- JIS 03, ISO 3166-2 JP-03
- Website
- www.pref.iwate.jp
- Tree
- Nambu red pine ナンブアカマツ
- Flower
- paulownia キリ
- Bird
- green pheasant キジ
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morioka City盛岡市 | 289,731 | 886.47 | 23.9% |
| Oshu City奥州市 | 112,937 | 993.3 | 9.3% |
| Ichinoseki City一関市 | 111,932 | 1,256.42 | 9.2% |
| Hanamaki City花巻市 | 93,193 | 908.39 | 7.7% |
| Kitakami City北上市 | 93,045 | 437.55 | 7.7% |
| Takizawa City滝沢市 | 55,579 | 182.46 | 4.6% |
| Miyako City宮古市 | 50,369 | 1,259.15 | 4.2% |
| Ofunato City大船渡市 | 34,728 | 322.51 | 2.9% |
| Kuji City久慈市 | 33,043 | 623.5 | 2.7% |
| Shiwa Town紫波町 | 32,147 | 238.98 | 2.7% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 23 are listed below.
How an address here begins
岩手県盛岡市…
Iwate-ken, Morioka-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 Iwate市区町村
33 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 Iwate
- What is the capital of Iwate?
- Morioka (盛岡市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 岩手県?
- 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 Iwate?
- 33: 14 cities, 15 towns, and 4 villages. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into 10 districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Iwate?
- 1,210,534 at the 2020 census, on 15,275 km², which is 79 people per km². Iwate is the 32nd most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 2nd largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Iwate?
- Three prefectures: Aomori (青森県), Miyagi (宮城県), and Akita (秋田県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Iwate in?
- Tōhoku (東北). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Iwate elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Iwate written in Japanese?
- 岩手県, read Iwate-ken and written いわてけん 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 Iwate begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 岩手県盛岡市… (Iwate-ken, Morioka-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Iwate?
- Morioka City (盛岡市), with 289,731 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Morioka City (盛岡市, 289,731), Oshu City (奥州市, 112,937), and Ichinoseki City (一関市, 111,932).
- What are the symbols of Iwate?
- The prefectural tree is the Nambu red pine (ナンブアカマツ), the flower the paulownia (キリ), and the bird the green pheasant (キジ). Iwate 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.